Markets news on stocks, currencies and oil.

US consumers cut spending in September and lifted savings in response to the financial crisis. Personal income rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.2 percent compared to the month before, the Commerce Department said Friday. Income increased a revised 0.4 percent in August; originally, income for that month was seen 0.5 percent higher.

The Green Paradox – Ifo President presents new book; Climate problem cannot be solved by states with Green policies going it alone
 

With a slowing economy and housing woes, some California cities have targeted public-safety budgets that in the past were off-limits to the budget ax.

The Central Bank said today that the annual rate of increase in Irish residential mortgages (including securitised mortgages) continues to fall and the 8.5 per cent increase in September was the lowest since September 1986. Applying the average change in residential mortgages over the third quarter to the rest of the year suggests that the end-year growth rate could be around 7 per cent.

The Eurozone (EA15) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 7.5% in September 2008, stable compared with August. It was 7.3% in September 2007. The EU27 unemployment rate was 7.0% in September 2008, compared with 6.9% in August. It was 7.0% in September 2007.

Eurozone annual inflation is expected to be 3.2% in October 2008 according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. It was 3.6% in September. An ECB rate cut of 0.5% is likely next week

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities.

The Bank of Japan today cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.3 percent to help counter a severe recession.