As we reach the end of a miserable 2009, signs continue to mount across the globe that the world economy is stirring back to life. The U.S. finally returned to growth in the third quarter, with its strongest showing in two years, India posted inspiring 7.9% growth and the results out of tiny Taiwan, one of the economies slammed the hardest by the global recession, were so impressive one economist beamed that the island "got its groove on." Stock ...

The journalist Hu Shuli has often been called "the most dangerous woman in China." And she may become even more so. As the pioneering editor of China's most influential business magazine, she managed to publish groundbreaking stories on official ineptitude and financial malfeasance despite China's tight control of the media. She may be on the verge of even greater freedom after cutting her ties with the owners of her magazine. On Monday, Hu announced that she was resigning ...

David Letterman may be under attack from some quarters after the revelations that he had sexual affairs with staffers, but he still has the support of a number of notables, as well as TV viewers. On Monday, "Late Show with David Letterman" pulled in 5.7 million viewers, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which is a 19 percent increase over the show's average of 4.8 million. It was one of the most widely watched shows of the season. (One of the ...

Banks round the world have still to reveal about half of their likely losses resulting from the financial and economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, warning that there was still a "significant" risk of another downward lurch in the global recession. The IMF described credit risks as remaining "elevated" even though financial conditions have improved significantly since spring. It said these risks, alongside weakened banks, were likely to depress the availability of new credit and damp the ...

As the leaders of the world's industrial powers gather this week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, their economies are starting to emerge from the shadow of the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression. A year ago, global markets were in free fall as governments moved to prop them up, sometimes nationalizing financial institutions and automakers. At this year's Group of 20 summit, the leaders will begin looking at an exit strategy for the programs that were considered necessary, but often added ...

Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom on Tuesday said they wanted to merge their British mobile-phone units T-Mobile UK and Orange UK to create a market leader better able to compete with two remaining big rivals. The two companies said they had started exclusive negotiations about putting their assets into a 50-50 joint venture by the end of October. The combined company would have 28.4 million subscriptions or 37 percent of the UK's mobile-phone user base. Deutsche Telekom would put its ...

Feel like your company has been particularly stingy on the raises this year? You're not imagining it. For 2009, the typical non-hourly worker will see a 1.8% bump in salary, according to a survey by the HR consultancy Hewitt Associates. That increase, the smallest in at least 33 years, doesn't even keep up with inflation. Yes, it's true, we're in a recession, and nearly one in ten workers is unemployed. There are plenty of people willing to work for ...

The expletive-laden rant Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner unleashed during a closed meeting with regulators on Friday, July 31, has players in Washington and on Wall Street wondering one thing: What got the usually mild-mannered Geithner so incensed? Establishing a new regulatory framework for the financial markets is not the kind of politically charged, life-or-death issue that should drive a normally discreet Cabinet member to go on a blue streak in front of dozens of officials. But Geithner and the ...

The Securities & Exchange Commission , concerned about the exponential growth of hyper-frequency trading, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 4, that it was considering a ban on one form of this activity, known as flash trading. But it has said nothing about an even bigger element of high-frequency trading, known as co-location, even as the New York Stock Exchange is building two new facilities to house such traders. High-frequency trading is a catchall description of several ...

For a while there, it looked like the doomsayers would be proved right. On July 29, the Shanghai Composite Index lost as much as 7.7% of its value before ending the day down 5% on record-breaking trading volume of $43.3 billion. The sell-off was the largest one-day decline in Chinese stocks in eight months, and set off panic purging in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index lost 2.4%. Even the U.S. got dinged, with the Dow Jones Industrial ...