The rapid growth in China's bank lending and investment spending slowed in February, official data show, a sign that the government's gradual withdrawal of stimulus policies is starting to have an effect.

Japanese revised down its reading on the economy's fourth-quarter growth rate, saying business investment was weaker than initially thought.

Companies around the globe are aggressively borrowing in the debt markets once again -- a sign of renewed confidence in the world economy.

The jury is still out on what will be the ECB's position on the proposed monetary fund for the currency union—but it's not an outright "no," comments by ECB President Trichet showed.

China's red-hot housing market shows signs of cooling, according to government data, news that is likely to encourage Chinese leaders who face mounting political pressure from urban residents unable to afford new homes.

Small firms are lagging far behind big companies in the early stages of the economic recovery, a dichotomy that is likely to slow the upturn.

Escalating strikes and street protests this week will test the Greek government's ability to see through its austerity strategy.

The high interest rates Greece must pay to borrow money are threatening the country's aggressive projections of a reduced budget deficit, and raising again the specter that it may need external aid.

Both countries held rates steady at all-time lows of 2.5% and 2.0%, respectively. New Zealand signaled a rate increase by midyear.

The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 Wednesday to approve a roughly $150 billion bill that extends a series of tax credits targeted at businesses and individuals.

The U.S. government ran its largest ever monthly budget deficit in February as the country's fiscal year-to-date deficit ballooned more than 10% to a record of $651.60 billion.

Momentum is building for stricter oversight of derivatives trading, as a top U.S. regulator recommended new limits on credit-default swaps and European leaders pushed for a ban on speculative bets against government debt.

Long before the Fed raises short-term interest rates in the face of an improving economy, it will need to signal to the public that a change is in the works. Fed officials are intensifying discussions about how to send that sign when the time comes.

U.S. wholesalers' inventories unexpectedly fell 0.2% in January, as surging demand pulled goods off shelves in the first month of the year.

China's exports in February expanded 45.7% from a year earlier, in their third consecutive month of growth, while imports increased 44.7% in their fourth month of growth.

Debt-laden Ireland is winning applause for adopting severe measures that Greece has put off, but pay cuts and tax hikes have put public servants in some unusual binds.

Egyptian officials have laid out an ambitious set of economic targets for the Arab world's most populous country.

Two new reports show that the job market continues to make small gains, though employers will have to do a lot more hiring before a dent is made in the nation's 9.7% unemployment rate.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said he discussed a European proposal to crack down on financial-market speculation with Obama and received a "very positive" response.

Core machinery orders fell 3.7% in January after unusually strong growth in December, suggesting a full-fledged recovery in business investment is still some way off.