Stock market indexes like the Dow and the S&P500 have as much to do with the real economy as weather has to do with geology.

Imagine this. It's 2020 and a shopper walks through a store with her mobile phone in hand. She scans the codes on the products she wants and gets charged directly to her e-wallet for each item.

The Fairtrade programme, a price guarantee scheme in the farming sector, is doing its part to help disadvantaged farmers by ensuring a ready market and fair prices for products that offer better deals for producers and the environment.

President Obama signed into law the most comprehensive overhaul of financial regulations since the Great Depression this week. It's a big moment that shouldn't be minimized, and Obama knew it.

The price of olive oil could soar because Greek producers are stockpiling their product due to fears about the state of the country's economy, importers have warned.

BEUC welcomes that, as of the 1st of July 2010, a mandatory cut-off limit on data roaming charges lowers the financial risks for European mobile phone users.

Elizabeth Warren, the visionary behind the idea of a consumer financial protection agency, says that it "could make a real contribution, a real difference in the lives of millions of families" by overseeing mortgages, credit card agreements, big bank overdraft policies, and other fine-print-heavy arrangements known to confound consumers.

A report recommending new European food labelling rules has been branded a "complete shambles" which will mislead consumers by UKIP’s agriculture spokesman, East of England MEP, Stuart Agnew.

"When you to buy something for 10 yuan nowadays, you expect it to be gone in a blink, but that's the price for which you can buy a long sleeve T-shirt here," a Beijinger named Yangyang told Beijing Television when the biggest weihuo (leftovers) market in North China - Hand in Hand weihuo wholesale market - opened recently in Zhaogongkou.

In the wake of the $1 trillion euro bailout agreement reached at the beginning of this week, governments throughout Europe have unveiled austerity measures that include sweeping attacks on jobs, wages and basic social rights.