G8 economies to promote growth and jobs despite problems

German government bond futures opened slightly lower on Monday as investors took profits from Friday's rally to new highs but uncertainty over Greece's future in the euro zone meant a major sell-off was unlikely ahead of elections there next month.
The Group of Eight economies stressed on Saturday that their "imperative is to promote growth and jobs", also recognising problems among European banks and giving verbal backing for Greece to stay in the euro.
But despite U.S. calls for immediate moves to boost growth, there were no signs Germany would soften its stance on austerity as the cure for Europe's debt problems, says Reuters.

Photo: AP photo

Insurers call for action to halt rise of metal thieves: Days after a gang stole a plaque commemorating victims of the 1993 Warrington bombings, the insurance industry will detail this week the financial impact of metal theft for the first time.
Investors' allies fear their guns may be spiked: Three leading companies could fall foul of investor uprisings this week as shareholders press ahead with an unprecedented round of protests over pay and perks for bosses.
Value of an all-night vigil: Ecclesiastical Insurance, which specialises in providing cover for the nation's churches, has received more than 10,400 metal theft claims since January 2007 - costing more than 26.5 million in payouts.
London market bucks the trend and trades up: London is the only part of Britain where trading up to a bigger home is the main motivation for selling a property, providing further evidence of the two-speed housing market, informs Proactive Investors UK.

The CFTC data also showed a lightening of bearish yen bets, although substantial short positions remained. This has left intact the risk of further downside for dollar/yen if traders are forced to unwind such positions, analysts said.
"We think that a move below 79.00 could trigger such a squeeze and cause an accelerated move toward 78, where a threat of intervention would likely provide the cross with support," BNP Paribas analysts wrote in a note.
Against a jittery backdrop, commodity currencies such as the Australian dollar continued to struggle. The Aussie was last at $0.9852, still not far from a near six-month trough of $0.9795 plumbed on Friday, according to CNBC.com.