INFLATION

The Bank of England took a far bigger step than expected to boost Britain's recession-hit economy on Thursday, stunning markets by expanding its quantitative easing plan to 175 billion pounds from 125 billion.

The European Central Bank kept its main refinancing rate unchanged at a record low of 1.0 percent on Thursday, as expected by economists.

The Bank of England will decide whether to expand its quantitative easing program later on Thursday, and economists are split down the middle over the central bank's choice.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at a record low on Thursday as it waits to see the impact of efforts so far to revive the economy and credit flows.

The Bank of England took a far bigger step than expected to boost Britain's recession-hit economy on Thursday, expanding its quantitative easing program to 175 billion pounds from 125 billion.

The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold at a record low on Thursday as it waits to see the impact of efforts so far to revive the economy and credit flows.

The European Central Bank and Bank of England appeared set on Thursday to keep interest rates unchanged, prompting equity investors to extend their five-month rally but keeping currency and bond markets edgy.

A closely-watched gauge of U.S. factory activity likely rose in July but stayed below the level showing expansion, suggesting the economy might start to emerge from recession in the second half of the year.

A middle-income family can expect to spend $291,570 including inflation to raise a child born in 2008 to adulthood, the government estimated on Tuesday, up slightly from the estimate made a year ago.

U.S. consumers spent more in June and there was positive news on the housing market, but a big drop in incomes pointed to a slow recovery from the worst recession in decades.

U.S. consumers spent more in June and pending sales of previously owned homes also rose, data issued on Tuesday showed, but the biggest drop in incomes in four-and-a-half years pointed to a slow recovery from the worst recession in decades.

U.S. consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in June, lifted by expenditures on nondurable goods even as incomes saw their biggest drop in four-and-a-half years, a government report showed on Tuesday.

U.S. consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in June, a government report showed on Tuesday, likely pushed up by higher gasoline prices, and incomes saw their biggest drop in four-and-a-half years.

Despite a pick up in sales, commercial real estate prices posted a record drop in the second quarter, according to an index developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Real Estate.

South Africa's Communications Workers Union said scores of its members will strike for two days next week, in the latest industrial action to hit the country and pile pressure on President Jacob Zuma.

After attempting to retest the 83 cent handle in early Asian trade yesterday the Aussie dollar ran into some resistance, peeling back to settle around 0.8250 during the afternoon. Early European investors however sold the high yielder after concerns about the Japanese economy following the country's poor Retail Trade data, a much lower than expected German CPI reading and sharp declines in commodity prices.

China's central bank pledged to maintain loose monetary policy to support the economy and said it would ensure sustainable credit growth without resorting to heavy-handed quotas to rein in a lending spree.

The Federal Reserve will act decisively when needed to tighten monetary policy and tamp down any prospects of inflation, a top Fed policy-maker said on Tuesday.

World stocks extended gains to fresh 9-month peaks on Tuesday while the dollar fell to a 2009 low after upbeat U.S. data and optimism over corporate earnings prompted investors to add risky assets.

Western nations fret that China is engaged in a grand strategy as it snaps up natural resource assets around the world -- that it is seeking to control the supply of raw materials and dominate manufacturing processes. But could this be a misreading of its motives?

The U.S. consumer will not drive a global economic recovery and the United States is still at risk from high unemployment and souring commercial real estate loans, said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday.