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MEXICO CITY There has been no discussion about putting back the start date for new rules of bank capital buffers in the lead-up to this weekend’s G20 meeting, a senior Mexican Finance Ministry official told Reuters on Saturday. U.S. and European financial officials are likely to come under pressure from peers when they meet in Mexico City for dragging their feet on implementing the so-called Basel III accords, the world’s response to the 2007-09 financial crisis. “In the last three weeks, not one conference call, not one paper that has been presented, has suggested that modifying the timetable could be [...]

Groundbreaking on new homes surged in September to its fastest pace in more than four years, a sign the housing sector’s budding recovery is gaining traction and supporting the wider economic recovery. Housing starts increased 15 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. That was the quickest pace since July 2008, though data on starts is volatile and subject to substantial revisions. The U.S. economy has shown signs of faster growth in recent months as the jobless rate has fallen and retail sales data has pointed to stronger consumer [...]

JPMorgan Chase & Co’s investment bank set aside less revenue to pay employees last quarter, another sign that Wall Street bonuses are on the decline this year. The investment bank put aside $ 2.07 billion for pay in the third quarter, or 32 percent of net revenue excluding a special accounting charge. That’s down from 41 percent a year ago. Typically JPMorgan aims to pay its bankers anywhere from 35 to 40 percent of revenue, but Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Friday that he is now targeting the low end of that range. “As a rule of thumb, I [...]

The two leaders shakes hands following a previous meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, on July 14, 2012.The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan reach a deal on some pointsKey issues have festered since South Sudan became independent in 2011The two nations must still agree on border demarcations and disputed territoriesAn economic deal allowing both countries to share the South’s oil wealth is badly neededRead a version of this story in Arabic The presidents of South Sudan and Sudan will sign an agreement on economic issues and a demilitarized zone, said South Sudan’s spokesman Atif Kiir, but the [...]

STORY HIGHLIGHTS The blackout that affected 600 million point to India’s infrastructure problems O’Neill: Economic slowdown in India, other BRICs “more important” than EU crisis India’s power supply has strained to keep pace with the growth of the economy O’Neill: “In India, frankly, they need to wake up and deliver some of the talk” — India suffered widespread power outages that plunged half the nation in darkness Tuesday, the second massive power failure in as many days. As many as 600 million people were hit by the blackout, disrupting transportation and business before power returned. The breakdown of the nation’s [...]