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The European economy has stalled, and is likely to start shrinking soon, just when eurozone countries need help the most.
Growth slowed nearly to a stop this summer, and a recession afflicting small countries like Greece and Portugal threatens to spread to some of Europe’s stronger economies as financial market uncertainty erodes confidence among businesses and […]

Thailand’s former premier says his successor needs to give up her party’s pet projects to free up money for flood recovery.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose party lost to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s party this summer, says some campaign promises the government made must be sacrificed.
Abhisit spoke at a parliament session where Yingluck submitted a budget bill calling […]

Greek lawmakers geared up for a crucial confidence vote in the beleaguered Socialist government Friday, as both main parties floated plans to approve a massive European bailout and call new elections.
A week of political drama has horrified the indebted country’s European partners and overshadowed the Group of 20 summit in the French resort of Cannes. […]

Stocks rose sharply in early trading Wednesday, a day after renewed worries over Europe’s debt crisis roiled markets around the world. Strong corporate earnings and a better employment report helped turn markets around.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 209 points, or 1.8 percent, to 11,867 as of 11 a.m. Eastern. The Dow lost 573 points […]

A Spanish union official says Madrid teachers are staying off the job in massive numbers on the second day of a strike over staff cuts.
Colleagues in the northwest region of Galicia also went on strike.
Virginia Fernandez of the UGT union says official numbers for Madrid are not in but it seems Wednesday’s strike is about […]

ConocoPhillips says it has collected 99 percent of the offshore spills in China’s Bohai Bay and expects to meet a deadline to finish its cleanup by Tuesday.
China’s State Oceanic Administration, meanwhile, criticized the oil company’s handling of the spills which began in June and said it would work with those affected, reportedly including scallops growers […]

Beijing on Friday confirmed a decision that prevents the Democratic Republic of Congo from being sued in Hong Kong courts in a case that raised issues about the Chinese territory’s autonomy.
The Standing Committee of China’s rubberstamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, says Hong Kong, like mainland China, is covered by absolute immunity _ meaning governments […]

Investment guru Stephen Jarislowsky is backing Maple Group

Fears that the global economic recovery has stalled pushed the Dow Jones industrial average below 12,000 for the first time since March and drove the stock market lower for the sixth straight week.
Friday’s drop extended the longest weekly losing streak for stocks since the fall of 2002.
Weak economic news has dampened hopes for a steady […]

Five per cent more passengers travelled on Air Canada (TSX: AC.B) jets in May compared to the same month a year earlier, while competitor WestJet (TSX: WJA) saw a 3.1 per cent year-over-year increase as the major airlines gear up for the busy summer travel period.
Air Canada reported a load factor, a measure of how […]