Because Economics is Sexy...

The US economy shrunk by 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 as cuts by businesses and a drop in exports continue to fuel the US recession.
The drop in gross domestic product (GDP), reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, was much steeper than the 4.9 per cent annual rate predicted by economists.
US [...]

Several people have been killed in a shooting at a university in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, local reports say.
Local reports say one or two unidentified gunmen opened fire at Azerbaijan’s State Oil Academy.
There are conflicting reports about the number of dead. One says that 10 people have been killed.
The state of Azerbaijan is rich in oil [...]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level, warning that “all countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans”.
The move to a phase 5 alert means there is sustained human-to-human spread in at least two countries and WHO believes a global outbreak of the [...]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Felipe Calderon told his people to stay home from Friday for a five-day partial shutdown of the economy, after the World Health Organization said a swine flu pandemic was imminent.
Calderon ordered government offices and private businesses not crucial to the economy to stop work to avoid further infections from [...]

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp shareholders voted to oust embattled Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis as chairman of the board on Wednesday in what could be a precursor to his eventual replacement as CEO as well.
The bank’s board “unanimously” expressed support for Lewis to stay in the CEO post despite the fact [...]

The EU’s top court has backed the right of a Greek Cypriot to reclaim land in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus that has since been sold to a UK couple.
Meletis Apostolides was one of thousands of Greek Cypriots who fled his home when Turkish forces invaded in 1974, following a Greek-inspired coup.
The land was later sold to [...]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is not recommending travel restrictions or border closures to fight swine flu.
Spokesman Gregory Hartl told a news conference in Geneva: “Border controls don’t work. Screening doesn’t work.”
The health body also said it had confirmed fewer deaths from the new strain of the H1N1 virus than individual countries had.
Hartl [...]

The government issued orders Monday for doctors and nurses to board aircraft from Mexico at Narita airport starting Wednesday to check passengers and crew for infection of a deadly new virus that combines swine, avian and human influenza.
All arrivals will be required to fill out health questionnaires, and doctors will check people who complain of [...]

NEW YORK/BANGALORE (Reuters) – U.S. regulators have told Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc they may need to raise more capital following stress testing of the two banks, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The shortfall amounts to billions of dollars at BofA, the newspaper said on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the bank, adding it [...]

A convicted sex offender and cult leader has escaped by helicopter from a prison on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, officials say.
Juliano Verbard, 27, serving a 15-year term, and two followers, were pulled on to the helicopter by three accomplices.
The accomplices had pretended to be tourists when boarding the helicopter, but then forced [...]