Flaherty to Raise Canada’s 2010 Growth Outlook

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s March 4 budget may include a stronger forecast for 2010 economic growth, a survey of analysts showed, giving him more scope to fight the country’s rising debt burden.
Canada’s economy will expand 2.7 percent in 2010, faster than the 2.3 percent projected in the September fiscal update, according to […]

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SEC charges fraud against Canopy, executive

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against Canopy Financial Inc., the health care financial services company that tumbled into bankruptcy this week amid accusations that it had falsified financial reports.
In its complaint, the SEC alleges that Canopy and Jeremy Blackburn — the former president and chief operating officer who resigned shortly after the […]

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Companies drop pensions, pay execs $350 million: watchdog

Ten large U.S. companies paid senior executives a total of $350 million in the few years prior to dropping traditional pension plans for employees, a Congressional watchdog said on Thursday.
Forty executives in a range of industries received the compensation in base salaries, bonuses, severance and perks in the five years before the pension plans […]

U.K. Consumer Confidence Index Increases to 1 1/2-Year High

U.K. consumer confidence rose to the highest in 1 1/2 years in September as the economy showed signs of escaping the recession, Nationwide Building Society said.
An index of sentiment rose six points to 71, the highest since April 2008, Britain’s biggest customer-owned lender said in an e-mailed statement today. TNS questioned 1,000 people […]

European Manufacturing, Services Growth Tops Estimate

Europe’s manufacturing and services industries expanded more than initially estimated in September, adding to signs the economy is gaining steam after the worst recession in six decades.
A composite index of both industries in the euro-area economy rose to 51.1, up from 50.4 in August and higher than an initial estimate of 50.8, London-based […]

Home Prices in U.S. Probably Fell at Slower Pace, Confidence Up

Home values in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas probably declined at a slower pace and consumer confidence improved, signs the recession is abating as the real-estate crisis eases, economists said before reports today.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index fell 14.2 percent in July from a year earlier, the least in 17 months, according to the median […]

IMF’s Strauss-Kahn Seeks Recovery First, Then Inflation Fight

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed concern over inflation, while Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, speaking to the Yalta European Conference in southern Ukraine, suggested first securing an economic recovery.
“Going out of the crisis will have consequences, we need to discuss an exit strategy,” said Strauss-Kahn during the […]

Pre boosts Palm smartphone sales 134%

Palm Inc.’s smartphone sales rose 134% to 823,000 units during the latest quarter on the back of the new Pre, but the company still reported its ninth consecutive quarterly loss and sales fell 81%.
The company also announced that it will offer approximately 16 million shares of common stock for "working capital and general […]

Japan May See ‘Catastrophic’ Finances, Weinberg Says

Japan’s incoming government is likely to favor spending and tax policies that may cause a surge in government borrowing and higher long-term bond yields, said international economist Carl B. Weinberg.
“We have a government coming in that’s committed to spend even more than the previous government at a time when increased borrowing to spend […]

Productivity of U.S. Workers Jumps, Labor Costs Drop

The productivity of U.S. workers rose in the second quarter at the fastest pace in almost six years as companies squeezed more out of remaining staff to boost profits.
Productivity, a measure of employee output per hour, rose at a 6.6 percent annual rate, the most since the third quarter of 2003, revised figures […]