South Korea’s Consumer Confidence Climbs to Seven-Year High

South Korea’s consumer confidence rose to the highest level in more than seven years in October as the nation’s economic recovery strengthened.
The sentiment index climbed to 117 from 114 in September, the Bank of Korea said in Seoul today. The figure matched that of the first quarter of 2002, when the bank published […]

Bank Compensation Curbs Thrust Fed, Treasury Into Boardrooms

Compensation curbs announced yesterday by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve thrust the U.S. government into decisions about pay and performance traditionally reserved for corporate boards.
The Treasury’s special pay master, Kenneth Feinberg, slashed the salaries of the most highly paid executives at seven companies that received taxpayer aid, including Citigroup Inc. and […]

Factory Orders Rise Less Than Forecast on Drop in Non-Durables

Orders placed with U.S. factories rose less than forecast in July, restrained by a decline in non-durable goods such as oil and food that masked a jump in demand for new equipment that was larger than previously estimated.
Bookings gained 1.3 percent after a revised 0.9 percent increase in June that was larger than […]

Obama Says Recession Nears End as Data Improve While Polls Fall

President Barack Obama sought to reconcile improving economic data and his own sagging poll ratings by telling Americans that many are still struggling even as an end to the recession may be near.
The president opened two events yesterday outside Washington designed to focus on health care with a defense of his economic policies, […]

Derivatives Get Second Look From U.S. Congress That Didn’t Act

Congress will take a second shot at the derivatives industry after its decision nine years ago to forgo regulations led to a $592 trillion market that brought financial firms to their knees.
Using President Barack Obama’s regulatory overhaul proposal last week as a foundation, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is holding a hearing […]

U.K. Economy Won’t Resume Growth Until 2010, CBI Says

The British economy won’t start growing again until 2010 and the Bank of England may need to expand its money-printing plan to underpin the recovery, the Confederation of British Industry said.
Gross domestic product will fall 0.3 percent in the second quarter and 0.1 percent in the third, and will stop shrinking in the […]

George Soros: China a ‘positive force’

Financier George Soros said on Sunday that China’s global influence is set to grow faster than most people expect, with its isolation from the global financial system and a heavy state role in banking aiding a relatively swift economic recovery.
He reiterated his cautious views regarding the surge in global stock markets, although he said […]

Philippines Cuts Key Rate a Fifth Time to Revive Slowing Growth

The Philippine central bank cut its benchmark interest rate a fifth consecutive meeting to boost the economy after first-quarter growth slumped to the weakest in a decade.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reduced the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits by a quarter of a percentage point to a 17-year low of 4.25 percent, […]

Moody’s Says North Korea Test Won’t Affect South Korea’s Rating

Moody’s Investors Service said the first nuclear test in three years by North Korea yesterday won’t affect South Korea’s sovereign credit rating.
South Korea’s stocks and currency slid after the communist North said yesterday it conducted a nuclear test and also launched three short-range missiles. The Kospi share index tumbled as much as 6.3 […]

Mortgages Over 5% Mean Fed Purchases as Bonds Slump

The world’s biggest investors are increasing bets that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will boost purchases of Treasuries as the steepest losses on government debt since 1994 send mortgage rates above 5 percent.
The slump in Treasuries the past seven weeks pushed yields on longer-maturity bonds up by more than half a percentage […]