The euro area current account deficit widened in May to a seasonally adjusted EUR 5.8 billion from EUR 5.6 billion in April, data from the European Central Bank showed Monday. The surplus in goods account increased to EUR 3.1 billion, while that in services decreased to EUR 3.1 billion from EUR ...

Consumer borrowing in the U.S. rose in April for the first time in three months, indicating a recovery in bank lending will take time to develop. The $1 billion rise followed a revised $5.4 billion decrease in March that was previously reported as a $2 billion gain, the Federal Reserve said today...

Net foreign purchases of long-term securities hit a record high in March, the Treasury Department said Monday. Total holdings of equities, notes and bonds increased a net record $140.5 billion in March. This is up from $47.1 billion in the previous month. There was strong demand for Treasurys....

Global trade rebounded further in March, driving U.S. exports and imports to their highest levels since October 2008, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. The U.S. trade deficit - the difference between exports and imports of goods and services - increased by $1 billion to a seasonally a...

The Bank of England announced on Tuesday that individuals injected a net GBP 4 billion into housing equity in the December quarter compared with a revised net injection of GBP 5.1 billion in the September quarter. Housing equity withdrawal is new borrowing secured on dwellings that is not investe...

British net consumer lending rose by 2.1 billion pounds ($3.14 billion) in February, compared to 1.9 billion pounds in January, the Bank of England reported Monday. Economists had forecast a 1.4 billion pound rise. Mortgage approvals fell to 47,094 from 48,099 in January and were below the six-month...

Demand for U.S.-made durable goods rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% to $178.1 billion in February, the third straight increase in a key forward-looking indicator, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Orders for machinery and civilian aircraft were strong in February, while or...

The French budget balance showed a deficit of EUR 9.2 billion in January compared to a shortfall of EUR 8.1 billion seen in the same period of last year, the Budget Ministry revealed Thursday. Expenses increased to EUR 27.3 billion in January from EUR 22.2 billion in the previous year. At the sa...

Canadian factory sales rose to the highest level in a year in December, led by aerospace and motor vehicles. Sales increased 1.6 percent to C$43 billion ($41.1 billion), the sixth gain in seven months, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a rise of 1...

Foreign direct investment in China more than doubled in December from a year earlier as the effects of the financial crisis fade. Investment rose 103 percent from a year earlier to $12.1 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said at a briefing in Beijing today. That compared with a 32 percent increa...