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Ukraine has threatened Germany with economic consequences if it fails to ratify a treaty that would move it closer to Europe.

A leading member of President Victor Yanukovychs political party told the news website Spiegel Online that failure to approve the European Union association agreement with Ukraine would be bad for German businesses.

“Without the treaty, German access to the Ukrainian market will be limited,” Leonid Kozhara, member of parliament and the deputy chairman of the Party of Regions said.

He was responding to a statement by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle who said that ratifying the treaty was out of the question in the absence...

After four years of relentless gloom, Palm Beach Countys economy finally is seeing rays of sunshine.

In one sign that the clouds are parting, Palm Beach County taxable sales jumped to nearly $2 billion in February, a 10.9 percent increase from February 2011, according to the Florida Legislatures Office of Economic and Demographic Research.

It was the first double-digit increase since the early days of the housing bubble. However, the big jump comes with an asterisk: Take out Februarys extra day for leap year, and the year-over-year increase dwindles to 7.1 percent. But even that is the biggest bump in taxable sales since 2006.

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Undercover police stand on a Barcelona street during Thursday’s demonstration against austerity cuts. On the same day, the European Central Bank’s governing council met there but offered no relief to painful austerity measures.

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May 4, 2012

After months of punishing austerity measures, some Spaniards want a break...

ATLANTA, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding businesses in Kentucky that working capital loans are still available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private non-profit organizations that were affected by the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred on June 19 – 23, 2011.

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“Businesses that suffered economic losses as a result of the disaster...

According to the report, MENAP oil exporters benefited from high oil prices, which shielded them from the impact of the Euro zone crisis and its amplifications. The GDP growth of these countries decreased in 2011 to 4 percent but is projected to increase back up to 5 percent in 2012.

In 2011, the MENAP oil exporters combined external current account surplus almost doubled approaching $400 billion. Continued government spending due to intensified social demands and higher oil prices will support to the nonoil sector, which is projected to grow at 4.5 percent in 2012.

As their oil production increased in 2011 to compensate for oil supply decreases, the GCC countries GDP growth...

The Australian share market has finished the last session of the week in negative territory after reaching a nine-month high on Wednesday.

Wall Street saw weak results overnight as investors in the United States awaited key employment figures due out tonight, and Australian investors followed suit, with the local market dipping at the open.

Shares remained in the doldrums after the Reserve Bank of Australia released its latest quarterly statement on monetary policy, in which it cut its forecasts for economic growth and inflation.

The bank eased its growth outlook slightly to 3 per cent for 2012 and 2013, down from as much as 3.5 per cent in the previous statement.

It...