Plans to allow round-the-clock shopping in Madrid to fight Spain's economic downturn are worrying small shopkeepers, who say they will be unable to compete with large chains and department stores.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Time share mogul David Siegel welcomed a filmmaker's proposal in 2007 to document his construction of what was to be the nation's largest family home -- an opulent 90,000-square-foot mansion named "Versailles" after the French palace and conceived during a housing boom.

Unlike many of my Fourth Estate pals, I try to give government the benefit of the doubt. Sure, I have a certain cynicism imbued after a quarter-century of covering politics. But I don't default to the position that all politicians are inherently corrupt or all public employees are overpaid sloths or all government spending is obviously wasteful.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia shares jumped on Monday as fears eased over a slump in a phone demand after signs of strong Black Friday sales in the United States, coupled with loss-making Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) dismissing some expectations it would need to raise more money from its parents.

President Raul Castro is matching his free-market economic changes with a zealous battle against entrenched corruption on this Communist-run island, much of it involving Cuban officials at major state-run companies and ministries as well as the foreigners they do business with.

The debate on the state's economy has skirted the issues for too long. For decades, Nevada's economy had a reputation for being bulletproof. It quickly rebounded from any economic downturn and continued to grow. A decade ago, Nevada was dealing with the slump after the 9/11 terrorist attacks but would quickly rebound and take off on a torrid pace of growth.Then the unforgiving Great Recession hit, and Nevada was proved to be mortal.

Hundreds of international policy-makers and industry leaders have converged on Mumbai, hoping fast-growing India can provide a rare chink of light amid the faltering global economy.

For the past three months Maria Jose del Coto Maeso has lived in an empty store in the Spanish capital with no shower or cooking facilities with her disabled son and unemployed daughter.

American business says U.S. malaise could exceed Japanese depression . As the collapse of the U.S. economy quickly evolved into the Crash of ?08; politicians, ?experts?, and mainstream media shills were unanimous: the U.S. economy would/could ?never experience the Lost Decade? experienced by Japan?s economy after several, huge asset bubbles simultaneously burst.

Fading Republican 2012 candidate Rick Perry pledged Friday to unleash a new economic boom by throwing open land and seas to oil drilling and tapping America's status as the "Saudi Arabia of coal."

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins has blamed gay marriage for the nation's economic downturn. Tony Perkins, the president of the Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), has blamed gay marriage for the nation's economic downturn. Perkins made his remarks alongside presidential hopeful Rick Santorum on Wednesday morning at a Restore Marriage Rally in downtown Concord, New Hampshire, the Concord Monitor reported. (Related: Rick Santorum suggests gay marriage wrecked the economy.) During the upcoming legislative session, lawmakers in New Hampshire are expected to consider repealing the state's gay marriage law. Perkins told the crowd that such a move would perk up the economy. ?You want to get the economy going again?? Perkins rhetorically asked a crowd of about three dozen people. ?We need to put a focus on marriage and on children because that is our future. Look at the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and growing the GDP ? we'll never grow the GDP with a shrinking

India's important services industry has shrunk for the first time in over two years, reflecting a widening economic downturn, a survey showed Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Burger and ice cream chain Friendly's is close to filing for bankruptcy and may try to sell itself at auction, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged greater efforts Friday to break barriers for working women, saying the world has entered a "Participation Age" where inclusion means economic growth.

The financial turmoil gripping the world has had little effect on wealth in China, where an ongoing economic boom keeps creating new US dollar billionaires, Forbes magazine said Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged "real" economic change on Sunday after massive nationwide protests that broke Israeli records and prompted questions about the future of the social movement.

US Vice President Joe Biden comes face to face with China's economic boom Saturday after Chinese leaders expressed confidence in a flagging American economy dependent on credit from the Asian giant.

Rick Santorum has joined Newt Gingrich in blaming the economic downturn on gay marriage. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has joined former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in blaming the economic downturn on gay marriage. During a radio interview with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC), and Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association (AFA), Santorum attempted to link increased support for the legalization of gay marriage to the nation's economic woes. ?Letting the family break down and in fact encouraging it and inciting more breakdown through this whole redefinition of marriage debate, and not supporting strong nuclear families and not supporting and standing up for the dignity of human life,? Santorum said. ?Those lead to a society that?s broken.? ?If you think that we can be a society that kills our own, and that disregards the family and the important role it plays, and doesn't teach moral values and the important role of faith in the pu

Stocks in London extended their losses on Friday on the increasing prospect of a sharp economic downturn.

Stock markets worldwide plunged on Thursday amid fears of a new global economic downturn, with Wall Street suffering its worst day since the financial crisis.