4unews – News for you

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greece’s unemployment rate rose to 21.7 percent in February, after 336,500 people lost their jobs in the past year in the crisis-hit country. The Greek Statistical Authority said Thursday that nearly 1.171 million people were out of work during the month. The jobless rate a year ago was 15.2 percent. Greece [...]

NEW YORK (AP) ? The dollar is rising against the euro after the European Central Bank made it seem unlikely that it would take more steps to ease the region’s debt crisis anytime soon. The euro fell to $1.3144 in afternoon trading Thursday from $1.3162 late Wednesday. The ECB kept its main interest rate unchanged, [...]

PARIS – France’s bleak economic outlook has returned to the forefront of the country’s presidential campaign after new figures Friday showed the number of job seekers rose for the 11th consecutive month in March. Francois Hollande, the Socialist front-runner in the May 6 runoff election, was quick to seize on the new data from the [...]

KIEV, Ukraine – It has been reported that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has ordered his government to prevent hotels from charging exorbitant prices for fans attending this summer’s European football championships. Some Ukrainian hotels are charging as much as 10 times their usual rates for rooms during the June 8-July 1 tournament that the country [...]

GENEVA – It has been reported that Afghans topped the list of asylum claimants to the world’s richest countries in 2011, followed by Chinese and Iraqis, the U.N. refugee agency reported Tuesday. Tunisians, Libyans and people from Ivory Coast saw the biggest annual rise, while the number of Pakistanis and Syrians applying for asylum also [...]

BANGKOK – Greece’s commitment to spending cuts rose stock markets as did moves by Japan’s central bank to support the economy. Benchmark oil rose above $101 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and was steady against the yen. European shares rose in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 5,912.27 [...]

KIEV, Ukraine – The death toll from the cold spell that has hit Eastern Europe has risen to 43 people. Most of the victims are homeless as over 720 people have been hospitalized due to hypthermia and frostbite. Temperatures dropped to minus 30 C (minus 22 F) in some regions, prompting authorities to close schools [...]

NEW YORK – Oil prices went up Tuesday. China affirmed its economy increased by 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter, which was slower than the previous quarter. Experts say that level is still robust. Retail and factory production improved in December. Oil demand increased 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago and [...]

BANGKOK – World stocks rose Tuesday, assisted by an absence of bad financial news and signs that the U.S. economy may be strengthening. Benchmark oil hit $102 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen. Stock markets were higher in early European trading, tracking gains in Asia. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose [...]

BERLIN – Germany’s Federal Statistical Office says exports rose strongly in November, partially offsetting a sharp drop the previous month, according to provisional figures. The agency said Monday that exports rose 2.5 percent to 90.7 billion euros ($115.88 billion) in November 2011, adjusted for seasonal and calendar factors, while imports dropped 0.4 percent to 75.7 [...]