AFP - Inflation in the euro countries slumped in December to 1.6 percent -- the lowest in over two years -- from 2.1 percent in November, according to an estimate on Tuesday from EU.. READ MORE

AFP - Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it would suspend production at all of its domestic plants for 11 days between February and March in response to a slump in sales.The move .. READ MORE

January 6, 2009, DUBAI - UAE markets rallied strongly on the first trading day in 2009 yesterday with recent encouraging gains in global markets and some recovery in oil prices. "At year-end, .. READ MORE

AFP - US auto giant General Motors said Monday its sales growth in China slowed to 6.1 percent in 2008, less than a third of the rate seen the previous year as the economic slowdown.. READ MORE

AFP - US auto sales crashed again in December as the industry posted its worst year since 1992 and the Detroit Three saw their annual market share slip beneath 50 percent for the fi.. READ MORE

AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered gas giant Gazprom immediately to cut gas pumped via Ukraine to Europe in response to Ukraine's alleged siphoning from p.. READ MORE

AFP - European Central Bank vice president Lucas Papademos sees a chance of greater supervision of major cross-border banks by the ECB and national eurozone central banks, a press r.. READ MORE

AFP - Waterford Wedgwood, the Irish maker of china and glassware, found itself close to bankruptcy on Monday after failing to secure a buyer amid a global economic slowdown, placing.. READ MORE

AFP - Asian stocks rose on Monday, with Tokyo hitting the highest level for almost two months as investors hoped that the US economy would start to recover this year after a dire 20.. READ MORE

AFP - Shares in investment firm Citic Pacific on Monday shook off news that its entire board of directors was under investigation by Hong Kong's securities watchdog over a costly tr.. READ MORE

January 5, 2009, ABU DHABI - First Gulf bank (FGB) has signed along with five other leading regional and international banks a $323m syndicated loan with Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala). Th.. READ MORE

January 5, 2009, SEOUL - A drop in the number of malfunctions and temporary shut-downs helped raise South Korea's nuclear reactor operational rate to the world's top rankings last year, Yonhap News.. READ MORE

AFP - Japanese share prices moved higher Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei-225 index rising above the psychologically-important 9,000 level for the first time since November 11 in e.. READ MORE

AFP - British finance minister Alistair Darling refused Sunday to rule out fresh government action to help struggling banks although he said it was "not your first port of call.. READ MORE

AFP - China's trade surplus is likely to hit a record 290 billion dollars in 2008 despite woes caused by the global slowdown, state press said Sunday, citing the nation's customs ad.. READ MORE

AFP - Major Japanese companies are bearish over the prospects for the country's crisis-hit economy, with a majority of them seeing a recovery as unlikely until 2010, surveys showed .. READ MORE