Finance time

An index measuring Australian inflation held at the fastest annual pace in almost two years in March, reinforcing the central bank's decision to increase borrowing costs to the highest in 12 years.
Consumer prices surged 4 percent from a year earlier, breaching the 3 percent limit of the Reserve Bank of Australia's target range, […]

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U.K. house prices rose at the slowest pace in more than a decade in March and consumer confidence was the lowest since 1993, adding to evidence the economy is on course for its weakest performance since the end of the last recession.
Home values climbed 1.1 percent to 179,110 pounds ($359,295) from a year […]

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Chinese industrial companies' profits grew at the slowest pace in almost three years as government controls to stem inflation prevented oil refiners and power generators from raising prices.
Combined net income rose 16.5 percent in January and February to 348.2 billion yuan ($49.6 billion) from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today. The […]

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Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong Tae said soaring prices of oil, grains and other commodities are “leading directly to'' above-target inflation in the world's fourth-largest economy.
“In the case of South Korea, it relies mostly on imports of raw materials and recent price hikes in crude and grains are leading directly to hikes […]

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Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. retail bank, may set aside a record $6.5 billion in the first quarter to cover possible future loan losses, including in its mortgage and home equity portfolios, according to a banking analyst.
Richard Bove of Punk Ziegel & Co also slashed his earnings forecasts […]

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Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin called for quick government action to tackle the rising level of home foreclosures and he indicated taxpayer money will have to be used.
“There is a strong need for urgent action,'' Rubin, who is chairman of Citigroup Inc.'s executive committee, said. “I would be very, very seriously considering the […]

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The Bank of Japan said Masaaki Shirakawa will act as interim governor, filling a vacancy left by Toshihiko Fukui whose term ends today, following a dispute between the government and the opposition.
“Mr. Shirakawa will take up the role of acting governor,'' Fukui said at a press conference in Tokyo to mark the end […]

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China's Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to take “forceful'' steps to damp inflation at an 11-year high, a sign that overheating remains the government's main concern even as financial-market turmoil threatens global growth.
The government's 4.8 percent inflation target for 2008 will be “difficult'' to achieve, Wen said today at his annual press conference given […]

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After losing $1.6 billion in 2007 and watching its U.S. sales plummet in the first two months of this year, Chrysler LLC is taking a drastic new step to right the ship: Requiring all employees worldwide to take a two-week vacation this summer.
Chrysler informed employees of the plan in an e-mail Tuesday that was […]

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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will “take concrete action'' next week to avoid a leadership vacuum at the central bank after the opposition rejected Toshiro Muto, a government spokesman said.
Fukuda will “think hard'' about how to avoid a vacancy when Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui's term ends March 19, Chief Cabinet Secretary […]

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