AUSTRIA BEATS GLOBAL GLOOM AND DOOM. Australia’s Government handouts and mineral exports to China have kept Australia out of recession, officials in Canberra said Wednesday. The economy grew 0.6 per cent in the June quarter, making it the only advanced economy not to experience contraction this year. Stimulus packages costing 42 billion Australian dollars have taken the budget deeply into deficit and generated fears of not just higher interest rates but ... Read More

WORLD BANK LOOKING AT CHINA FOR ENCOURAGEMENT China's efforts to stabilize its economy were paying off and helping to promote a recovery from the global financial crisis, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday. Zoellick praised China's "decisive action" to help stabilize its economy and its persistence in trying to expand domestic demand as exports have fallen. Fuelled by the government's 4-trillion-yuan (590 billion dollars) spending package, China had achieved an initial rebound in economic growth that was driven mainly by domestic ... Read More