Tajikistan made the greatest strides in business-friendly reforms in the past year, part of an overall trend of improving business regulations across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank said in a report released on Tuesday.
Industry
Unknown election outcome is stocks' big fear
A handful of toss-up U.S. Senate races next week could hold the key to whether the stock market glides through the year-end in a typical post-midterm election rally or gets hit with a fresh bout of volatility.
South Korea exports rise 2.5 percent in October, trade surplus at record
South Korean exports rose slightly faster than expected in October but imports saw their sharpest drop in 13 months, dragged down by softer demand for raw materials and capital goods, data showed on Saturday.
U.S. consumer spending falters; wage gains highest since 2008
U.S. consumer spending fell for the first time in eight months in September, suggesting the economy lost some momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
U.S. consumer sentiment at highest since July 2007
U.S. consumer sentiment rose in October to its highest level since in more than seven years on growing optimism about the economy and more favorable personal financial expectations, a survey released on Friday showed.
Latest News
Japan's industrial output rose in September at the fastest pace in eight months in a tentative sign of recovery in factory activity, offering some relief for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he moves closer to making a decision on a second sales tax hike.
Japanese retail sales rose 2.3 percent in September from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, suggesting consumer spending is gradually picking up.
Roughly one in five of the euro zone's top lenders failed landmark health checks at the end of last year but most have since repaired their finances, the European Central Bank said on Sunday.
Two credit rating agencies have reduced Tesco's rating to the cusp of investment grade after a horrible set of first half numbers on Thursday.
Panasonic Corp (6752.T) plans to sell its Sanyo television unit in the U.S., which supplies sets to Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N), to Funai Electric (6839.T) as it steps back from unprofitable businesses, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported.
Euro zone businesses performed much better than forecasters expected this month and China's vast factory sector grew a shade faster but there were worrying signs that the upturn could be short-lived.
Private equity firms are circling Bayer's (BAYGn.DE) 10 billion-euro ($12.7 billion) plastics business, hoping to divert the German drugmaker from its plan to list the division, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Squeezed between cut-throat competition from online financing firms and rising funding costs, China's midsize banks are falling out of investors' favor as they increasingly lag behind the country's top five lenders.
German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) is close to a deal to sell its IT infrastructure unit to IBM (IBM.N), including an outsourcing agreement for the services, as part of a shake-up of its technology activities, it said on Wednesday.
