Israelis hold banners as they protest in Tel Aviv city on June 30, 2012. Thousands of Israelis have staged rallies in several cities to protest against social inequalities and the rising cost of living. The demonstrations were held in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the northern city of Haifa on Saturday in an attempt to revive last summer’s cost-of-living protest movement. The protesters shouted, “The... 

Most EU members are in favor of issuing eurobonds, but Germany opposes mutual debt obligations. Don Coxe, an investor and chairman of Coxe Advisors LLP, says Berlin cannot afford to hand out more bailouts when confidence in EU banks is crumbling. ­The talks are taking place in Brussels, where EU leaders are meeting for two days to agree on new growth measures for the union. RT: In a recent blog article... 

A home sale sign in Stockton, California, the United States, February 7, 2012 The city of Stockton in the US state of California is set to become the largest American city ever to declare bankruptcy as the financial troubles of the US deepen. A formal bankruptcy filing may come as early as Wednesday following the failure of negotiations between Stockton’s officials and creditors. The northern... 

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has officially announced that it was closing all of its flagship stores in Russia. The most effective sales channels for the company now are the Internet and a network of major retailers and service providers. According to Nokia’s representative in Russia, Lyudmila Semushina, the last single-brand shop will close in late July. The Finns will be developing... 

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (L) and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shake hands in Santiago on June 26, 2012. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has announced that China and Chile plan to increase their bilateral trade to 60 billion US dollars by 2015 in order to strengthen their economic relations. He made the comments at a joint press conference with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago on Tuesday,... 

The Cypriot government has issued a statement confirming that it has officially made an EU bailout bid, citing heavy exposure to debt-stricken Greece. This makes it the fifth state within the currency union to ask for help. The request comes just days before a deadline to recapitalize one of the country’s largest banks. “The purpose of the required assistance is to contain the risks to the Cypriot... 

Japan’s lower house of parliament has endorsed a bill which authorizes the Japanese government to insure shipments of Iranian crude oil imports, in an attempt to counter US-led EU insurance bans against Iran, Press TV reports. The lower house of Japan’s parliament which is mostly comprised of opposition lawmakers passed the bill on Friday to enable Tokyo to provide USD 7.6 billion insurance... 

Portuguese workers protest in a demonstration against the government’s austerity measures, Lisbon, June 16, 2012. People in Portugal have staged a protest rally against the government’s austerity measures imposed to help cap the country’s public debt. Thousands took to the streets of Lisbon on Saturday following a much larger rally in the northern city of Oporto last week. They condemned... 

Russian tank T90C Russian Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees the military-industrial complex, praised the domestic weapons this week. In his words, Russian weapons are not inferior to world’s best standards and may sometimes exceed them. In particular, he pointed out the sniper rifles, which are produced by a private company supported by the Russian government. The company “produces... 

Despite the White House’s efforts to keep a proposed free trade agreement concealed from the public — and even Congress — an excerpt from the TPP leaked Wednesday reveals that President Obama is prepared to bow to multinational corporations. The United States has been engaged in discussion with eight Pacific nations to come to agreement on the terms of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership,... 

Rating agency Moody’s has cut its rating on Spanish government debt by three notches from A3 to Baa3. Cyprus’s sovereign debt was lowered by two notches from Ba1 to Ba3. The agency said Wednesday that Spain’s debt burden would increase once the EU has approved a plan to help the country’s banks. It has Spain under further review and could lower its rating even further, Reuters reports.... 

EU countries have agreed that border control in the Schengen zone can be restored temporarily under “exceptional circumstances.” The measure is moved by the uncontrolled flow of migrants into the EU in the wake of the economic crisis. Under the proposal, which was approved at a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Luxembourg, the control of national borders the Schengen Area would be... 

The logo of Euro 2012 football championships co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in western Poland to protest against the Euro 2012 football championships underway in the country, chanting “bread not games.” Nearly 500 protesters rallied in Poznan on Sunday against the Euro 2012 games arguing that too much money was spent organizing the games. “We’re... 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before Congress this week and warned lawmakers that America’s economic future is landing flat on their shoulders. During a Thursday meeting with congressional leaders in Washington, DC, Chairman Bernanke revealed that the dire dilemma of an “Taxmaggedon” coming to America is not just real but likely to rear its ugly head very soon if Capitol Hill... 

Fitch says the downgrade reflects negative economic and market environment in Spain. Fitch credit ratings agency has downgraded Spain’s rating by three notches citing the country’s banking crisis, mushrooming debt and recession as the main reasons for the downgrade. The international agency announced on Thursday that it has cut Spain’s long-term foreign and local currency to ‘BBB’...