Topic: Britain

As Greece's financial stability fund approved an 18 billion euro ($23 billion) for the country's biggest banks, former Prime Minister Papademos suggested Greece is prepping to exit the euro zone.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, vowed that the organization, which is part-funding Greece’s bailout, will “never leave the table” with its new government.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, warned  on Tuesday of the risks facing the UK economy and saidthe government should consider more quantitative easing and tax cuts.

Outgoing Bank of England policy maker Adam Posen said on Tuesday that he could have done better with his economic forecasting during the financial and euro zone debt crises, and welcomes three reviews of the central bank’s performance that period.

European shares were set to open higher on Tuesday as investors came to the conclusion that the markets were most likely over-sold and news emerged overnight of around 100 billion euros ($127 billion) of liquidity provided by the European Central Bank to the Greek central bank to prop up Greece’s financial system.

Government spending cuts in developed countries are hurting job creation and exacerbating global youth unemployment, which remains close to the peak hit during the 2009 crisis, the International Labour Organization said on Tuesday.

The Greek electorate has already bloodied the nose of its centrist parties, and now the number of undecided voters could help determine whether it remains in the euro zone.

Britain's Barclays said it is to sell all of its $6.1 billion stake in U.S. asset manager BlackRock which it has held for almost three years.

Gold, used an alternative to the U.S. dollar by investors in search of safety, could see a move higher once markets have greater clarity on a resolution to the Greek debt crisis, Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment at the World Gold Council, told CNBC on Monday.

The Institute of Directors has endorsed a radical proposal that recommends replacing part of the UK tax system with a single income tax rate of 30 percent and reducing the government’s share of the national economy to one-third, the Financial Times reports.

European shares were called to open lower on Monday after world leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis.

Despite efforts at official reassurance, no one really knows the consequences of a Greek exit from the euro zone, or how rapidly big countries like Spain and Italy, and their banks, will feel the effects, The New York Times reports.

World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis.

Leaders of the Group of Eight major economies are making progress on addressing the two biggest threats to their economies - the euro zone crisis and very high oil prices, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday.

London prices have risen 45 per cent over the past three years, compared to only 15 per cent in Geneva, 17 per cent in Paris and 10 per cent in New York, making London ever more expensive (and desirable) than its western peers.