AP reports that Spain is hitting record numbers of unemployed. The government says the jobless rate now stands at 11.3 percent, although the European Union’s statistical agency puts it at 11.9 percent. Either way, Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the 27-member EU.

Anna Wilard from the Guardian reports on Thursday’s meeting between European ministers in Paris

“The European Central Bank is considering an increased supervisory role in the financial sector in Europe, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Friday” reports Forbes.com.

Shares in Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland plummeted as huge losses at two of America’s biggest financial institutions sparked fresh fears for the future of Britain’s banking industry. Barclays denied it faced financial problems and rushed out a statement to the New York stock... Read More

Sweden’s Ericsson (ERICY) telecoms company forecasts a grim 2009 as global sales slow down. In order to lower costs, the company has announced a reduction in its work force of 6.4%, meaning 5,000 jobs cut.

Analysts annouced Friday that Britain has officially slipped into recession. Latest figures suggest that the last quarter saw the worst quarterly contraction since 1980.

Royal Philips Electronics NV, the giant consumer electronics firm from Holland, posted its first quarterly loss in nearly six years on Monday. Fourth quarter losses amounted to 1.47 billion euros ($1.9 billion) forcing the company to make drastic changes to weather the storm. Philips announced... Read More

ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, announced Monday that it will cut 7,000 jobs and replace current CEO, Michel Tilmant.

Iceland’s Finance Ministry slashed its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) last Tuesday and said the nation’s economy was heading for a deep recession this year.

Amid collapsing worldwide demand for its products, the steelgiant, Corus annouced it will cut 3,500 jobs as it takes the global economic crisis by the horns.

Spain has officially joined the list of nations in recession. Spanish gross domestic product contracted 1.1 percent  in the fourth quarter according to Bank of Spain estimates in its January monthly report.

London Underground which manages the city’s subway system is cutting 1,000 jobs. Or 5 per cent of its workforce. London Underground employs around 20,000 people.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, announced today that due to the global economic ciriss, the company’s sales have dropped by 14.3 per cent.

Trump Entertainment, the casino company founded by Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday according to court documents.

President Barack Obama has signed probably the most noteworthy bill since taking office - the $787,000,000,000 stimulus bill. The President said there would be an “unprecedented level of transparency and accountability for the money spent”, but also noted that it “does not mark... Read More

New homes construction in the US has fallen by 16.8 per cent in January to a 50-year low according to official statistics.

More than 3 million owners have lost their homes during the past three years, and almost 5 million more could follow this year through 2011, according to Moody’s Economy.com.

The cricket-loving billionaire is at the center of the alleged billion dollar fraud involving the Stanford Group.

The Securities and Exchange Commission suspect that Mr.Stanford’s Houston-based firm and its Antigua-based affiliate might have carried out a $8 billion fraud.

Fro... Read More

The Dow Jones industrial average recorded its lowest close in over six years Thursday evening, heavily dragged down by shares from the financial and technological sector.

Shares saw drops in Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) in the banking arena, and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) in ... Read More

General Motors Corp. (GM) shares collapse to a 70 year low as investors see confidence in the auto industry evaporate. GM stocks fell to a record low of $1.52 Friday before recovering slighty to $1.77. GM’s market capitalization stands around $1 billion.

President Barack Obama’s latest effort to “change” the United States of America aims at slashing the federal budget deficit by half.

Obama aims to cut federal deficit in half

The new plans to achieve this will be unveiled this week. On Monda... Read More

As the global economic crisis unfolds, companies around the globe are putting their investments on hold and cutting costs wherever they can - with most companies cutting jobs.

Recent reports by leading hotel industry analysts are showing dramatic reduction in hotel occupancy rate and average daily rate.

Both Hospitality.net and Hotelsmag.com, show the dramatic decrease in the hotel business across the U.S. in 2008.

According to Hospitality.net:

Nokia Corp (NOK), the world’s largest mobile phone maker, reported a huge 69% slump in fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday.

The company slashed its dividend for the first time in seven years and predicted a 10 per cent drop in mobile phone sales this year, as consumer dema... Read More

Brazil saw 654,000 jobs lost in December as the global crisis hits Latin America’s larget economy. The countries worst affected sectors were industry, agriculture and construction.

Kiplinger.com publishes news story revealing that Russia too is feeling the global economic crisis: “Russia is suffering the effects of the global credit crunch, but that doesn’t seem to be making it any less of a threat to the U.S.”.

The combination of the Geor... Read More

A shocking read, this article: Russians play down crisis as economy falters. “Russians know better than most what a crisis feels like. They survived the breakup of the Soviet Union and the ensuing shortages, and they lived through the devastating financial collapse of 1998.” So... Read More