The Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization is gaining more weight with a dozen new nations showing interest in cooperation, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with foreign ministers of the bloc. “Other countries would like to strengthen their contacts with our organization. [...]

The euro fell to a two-week low on Wednesday following a Greek government warning that it will miss the June 5 IMF payment deadline without a deal with the Troika by then. The single currency traded at $1.1115, down 0.4 percent at 11:36am MSK on Wednesday. It declined 0.71630 against the British pound and 134.34 against the Japanese yen. [...]

Britain has been labeled the "European capital of inequality" after a report found it is the most unequal country in the EU. As part of a progressive study, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) analyzed wages across the EU. [...]

The Central Bank of Russia is taking effective steps to stabilize the national currency and the economic situation as a whole, according to the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Min Zhu. “I think the Russian Central Bank is reacting adequately to the current situation,” the banker said at a conference on doing business with the BRICS countries in Washington o [...]

Ukraine's government has submitted to parliament a bill allowing the introduction of a moratorium on foreign debt payments. This is to protect state assets in case of an "attack" from dishonest lenders, and to help the ailing economy out of crisis. "To protect the interests of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian government today has introduced to the Rada a bill that would give the government t [...]

The UK'S richest 20 percent have more than one hundred times the wealth of the poorest 20 percent, with the combined household wealth of £9.1 trillion remaining for the most part in the hands of the elite. New analysis from Lloyds Bank Private Banking revealed that if the combined household wealth was evenly distributed, each family in Britain would have an annual income of £326,414. [...]

From Afghanistan to Yemen we are told we must fight terrorism over there to keep us safe here at home. The historical record tells us a very different story. Washington’s so-called war on terror has only created and motivated more violent extremists and destroyed states. As a result of failed wars, terrorism flourishes around the world. CrossTalking with Phyllis Bennis, Bruce Fein, and James [...]

This is a fascinating story with implications for every American… Dr. Ron Paul–the former U.S. Presidential candidate and 22-year Congressional veteran–was briefly back in Washington, D.C., recently. Dr. Paul was in the nation’s capital to educate Americans on what he believes our country’s next financial crisis will look like. He says America is on the verge of a real “currency [...]

Ukraine has the fastest falling economy of 2015 according to the British periodical The Economist. The country has seen its GDP shrink by 6.5 percent since last April, with countries like Libya and Macau performing better. The Ukrainian economy showed the most significant deepening recession compared to the rest of the world, according to the data, published on Wednesday by the head of the anal [...]

The evidence is mounting... While broadly-speaking, both 'hard' and 'soft' macro data has disappointed, as we noted previously, the scale of those 'missed expectations' is stunning - worst since Lehman. While this is blamed on weather, the fact is that America had 30% less snow this year than last and still, as the following charts strongly suggest, the YoY drops are on a scale that screams "reces [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that a free trade zone with Russia is possible in the future, despite the current political tensions with the West. “In the long view it is possible to create a large free trade zone, including with Russia,” Merkel said at Friday’s economic forum in Stralsund. [...]

Some European central banks have reportedly called on Greek bank subsidiaries operating in their jurisdiction to cut their exposure to Greek assets to avoid fallout should the country go into default. The central banks of Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have demanded Greek banks’ subsidiaries minimize their exposure to Greek bon [...]

The laws of the global economy should be written by the United States and not by the likes of China according to President Obama, as concern over China's influence is growing. Washington hopes a Pacific free trade pact will curb Beijing's investment bank. "When 95 percent of our potential customers live abroad, we must be sure that we are writing the rules for the global economy, not a country [...]

The BRICS New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), both seen as alternatives to US – led institutions, will not compete, but rather complement each other, said the head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina. Nabiullina made the statement Thursday in Washington where she is attending the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Ban [...]

A third of higher income Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, even when they earn $75,000 a year because they would rather spend money on eating out and experiences than save money for retirement, according to a new survey. In a poll of 519 households earning $75,000 or more, nearly a third of them live paycheck-to-paycheck, at least some of the time, SunTrust Bank found. [...]

Rogue investors who ignored the negative hype about Russia, are smiling from ear to ear after the ruble gained about 6 percent this week. The ruble surged 6 percent this past week, opening Monday at 56.55 and closing at 53.5 on the Moscow Exchange on Friday. In the last month alone, the ruble has appreciated by more than 20 percent. [...]

The Russian ruble has hit 55.3 to the dollar Monday, its highest value this year. The currency has become the best performer during the first three months of the year, after it finished 2014 as one of the biggest losers. The ruble gained above one percent against the US dollar, standing at 55.3 and at 60.8 to the euro at the closing on Moscow Exchange on Monday. [...]

Athens is currently trying to negotiate a new bailout deal with its Troika of creditors, but if that falls "Plan B" could reportedly involve getting rid of the euro and cutting off its banking system from the European Central Bank. [...]

The $17.5 billion loan approved by the IMF won't save Ukraine from hopeless poverty; instead, it will inflict a blow on the country's population already living on the breadline, said the ex-head of the National Bank of Ukraine Sergei Arbuzov. None of the options proposed by the IMF would improve the economy, said Arbuzov to Izvestia, adding that the biggest mistake made by the government was wo [...]

The number of Americans aged 16 and older not participating in the labor force hit 92,898,000 in February, tying December's record, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the longer trend, the labor force participation rate was between 62.9 percent and 62.7 percent from April 2014 through February, and has been hovering around 62.9 percent or lower in 13 of the [...]

A Polish government spokesperson has criticized the deputy prime minister's remark on Ukraine‘s disintegrating economy, calling it “unfair.” Janusz Piechocinski painted a black scenario for the country gripped by hyperinflation and currency plunge. [...]

A curious thing happened today. To quiet protests over food, president Petro Poroshenko ordered the minister of the food reserve to fill the shelves of stores with flour, sugar, canned meat, and buckwheat from the reserve. Well guess what? There was no food in the reserve. It has either been looted (like the vanishing gold), or it was fed to the army. [...]