FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the bank is considering doing more to shore up the ailing eurozone economy.In comments following the bank's widely anticipated decision to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.75 percent, Draghi confirmed that an interest rate cut was discussed.He also said the 23-member governing council was looking at ``various tools'' that go beyond lower interest rates in case the economic recovery doesn't

BEIJING (AFP) ― Gleaming new helicopters and small planes worth millions of dollars are on show at Beijing’s first “aircraft supermarket,” but some wealthy private buyers will still face curbs when taking to the skies.“Selling airplanes in China is as easy as selling cabbages,” said Zhang Changyi, a manager at the “supermarket”, standing beside an imported French helicopter.The dealership opened this week in a cluster of buildings surrounded by farmland on the edge of the capital, offering a ran

TOKYO (AFP) ― The Bank of Japan unveiled fresh easing measures Thursday to kickstart the stuttering economy after its first policy meeting under new management, moves hailed by some analysts as game-changing.The yen plunged on the news, sparking a huge swing in the Nikkei 225 stock index, with investors cheering the measures as Japan wrestles with a mixed bag of economic data and no clear sign of a firm recovery.A moderate 5.0-magnitude quake struck east of the Japanese capital just as the bank

The Bank of Japan unveiled fresh easing measures Thursday, sending the yen plunging after the central bank's first policy meeting under a new leader who has vowed to turn around the stuttering economy.The closely watched announcement was welcomed by as a "positive surprise" by investors, who had been concerned new governor Haruhiko Kuroda would fall short of expectations after promising to reverse decades of deflation and limp growth.After a two-day meeting the central bank said it would embark

Finance chief Michalis Sarris steps down to ease probe of crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) ― A survey shows U.S. manufacturing activity expanded more slowly in March than February, held back by weaker growth in production and new orders. But factories hired at the fastest pace in nine months, an encouraging sign ahead of Friday’s report on March employment. The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of factory activity slipped to 51.3 percent. The index fell from 54.2 percent in February, which was the fastest growth since June 2011. A reading above