Algeria bought 600,000 tonnes of wheat, traders said on Monday, snapping up grain at a time of high prices and tight supply even as neighbouring countries take measures to head off Tunisia-style unrest over food inflation.
Developing countries and economies in transition together attracted more foreign investment than developed countries in 2010 for the first time, a United Nations study showed on Monday.
International observers gave south Sudan's independence referendum their seal of approval on Monday and said a vote for secession was now virtually certain in their first official judgment on the poll.
Euro zone finance ministers called on Monday for an increase in the effective lending capacity of the currency bloc's rescue fund, but EU paymaster Germany said there was no urgency and it would be March before a firm plan was in place.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet urged Ireland and Greece to live up to commitments made in return for financial help and said a broader European safety fund should be beefed up.
Thousands of people protested against Hungary's new media law on Friday, demanding the government withdraw the legislation which has drawn fire from several EU member states.
Bloody post-election deadlock in Ivory Coast washed into the halls of West Africa's central bank on Friday, where rival presidents see control of state funds as a key to victory in a battle that has cost hundreds of lives.
Inflation risks in the euro zone could well move to the upside and the 17-country region's economic outlook has clearly improved, European Central Bank Governing Council Axel Weber said on Friday.
The Euro extended its rally on the currency markets, spiking to a 4-week high vs. the Dollar of $1.3450 before easing back. Thus, Gold priced in Euros dropped almost 5% from Monday's near-record high.
Companies will no longer be able to force staff to retire at 65, Britain's government said on Thursday in a move to boost the number of older people staying on at work as the population ages.
South African blue-chip stocks booked another 2-1/2-year closing high on Thursday, rising 0.6 percent as shares of Anglo Platinum and other resource companies continued their recent run.
The European Central Bank will face a grilling on its assessment of the euro zone debt crisis and firming price pressures in the bloc after it left interest rates on hold at 1 percent on Thursday.
Spain and Italy staged successful bond sales on Thursday, easing concerns about an escalation of euro zone debt strife and buying the bloc's leaders more time to come up with a new package of anti-crisis measures.
2011 is shaping up as a race to the bottom for currency values, writes Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff in today's Financial Times. No wonder gold has been so attractive.
President Hu Jintao of China is coming to America next week, to meet with President Barack Obama and discuss relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fired his interior minister on Wednesday to try to staunch the worst unrest in decades, but fresh clashes with police broke out and witnesses said one man was killed
In his first speech as Britain’s new Minister of Trade and Investment, Stephen Green (The Baron Green of Hurstpierpoint) emphasized the vital importance of China to British UK economy.
Pork tainted with the highly toxic chemical dioxin may have been sold in Germany, authorities said on Wednesday.
If European Banks pay a one-time tax of 50 billion euros, it could help restore some stability to the EU, Reuters said, citing documents from the European Commission obtained by them.
Gold holdings rose because of purchase by the central bank of Estonia to cover its contribution to the ECB's foreign reserve assets, the ECB said.
The extra fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts approved in December could produce a 4 percent growth rate for the U.S. economy in the first half of 2011, but there are lingering risks that could lead to a cold shower in 2012, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
The European Union's top economics official called on Wednesday for a strengthening of Europe's financial safety net as Portugal, widely seen as the next candidate for a bailout, returned to the market for funds.
