The prospects for ministers pushing through an outline deal in the so-called Doha round of trade talks hang in the balance, with the US struggling with scepticism from Congress and its business and farm lobbies.
Merrill Lynch warned that oil prices could fall as low as $25 a barrel next year if the recession affecting the US, Europe and Japan extended to China, the main driver of demand growth in commodity markets in recent years.
2008 is possibly the worst year of violence in India. There have been terrorist attacks and blasts in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and now in Mumbai. The Indian government is merrily going around boasting of economic growth as ordinary citizens reel under attacks by terrorists.
So clear are the signs of a US downturn that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the most prestigious US independent economic authority, said the country has been in recession since December 2007.
The siege of Mumbai is over. Now the hand-wringing and the finger-pointing begins -- a dangerous period that needs desperately to be turned to advantage, regionally and internationally.
There are no easy answers to this crisis. But governments should consider whether they ought to become the insurer of last resort.
If India cannot industrialise, it will never be prosperous
The first government sukuk was listed on the London Stock Exchange as Britain reaffirmed its reputation as the main western centre for Islamic finance. Bahrain chose London to list its second Islamic bond as it sought to encourage more European and conventional investors to buy the paper. The Gulf kingdom listed its first sukuk in Luxembourg in 2004. Significantly, more than 50 per cent of the paper was bought by European investors.
The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday cut interests rates by 0.75 points from 3 per cent to 2.25 per cent. The cut initially disappointed markets which had risen sharply on hopes of a 1 percentage point cut. The decision was taken by eight votes to two. First quarter earnings at the two Wall Street firms fell less than analysts had expected, easing concerns about the state of the investment banking sector.
Manjit Rajain, Mortice's founder, will hold 75 per cent of the equity after flotation. He will use the funds raised to take the company into broader property and facilities management services across India. He said the company had looked at several stock markets, including in India and Singapore, before deciding to come to Aim because it would be cheaper, quicker and at a higher valuation.
India is keen to expand its banking system to help support its economic growth, which is the second fastest after China among Asia's large countries. Unlike China, its financial system is still small relative to the economy and its banks are dwarfed by many of their international peers, in spite of their vast potential market in India and overseas.
The breakthrough for Scrabulous came when it appeared on the social networking site. Now it claims more than 600,000 daily users, making it one of Facebook's most popular applications.
The truth is that this is an impressive realisation of a corporate vision, a car long-promised, designed explicitly to hit a price point, and one that will meet the needs of poorer consumers. It is safer than a bicycle and cleaner than an old moped.
What is the best course of action for executives trying to allocate a smaller bonus pot? And how should they manage expectations to prevent mass defections or legal action?
The risk of a collision between the Federal Reserve and the markets grew on Friday after Fed governor Randall Kroszner made it clear that the US central bank was not planning to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting, but was largely ignored by investors.
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