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German president criticises G20’s crisis approach

German President Christian Wulff criticised efforts by the Group of 20 nations to contain the global financial crisis, saying they were too small in scale and had achieved little. Last month’s summit of G20 leaders in France failed to bring progress which the world urgently needed, Wulff said, citing regulation of the financial sector and…

Pakistan flood pain lingers

The 2010 floods in Pakistan started late in July, following heavier than normal monsoon rains in Balochistan, the Punjab, Sindh, Pakhtunkhwa and the Khyber; in fact the whole Indus River Basin was affected. At one stage nearly 20 percent of Pakistan’s land area was covered with water, a total of some 307,374 square miles (796,095…

State entities in Dubai show $101.5bn debt

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday said Dubai and its state-owned non-financials have outstanding debt of $101.5bn and could require further financial support to meet their obligations. The credit rating agency’s report showed that it remains concerned about the emirate’s maturing debt in spite of the “significant process” made by the authorities and state-owned companies to…

Italian cabinet approves radical austerity measures

Italy’s new Prime Minister Mario Monti announced late on Sunday and ahead of a crucial EU summit on Thursday and Friday, that his cabinet has approved a €30bn package of austerity measures to help “reawaken” the Italian financial system. Europe’s third biggest economy is scheduled to present the plan to parliament today in a bid…

India’s growth dips to two-year low 6.9 percent

India’s economy in the July to September quarter expanded at its slowest pace in over two years to 6.9 percent year-on-year compared to 8.4 percent for the same period last year. Data released Wednesday by the Central Statistics Office showed that manufacturing experienced a sharp decline, growing only 2.7 percent, while mining contracted by 2.9…

Fitch cuts US credit outlook to negative

Fitch Ratings late on Monday warned the US it may cut its AAA rating if policymakers failed to agree on a “credible plan” to reduce its swelling budget deficit by 2013. There is a “slightly greater than 50 percent chance of a downgrade over a two year horizon,” said Fitch. The ratings agency downgraded the…