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India’s prime minister said Thursday that international institutions are failing to lift up the developing world and endorsed the creation of a new development bank to be run by five fast-rising nations.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke at a summit of the so called BRICS group _ comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa _ aimed at harnessing the nations’ increasing global clout and forging stronger ties between their fast-growing economies.

The five countries represent 45 percent of the world’s population, a quarter of its land mass and a quarter of its economy at $13.5 trillion.

Though the group has accomplished little of note at its three previous meetings, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff insisted in an opinion piece in the Times of India that it had changed “the axis of international politics.”

At the summit, the five nations are expected to agree to do more business with each other in their local currencies, to help insulate from U.S. dollar fluctuations while lifting trade within the bloc from last year’s $230 billion to $500 billion by 2015.

They also hoped to move closer to creating a new development bank, much like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, saying it would streamline efforts to raise capital in poor nations and facilitate more business among themselves.

“Institutions of global political and economic governance created more than six decades ago have not kept pace with the changing world,” Singh told the summit payday loans with no fax.

In response, the five nations are working to set up a bank funded and managed by them that would improve poor nations’ access to development funds and boost emerging economies, Singh said.

“Developing countries need access to capital,” he said.

The summit came as the Indian capital remained under a heavy security umbrella since a Tibetan exile lit himself on fire at an anti-China protest Monday. He died from his burns Wednesday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s hotel was under virtual lock down, while Tibetan neighborhoods were sealed, with police allowing people out only for medical or court appointments.

Hundreds of police manned barricades along roads throughout the city, some carrying blankets soaked in water to quickly smother the flames of any protesters who try to set themselves alight.

Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said authorities had detained many Tibetan protesters in recent days, but would release most of them without charge in a few hours.

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Another Japanese nuclear reactor has been taken off line for maintenance, leaving the country with only one of its 54 reactors operational following last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The last reactor is expected to be shut down by early May, raising the possibility of power shortages across the nation as demand increases in the hot summer months.

The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex was taken off line early Monday by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. The utility also runs the plant in Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo, that suffered meltdowns, explosions and radiation leaks after the March 11 quake and tsunami.

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International demand for U.S. financial assets rose more than forecast in January as investors sought a haven from the debt crisis in Europe.

Net buying of long-term equities, notes and bonds totaled $101 billion during the month, compared with net purchases of $19.1 billion in December, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. Six economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had forecast net buying of $38.5 billion of long-term assets, according to the median estimate.

General Motors is likely to spend more than $500 million on employee bonuses and profit-sharing based on the company’s performance last year.

GM, which made a record profit in 2011, will pay bonuses of at least $182 million to white-collar workers such as engineers, car designers and managers on Wednesday, according to a formula obtained by The Associated Press. That’s on top of $332.5 million in profit-sharing it already agreed to pay factory workers.

In the past, such payments have drawn criticism from those who believe the government shouldn’t have bailed out GM and Chrysler. But GM, which made a record $7.6 billion last year, says the payments are needed to hold on to skilled employees. It’s also keeping fixed costs down by giving bonuses instead of annual pay raises.

The bonuses will go to most of the company’s 26,000 salaried employees, many of whom make more than $100,000 a year. The bonuses will range from 8 percent of base pay to 14 percent, according to the formula.

The company would not release the percentages, nor would it say how much it will spend on the bonuses. But it’s likely the average bonus for salaried employees will be more than the $7,000 that each of GM’s 47,500 factory workers will get in March.

The white-collar bonuses are determined by a worker’s pay grade, individual performance and company metrics that measure whether GM met goals including pretax earnings, market share, cash flow and quality. This year’s salaried bonuses will be smaller than last year’s, when the company met all of its goals. A small number of top performers will get pay raises or larger bonuses, the company has said.

“It’s a pay-for-performance type approach that really drives accountability in the organization and helps employees connect their compensation with performance,” says GM spokeswoman Lynda Messina.

GM must reward employees because the labor market is starting to become competitive again, especially for computer experts, engineers and other skilled jobs, says James Stoeckmann, senior compensation specialist for World at Work, an organization of human resources executives who specialize in pay issues.

“Companies are having a hard time finding all those critical skills they need,” he says. At almost every company, white-collar bonuses are higher than those given to blue-collar workers, he says.

