Choking effect of austerity spreading in Europe
LONDON: Surveys of private-sector activity in the eurozone have confirmed what many already knew: the core countries of France and Germany are being dragged down by Spain, Italy and the periphery of Portugal, Ireland and Greece

Swiss vote to curb executives’ pay
THE public backlash against soaring executive pay gained further momentum on Sunday when Swiss voters approved measures to curb executives’ pay and outlawed the golden goodbyes which can result in directors pocketing multimillion-pound rewards for failure.

China overtakes US in world trade
China has become the world’s biggest trading nation in goods, ending the post-war dominance of the United States.

Austerity has worsened Greek crisis
AN influential group of international banks and insurers has attacked political leaders in Europe over their handling of the Greek crisis, arguing that the single-minded pursuit of austerity has made the situation worse.

Big economies feel the heat
GERMAN manufacturing nosedived and US production slowed down last month amid concern that the euro crisis was dragging the world’s biggest economies back into recession.