NowMyNews

The Netherlands kept its triple-A credit rating from Fitch, which said on Friday the decision reflected the country's strong underlying economic, institutional and credit fundamentals. The rating agency kept the outlook at negative, however, because of the Netherlands' weak economic growth prospects. Another rating agency, Standard & Poor's, stripped the Netherlands of its top-grade AAA rating in late November, also citing its low growth prospects. That left Germany , Luxembourg and Finland as the only members of the 17-nation euro zone with the coveted top rating from all three leading credit agencies. Moody's, which still rates the Netherlands triple-A with a negative outlook, will publish its next update on March 7. "The country's flexible, diversified, high value-added and competitive economy benefits from strong domestic institutions, a track record of sound budgetary management and historically broad public and political consensus in support of

Japan raised its assessment on the overall economy for the first time in four months, reflecting strong private consumption and improving capital expenditure, suggesting Tokyo's aggressive stimulus is solidifying an economic recovery. The government on Friday also raised its view on consumer spending for a second straight month, saying it is "increasing" as sentiment remains upbeat and as demand rises ahead of a sales tax hike in April. In addition, with company profits and business conditions recovering, the government upgraded its assessment on capital spending for the first time in four months, saying it is picking up. "The economy is recovering at a moderate pace," the government said in its January report released on Friday, using slightly stronger wording than the previous month when it said the economy was on track towards a moderate recovery. The upbeat view comes as Japan's economy benefits from the government's massive fiscal and monetar

China's central bank on Friday urged commercial lenders to strengthen liquidity management and set a reasonable pace on lending, even as it pledged to adjust liquidity to help maintain appropriate credit growth this year. _0"> Rising money market rates and bond yields in recent months indicate the People's Bank of China is committed to curbing high debt levels in the economy to head off potential financial risks, but there is little sign of abrupt policy tightening. "We will use various liquidity management tools in a flexible way and improve the system to appropriately adjust liquidity to maintain reasonable growth in credit and social financing," Zhang Xiaohui, head of the central bank's monetary policy department, wrote in the China Finance magazine, run by the central bank. The PBOC has pledged to keep monetary policy largely stable this year with timely fine-tuning in line with economic changes. The central bank warned in a statement after a me

Steel maker ThyssenKrupp's ( id="symbol_TKAG.DE_0"> TKAG.DE ) Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger asked shareholders to be patient on Friday as he completes what is proving to be a troublesome overhaul of the company. Since becoming CEO three years ago, Hiesinger has been trying to shift the focus of ThyssenKrupp, once a symbol of Germany's industrial prowess, from the volatile steel sector to higher-margin products and services such as elevators, industrial plants and high-performance car parts. His efforts, however, have been besieged by setbacks. ThyssenKrupp has posted three straight years of losses, its deteriorating finances forced it to ask shareholders for cash, major deals have been only partly successful, and compliance issues have emerged that have been both costly and embarrassing. "This restructuring, this fundamental renewal, will take time," he told investors at ThyssenKrupp's annual shareholders' meeting. After repeatedly exte

U.S. factory output rose a stronger-than-expected 0.4 percent in December, closing out a strong quarter in which overall industrial production advanced at its fastest clip in 3-1/2 years. _0"> The data from the Federal Reserve on Friday was the latest to underscore a strengthening in the economy. Helped by the rise in manufacturing activity, overall output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.3 percent. Mining production rose 0.8 percent, but utilities output dropped 1.4 percent after a big November gain. For the fourth quarter as a whole, industrial production advanced at a 6.8 percent pace, the largest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2010. Economists polled by Reuters had expected factory output to rise 0.3 percent, while the gain in overall industrial production matched forecasts. To increase output, U.S. industry employed 79.2 percent of its capacity - the most since June 2008 and a touch above forecasts. Still, capacity use remain

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will court global business in Davos next week after winning an easing of some economic sanctions, but any trade bonanza depends on the long-term success of nuclear diplomacy. A U.S. stranglehold on Iran's access to the international financial system, the uncertain future of talks on its nuclear program beyond a six-month initial deal, and vested interests in the Islamic Republic suspicious of Western investment all stand in Rouhani's way. "I would be surprised if you saw Iran shooting quickly to the top of the list of attractive markets, although it may be attractive for certain manufactured goods companies in the short to medium term," said a Western business consultant who works with many of the world's biggest companies. "The fact that Iran is making signals in the right direction is welcome but I think the bulk of business people will be cautious and will play a bit of a wait-and-see game," he said, asking - li

The economic recovery in the European Union is proceeding faster than had been forecast in the fall, which will likely allow upward revisions to growth forecasts, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Friday. _0"> "It seems that we will be able to raise slightly our forecasts for this year because the global economies are growing faster than we had forecast in the fall," Rehn told reporters in Rome. He said he was "confident" that Italy would meet its public finance targets, and that the government could request some flexibility on its deficit if it keeps its budget in check. (Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Steve Scherer)