Mario Draghi gave his strongest signal yet that the European Central Bank is likely to start large-scale government-bond purchases by saying he can’t rule out deflation in the euro area. The ECB president seldom gives interviews and his comments to the German newspaper Handelsblatt reflect a drive to win over that nation. Policy makers there have led criticism of quantitative easing, saying it threatens financial stability, reduces the incentive for governments to restructure their economies, an

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) ― The fine print Argentina blames for failed negotiations with disgruntled creditors expires Thursday, theoretically clearing the way for a deal to lift the country out of default ― if the two sides want it. Even as it careered toward its second debt default in 13 years last July, Argentina insisted it could not swerve away from the precipice because of something called a RUFO, or Rights Upon Future Offers clause.The RUFO clause is part of Argentina’s 2005 and 2010 debt restru

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Thursday pledged to carry out crucial structural reforms this year as part his drive to kickstart the economy, while stressing the country remained pacifist as he pursues his nationalist agenda.“This year we will once again make the economy the foremost priority, delivering the warm winds of economic recovery to every corner of the nation,” he said in his new year statement, weeks after winning a landslide election.“We will decisively execute our

Greece’s flirtation with an exit from the euro in 2011 and two cliffhanger elections in 2012 prompted the darkest days of the debt crisis, halted only by the European Central Bank’s pledge to save the currency come what may.Now, with the collapse of another Greek government, Europe’s leaders, its more vulnerable economies and financial markets are better prepared. While euro in-or-out threats will echo through the Greek election campaign, the spillover across Europe this time is likely to be con

ALGIERS (AP) ― Algeria’s oil minister on Sunday called on OPEC to cut production and raise the price of oil, which has plunged dramatically in the last six months.The call by Youcef Yousfi to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Algeria is a member, comes as the country is struggling to deal with a halving of oil prices from $120 barrel to $60 a barrel.“For us, OPEC has to intervene to correct the imbalance and cut production to bring up prices and defend the income of its

The Kingdom Tower stands illuminated at night on King Fahad Road in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Bloomberg)Saudi Arabia is seeking to open its $509 billion stock exchange to foreign investors in April, according to three people briefed on the country’s plans. The Capital Market Authority informed brokers and fund managers of the timeline in London last month, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the meeting was private. Saudi Arabia isn’t planning significant changes to draft rules p

Foreign investors have had just about enough of Abenomics. After pumping record amounts of cash into Japanese shares last year, they’ve hardly added to holdings in 2014. Inflows are down 94 percent this year to 898 billion yen ($7.5 billion), on pace for the smallest annual amount since the 2008 global financial crisis. The month of April 2013 alone registered almost three times as much foreign investment in the stock market as all of 2014. These figures provide the clearest look at how global i

Amazon.com Inc. and other retailers are on pace to sell more products online than ever this holiday season, aided by early promotions and investments in delivery systems that helped avoid the widespread shipping delays of last year. Web sales rose 14 percent from Nov. 27 to Dec. 21, consulting firm ChannelAdvisor Corp. said in a statement earlier this week. That’s roughly in line with ComScore Inc.’s November forecast that online purchases would gain 16 percent to $61 billion during the three mo

China’s industrial profits fell the most in two years last month, the latest data to show a deepening slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy as pressure grows on the nation’s central bank to ease monetary conditions. Total profits of China’s industrial enterprises in November dropped 4.2 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday in Beijing. That followed October’s 2.1 percent decline and a 0.4 percent increase in September. It’s the biggest slide since

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― India’s central bank chief lashed out at Uber, already under fire over the alleged rape of a passenger, saying the U.S. taxi-hailing firm violated the country’s financial regulations by using an overseas payment system.A row over the highly valued start-up’s financial transactions erupted in India earlier this year after domestic taxi firms complained Uber was not following the country’s two-step authentication system for e-commerce credit card payments.“They (Uber) were using

Prime Minister Abe unleashes plan to fight recession, curb debt

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., the world’s biggest payments networks, halted services to Crimea after the U.S. escalated sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of the peninsula and its activities in Ukraine. The card firms are responding to an executive order from the Obama administration last week, according to emails Friday from the companies’ Russian press offices. “Visa is now prohibited from offering Visa-branded products and services to Crimea,” the company said. “This means that we