Consumers set to spend almost €4bn over Christmas

Irish shops are bracing themselves for their best Christmas since the nadir of the economic collapse, with a new report suggesting consumers are set to spend €4 billion between now and the new year. The upbeat forecast is contained in Retail Ireland’s Christmas...

China ready to cut rates again on fears of deflation

(Reuters) – China’s leadership and central bank are ready to cut interest rates again and also loosen lending restrictions, concerned that falling prices could trigger a surge in debt defaults, business failures and job losses, said sources involved in...

Japan records smallest trade gap since June ’13

Finally, some good news for Japan: the country’s trade deficit was considerably slimmer than anticipated as exports rose at their fastest pace in eight months. The trade deficit came in at Y710bn in October, the smallest shortfall since June 2013 and down 26 per...