Plunging fuel prices sparked by the recession have seen profits at BP more than halve compared to this time last year. The company's takings dropped 53 percent in the second quarter compared to 2008, down to 3.14 billion dollars.
"We were at the brink of catastrophe at the beginning of this year, but we've walked some distance back from the abyss". D. Herbert met Dan North to speak about these reassuring words from Lawrence Summers, Barack Obama's top economic advisor.
Thousands of township protesters demanding jobs and better government services were tear-gassed by police, in one of the biggest challenges to South Africa's President Jacob Zuma since he took office.
Headlines have been dominated by speculation about the state of the world economy. After the dreaded R word of recession, is the world now headed for the sweeter "R" word for recovery ? R. Kahane met Eric Chaney, chief economist at Axa Group.
The US budget deficit has climbed higher than $1 trillion for the first time, according to official figures. Due to the economic crisis, the deficit has continued to widen by record amounts since the month of February.
Britain's Gross domestic product (GDP) has shrunk by 2.4 percent in the first three months of the year, its fastest contraction since 1958, though analysts say a return to mild growth could be round the corner.
The advanced economies will begin the long haul toward a weak recovery by the end of the year, the OECD says. Its review forecasts growth of 0.7 percent next year, slightly lower than the 0.8 percent expansion seen in 2008.
Spain will remain in recession until 2010, with the country due to shrink 3.6 percent in 2009, two percent more than previously forecast.announced. Economy Minister Elena Salgado said the unemployment rate will remain high until 2012.
Delta Air Lines, the world's biggest air carrier, has announced plans to slash flight capacity by 10% in 2009 in the face of the global recession and rising fuel prices. The H1N1 flu outbreak has also had a negative impact on passenger numbers.
It was better than expected, but the worst since World War II: the Japanese GDP contracted 14.2 % in the first quarter compared to last year. Analysts had forecast an even sharper fall of 15.2 %.
