UK food bank inquiries show a shocking rise of 78 percent in the last six months. There has been an “alarming” 78 percent increase in the number of food bank inquiries in Britain over the last six months, a charity says. According to figures released by Citizens Advice, more Britons are asking for emergency food aid as poverty rises throughout the country. The charity also warned that people... 

Chinese consumers’ spending has surged in recent years Even with the ongoing slowdown of China’s economic growth, the world’s No 2 economy is expected to overtake the US to become the world’s largest consumer market in the next five years, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s (S&P). The report – entitled Financial Risks Are Rising as Retail and... 

Canada’s unemployment rate has climbed to 7.2 percent, with a record number of layoffs in the public sector, Press TV reports. The Bank of Canada reported recently that the country’s economy lost 39,400 jobs in July, which pushed the jobless rate up 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month. The area, which suffered the largest loss was the public sector with 74,000 layoffs last month.... 

NSA’s building in Fort Meade military base in the state of Maryland, near Washington DC Brazil may cancel a planned 4-billion-dollar purchase of US warplanes over recent revelations that American spy agency NSA also conducted electronic surveillance on Brazilian Internet communications. When visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with top Brazilian officials in the capital of Brasilia... 

The number of Americans who decided to renounce their citizenship in the second quarter of 2013 increased sixfold the same period in 2012, a number the federal government attributes to strict impending financial disclosure rules. The United States is the only country out of 34 in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that continues to tax citizens regardless of where they... 

Food-stamp use in the US rose by over 1 million during the past year to a record 47.6 million, or nearly one in six Americans. According to a report released by the US Department of Agriculture on Friday, food-stamp use rose 2.4 percent in May, with more than 15 percent of the US population now receiving benefits. There were about 32 million Americans on Food Stamps when President Barack Obama took... 

Japan’s national debt exceeded 1,000 trillion yen, or $10.46 trillion, for the first time. It’s now well above 200% of the country’s GDP and is larger than that of Germany, France and the UK combined. Japan has increased borrowing this year to spend more on the country’s infrastructure as part of an ambitious program of economic stimulus aimed at ending 20 years of stagnation and falling... 

A package of measures proposed by the Italian government aimed at improving its struggling economy has received final approval by the country’s parliament. The package, approved on Friday, includes measures aimed at reorganizing financial resources, limiting bureaucracy, and improving the country’s civil justice system. The package prioritizes infrastructure by allocating some 3 billion euros... 

Fresh data show that the unemployment rate in debt-ridden Greece hit a record high in May, with youth accounting for the largest jobless number. Greece’s jobless rate reached 27.6 percent in May, up from 27.0 percent in April, according to a report released on Thursday by Greece’s statistic service LSTAT. The agency added that the youth aged between 15 and 24 were hit the hardest with a 64.9 unemployment... 

New York City Mayor Bloomberg As New York City wrestles with rising pension and health care costs, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has warned that the city runs a real risk of bankruptcy like Detroit. Detroit’s bankruptcy and the problems facing its pension funds have concerned many states and cities across America with Mayor Bloomberg becoming the latest official to warn that his city may go the way of... 

Australia will post a budget deficit of $30.1 billion for the fiscal year, a gross miscalculation from its May estimate of $18 billion, but the government promises to stay on track. Federal Treasurer Chris Bowen, speaking on the newly-released economic report, said Australia is undergoing ‘economic transition’ and ‘not a crisis’. Bowen predicts weaker economic growth, increased unemployment,... 

Brazil’s executive director at the IMF Paulo Nogueira Batista Latin American countries have refused to endorse a recent move by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release 1.7 billion euros ($2.29 billion) of rescue loans to Greece. Paulo Nogueira Batista, who represents Brazil and 10 other Latin American countries on the IMF executive board, revealed on Wednesday that the group refused... 

Supporters of Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Morsi walk past his portrait during a protest outside a mosque in Cairo on July 23, 2013. Saudi Arabia has transferred USD 2 billion to the Egyptian Central Bank as part of an aid package Riyadh has pledged to Cairo following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. The USD 2 billion of Saudi funds arrived in the form of a five-year interest-free... 

Protestors in Detroit last month objected to plans to cut pension benefits of city workers and retirees. The federal judge overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy case says he will hold a hearing Wednesday to take up a request by the city’s emergency manager to put on hold state lawsuits challenging the bankruptcy filing. The new development comes as the legal wrangling over the bankruptcy of the city... 

According to declassified data Russia holds 17 billion tons of oil and 48 billion cubic meters of gas. Moscow believes revealing the extent of the vast reserves will lead to a surge of investment in the extraction and production of hydrocarbons. The country’s recoverable oil reserves in the C1 category (proven reserves) totals 17.8 billion tons; category C2 (preliminary estimated reserves) is 10.2...