Asian growth matching the lowest this year since 2009 may receive a boost in 2014 as developed markets from the U.S. to Europe accelerate, according to the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, Pacific Investment Management Co. Four of Asia’s five largest economies outside Japan are slowing as regional expansion stalls at 6.23 percent for a second year, economist forecasts compiled by Bloomberg show. Shipments from China to the U.S. are poised to increase at the slowest pace since 2008 this

MOSCOW (AP) ― Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened his wallet in the battle with the European Union over Ukraine’s future, saying Moscow will buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds and sharply cut the price of natural gas for its economically struggling neighbor. The announcements came after Putin held talks in Moscow with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is facing massive protests at home for his decision to shelve a pact with the EU in favor of closer ties

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a willingness to resist political encroachment has been a key strength of the Fed during its first century as the U.S. central bank. “One value that strikes me as having been at least as important as any other has been the Federal Reserve’s willingness, during its finest hours, to stand up to political pressure and make tough but necessary decisions,” Bernanke said Monday in Washington at a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Fed. He didn’t disc

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Emirates president Tim Clark said he is carefully watching developments at alliance partner Qantas, but ruled out throwing a financial lifeline to the embattled Australian flag carrier, in comments reported on Monday.Earlier this month, Qantas forecast a half-year loss of up to A$300 million ($269 million) and said it would axe 1,000 jobs, leading to a credit downgrade from Standard & Poor’s, which cut its rating to “junk” status.Qantas blamed its predicament on record fuel costs

A Chinese manufacturing index unexpectedly fell to a three-month low as output gains eased and employment weakened, suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is vulnerable to a slowdown. The preliminary reading of 50.5 for a Purchasing Managers’ Index released Monday by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compares with a final figure of 50.8 in November and the 50.9 median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 analysts. A number above 50 indicates expansion. Monday’s report may signal

Gold funds slump an unprecedented 31% with world losing faith

Joerg Asmussen is to leave the European Central Bank’s Executive Board for a government position, depriving President Mario Draghi of a key German ally. Asmussen, 47, will become deputy labor minister in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and will shortly resign from his post at the ECB, he said in a statement distributed by the Frankfurt-based institution Sunday. Asmussen has been on the six-person Executive Board, which implements monetary policy for the euro area, since January 2012

NEW YORK (AFP) ― No.3 U.S. mobile carrier Sprint is considering a bid for rival T-Mobile, a move that could shake up the wireless market, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said the deal could be worth more than $20 billion. But it also said the plan could be scuttled if it faces opposition from regulators.Sprint in July closed a deal which allowed Japan’s SoftBank to take a controlling stake for $21.6 billion, after a bidding war

DUBLIN (AP) ― Ireland’s three-year bailout ordeal ends this weekend, a victory in its battle against bankruptcy. But while the government is ready to finance itself without aid, the Irish can’t yet escape what has become Europe’s longest-running austerity program. The Irish faced ruin in 2010, when the runaway cost of a bank-bailout program begun two years earlier destroyed the country’s ability to borrow at affordable rates. To the rescue came fellow European nations and the International Monet