Pope’s new encyclical will focus on economy, jobs amid global crisis

October 7th, 2009 TORONTO - Canada's Jim Flaherty has been named the finance minister of the year by Euromoney magazine. The honour comes after the World Economic Forum rated Canada's performance as the best among G8 economies in the current global crisis.

September 25th, 2009 Obama: Global economy 'back from the brink'PITTSBURGH — President Barack Obama says action by the Group of 20 nations since April has "brought the global economy back from the brink." "Financial markets have come back to life, and we stopped the crisis from spreading further to the developing world," Obama said, speaking in Pittsburgh as the G-20 Summit ended. "Still," he said, "we know there's much further to go." He said coordinated efforts have saved millions of jobs and set the world on the road to more economic accountability and less rewarding of "short-term greed." "Going forward, we cannot tolerate the same old boom-and-bust economy of the past," the president said.

August 13th, 2009 Vatican newspaper hails Swiss-US bank dealVATICAN CITY — The Vatican's newspaper on Thursday praised as a step toward "ethical finance" a deal announced by the Swiss and U.S. governments to settle American demands for the identities of suspected tax dodgers.

July 7th, 2009 Pope proposes new financial order guided by ethicsVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI called Tuesday for a new world financial order guided by ethics and the search for the common good, denouncing the profit-at-all-cost mentality blamed for bringing about the global financial meltdown. In the third encyclical of his pontificate, Benedict pressed for reform of the United Nations and international economic and financial institutions to give poorer countries more of a say in international policy.

July 4th, 2009 Pope urges G8 leaders to act on crisisVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has urged G-8 leaders meeting in Italy next week to rewrite global financial rules and defend the world's poor from the effects of the economic downturn, the Vatican said Saturday. In a letter to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who will chair the summit, Benedict appealed to leaders to "listen to the voice of Africa and of the countries that are less developed economically." Benedict said the economic crisis means there is a "real risk not only that hopes to emerge from extreme poverty will be dashed, but that populations that so far have benefited from a minimum of material well-being will fall into poverty." The pope called on the leaders to "reform the international financial architecture" to avoid the speculative operations blamed for the crisis and ensure public and private credit is made available for economic development and job creation, especially in poor regions.

June 30th, 2009 Turkish economy shrank 13.8 percent in Q1ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's economy shrank by a painful 13.8 percent in the first quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago as foreign trade contracted sharply amid the global recession, the Turkish Statistics Institute announced on Tuesday. Exports declined by 41 percent in the year to May while imports dropped by 43.9 percent, the institute said.

June 29th, 2009 Pope signs new globalization encyclicalVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI signed his latest encyclical Monday, a text on ways to make globalization more attentive to meeting the needs of the poor amid the worldwide financial crisis. The document, entitled "Charity in Truth," is expected to be published soon.

June 26th, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - Warning against protectionist tendencies to address the global economic crisis, India has said that while it has fared much better than others, developing countries must get space to continue To grow. "We have a vested interest in the world economy doing well as that is a key enabler for our growth too," Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said Thursday at the UN Conference on World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development.

June 17th, 2009 Diamond-rich Namibia hit by global slumpWINDHOEK, Namibia — Namibia's central bank governor said Wednesday the diamond-rich southern African nation's economy will shrink by 0.6 percent in 2009 as mining slows in the global economic crisis. Diamond production will fall by 40 percent to 800,000 carat this year, Bank of Namibia governor Tom Alweendo said.

June 8th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Airline chiefs gathered in Malaysia Monday for an international aviation meeting to focus on strategies to fight off a deepening crisis in global air travel. More than 500 aviation industry leaders will be attending the two-day International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meeting in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

June 4th, 2009 Bernanke: crisis shows need for more researchWASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the global financial crisis highlights the need for economists to deepen their understanding of how events on Wall Street can affect the broader economy. In prepared remarks to a Fed conference, Bernanke says: "The rationale for such research has certainly been underscored by the financial crisis that began in August 2007 and the powerful adverse effects of the crisis on economic activity around the globe." The Fed chief's remarks didn't mention current economic conditions, or offer clues as to whether the central bank would announce any additional steps to shore up the economy at its meeting later this month.

May 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said the new government's focus will be on restoring the economy and ensure inclusive growth. 'Our first priority is to restore the economy, especially keeping the global recession (in mind),' the prime minister told reporters after assuming office for a second term after his Congress party's sweeping win in the general election.

May 13th, 2009 South Korea's jobless rate falls to 3.8 percentSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in April, government data showed Wednesday, adding to signs the country's battered economy is improving. The jobless rate declined from 4 percent in March, the Korea National Statistical office announced.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW HAVEN - Ivy League business school Yale School of Management will Friday organise a seminar on emerging business opportunities in India during the current economic crisis. The seminar will focus on the impact of the global financial crisis on the Indian economy and discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by foreign investors in India.

January 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Amid a worldwide economic downturn, Indians have emerged as the most optimistic lot as people who think that their country will climb out of recession in the next 12 months, a survey said. 'Despite the global economic recession, about 51 percent Indians, the highest in the world, seem to be quite confident of the economy picking up in the near future,' said Sonia Pall, Executive Director in Consumer Research at The Nielsen Company, which conducted the survey.