Forex / World news

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - Poland is continuing to oppose a planned EU voting system under proposals for a new European treaty, sources for the EU's German presidency said."I didn't really notice that much accommodation or movement on their part," one source said...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The OECD believes South Korean monetary policy should focus on medium-term inflation targets while maintaining a flexible exchange rate policy.The organisation said in its country report that seeking to dampen the housing market through higher interest rates may have adverse effects...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition agreed to delay upper house elections by a week, according to media reports.Abe's approval rating has plummeted in the past month due to a series of scandals and agovernment agency's admission that it has misplaced millions of payments to the pension system...

DUBLIN (Thomson Financial) - Ireland's trade surplus expanded by almost 30 pct to 2.953 bln eur (3.958 bln usd) in April from the March figure, official data showed on Tuesday.The trade surplus widened by 6.3 pct in March from February.Exports dropped month on month by 2...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - A summary of Asian economic and corporate news at 1000 GMTJAPAN:-Japan keeps overall economic assessment unchanged in June; 'economy recovering'-Resona says may sell preferred shares to settle govt debt-Daihatsu to withdraw from Vietnam, blames high taxes-Nissan Motor to boost UK plant capacity to meet demand for Qashqai car-Kawasaki Heavy considering new plant to meet Boeing 787 demand-Astellas to market new immunosuppressive drug Advagraf in Germany, UK-Japanese major banks' ratings upgraded amidst improving economy - S&PSOUTH KOREA:-SKorea parliamentary committee approves new capital markets bill-Three largest department stores' sales fall 3...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The UK's labour laws could come under serious threat from a European Union charter of rights, the Confederation of British Industry head Richard Lambert will warn today, according to the Financial Times.Lambert is expected to say in a speech to the Centre for European reform that the EU's charter of fundamental rights could undo Thatcherite labour market reforms through its "right to strike" provision if Tony Blair fails to stop it gaining legal force...

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party won a solid majority to launch his reform programme in legislative election yesterday, but failed to secure the predicted landslide as the socialist opposition made a surprise comeback...

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japan's ruling party plans to extend the parliamentary session, possibly delaying key elections,according to local media reports.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has agreed with heavyweights in his ruling Liberal Democratic Party toextend the current session of parliament, originally set to finish at the end of this week, NipponTelevision reported...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British officials are "very worried" about kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston after the radical Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, a Foreign Office diplomat said today."We are very worried about (Johnston's) situation...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - A summary of Asian economic and corporate news at 1000 GMTJAPAN:-Bank of Japan keeps overnight call rate target unchanged-Bank of Japan keeps assessment in June; says economy to sustain modest growth-Japan April tertiary index up 1...

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Debate on the introduction of a minimum wage in Germany -- a divisive element in the country's coalition government -- could be revived next week after months of stalemate.Distance between the Social Democrats Party (SDP) and the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), who will meet on Monday for the first of a series of talks, is narrowing...

GAZA CITY (Thomson Financial) - Hamas fighters opened fire on the overall Palestinian security headquarters for the Gaza Strip and demanded its surrender, according to broadcasts on the Islamist movement's television."The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades calls on members of the Saraya (the headquarters) security in Gaza to surrender," Al-Aqsa television declared, announcing that the battle to capture the premises had begun...

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Pollution in Hong Kong has increased dramatically in the decade since the territory was handed back to China by the UK, environmental group Friends of the Earth said.The group said haze blanketed the city on more than twice as many days last year than in 1997, when the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule...

2007-06-13 15:09:41US April business inventories up 0.4 pct, sales up 0.7 pct; above expectationsWASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - US business inventories rose 0.4 pct inApril, according to the Commerce Department, above the expected 0.3 pctincrease.2007-06-13 15:07:17Latvia Jan-April current account deficit 1...

JOHANNESBURG (Thomson Financial) - The biggest strike in South Africa since the end of apartheid intensified on Wednesday as hundreds of thousands more workers downed tools, bringing large parts of the country to a standstill.Bus and train services, refuse collections and court sittings all stopped as unions staged a massive show of strength with marches through the centre of the country's main cities...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his successor, Gordon Brown, will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy for talks in London on June 19, Blair's spokesman said.The trio are meeting to discuss the EU leaders summit that will take place in Brussels next week...

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Hong Kong is ready for full democracy and its citizens must be given the chance to choose their own leader, said James Cunningham, US consul-general in Hong Kong.He said the "one country, two systems" formula used to govern Hong Kong since the 1997 handover from Britain has worked well, but despite the city's economic success and autonomy, it should be given the chance to choose its own leader...

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - Belgian finance minster Didier Reynders said he hopes to wrap up talks on the formation of a new Belgian government by the end of the month.Speaking at a press conference here he said he will then contact the King to discuss the formation of the government...

GENEVA (Thomson Financial) - The International Committee of the Red Cross warned today that Afghan civilians were paying the price as increasingly bitter fighting between international forces and Taliban insurgents spreads across Afghanistan."The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worse now than it was a year ago," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross...

VILNIUS (Thomson Financial) - The Lithuanian finance ministry said today annual growth could come to more 8.0 pct this year rather than an earlier predicted 7.2 pct."The economy is stimulated with credit resources, the number of employed people is rapidly growing, and it is likely that the growth of GDP will not slow down in 2007 and may be considerably above eight percent," the ministry said in statement...