The U.S. spent nearly $50 billion to save GM three years ago, and some Republicans think the government should get its money back before bonuses are paid. The company nearly ran out of cash when auto sales dried up in the middle of the financial crisis. With little or no private loans available, GM needed a bailout to make it through bankruptcy protection.

The government agreed to take stock in GM in exchange for most of the debt. So far it has recouped more than $22 billion. Taxpayers still own 500 million shares of GM, or 26.5 percent of the company. If the government sold those shares at the current price of around $26, it would get about $13.2 billion. But it’s waiting for the stock price to rise before selling. Shares would have to sell for more than $53 each for the government to get all its money back, which is unlikely.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a critic of the bailout, said the Obama administration needs to figure out a way to get the money back.

“As the company gives out bonuses, the Treasury Department needs to have an exit strategy for getting GM to repay the taxpayers for helping the company survive,” he said in a statement. “Without an exit strategy, GM can expect more questions and scrutiny regarding employee bonuses.”

The formula to calculate the bonus percentages was given to the Associated Press by a person familiar with GM’s compensation. The person didn’t want to be identified because the company did not make the formula public.

The company announced earlier this month that it plans to freeze its U.S. pension plan for white-collar workers and move to a 401 (k)-type plan. GM also gave salaried employees five more vacation days.

White-collar workers fared better at crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. Ford said last month that 20,000 salaried workers will get 2.7 percent pay raises on April 1, plus bonuses based on individual performance.

In addition, Ford will make profit-sharing payments of around $6,200 each to its 41,600 U.S. factory employees in March.

GM CEO Daniel Akerson has been against giving annual raises, saying the added costs limit the company’s flexibility in an economic downturn.

But that could hurt GM over time, if Ford workers get pay raises and their salaries grow far larger than those at GM, says David Whiston, auto equity analyst for Morningstar.

Ford, which borrowed billions from banks but avoided a government bailout, said the raises are needed to stay competitive with other big companies. The automaker made a $20 billion profit last year

Salaried workers at Chrysler Group LLC, which made far less money than GM or Ford, also will get profit-sharing checks. The company, which is not publicly traded, would not disclose the amounts. About 26,000 union workers at Chrysler, which also took a government bailout, will get checks of about $1,500. Chrysler made $183 million last year.

GM, Chrysler and Ford agreed to the profit-sharing for factory workers in contract talks last year with the United Auto Workers union. Most of the workers won’t get pay raises.

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Reflecting on a challenging year, President Barack Obama says he’s hoping for more economic progress following action by Congress to prevent tax increases at the start of 2012.

“It was good to see members of Congress do the right thing for millions of working Americans,” said Obama, using his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday to deliver a New Year’s message.

He said the public made itself heard on a Social Security payroll tax cut and that was one big reason that lawmakers agreed to extend it for two more months.

The American people, Obama said, “had the courage to believe your voices could make a difference.”

The president said he expects Congress to finish the job when lawmakers return to Washington in January and extend the tax cut through the end of the year.

Reflecting on 2011, Obama said it was a time of great challenge and progress, including the end of the war in Iraq, the death of Osama bin Laden and signs of an economic recovery.

“There’s no doubt that 2012 will bring even more change,” Obama said. “And as we head into the new year, I’m hopeful that we have what it takes to face that change and come out even stronger _ to grow our economy, create more jobs and strengthen the middle class.”

On the eve of an election year, Obama said the months ahead will help determine “what kind of country we want to be and what kind of world we want our children and grandchildren to grow up in.”

Sen. Johnny Isakson, delivering the GOP address, outlined his party’s commitments to the American people for 2012.

The Georgia lawmaker said his party’s No. 1 goal is to make it easier for small businesses to create jobs.

“We’ll accomplish this by focusing on three things: fundamental tax reform, regulatory reform and energy security,” he said.

Isakson said that while some people may think Congress will be too consumed with the 2012 elections to accomplish anything significant, the public deserves better.

“Americans cannot wait until after the November election,” he said. “They need us to do our job and do it right now to create an economic climate that makes it easier to put people back to work.”

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OTTAWA—The New Housing Price Index rose 0.2 per cent in October after a similar increase in September.

Statistics Canada reports the metropolitan regions of Toronto and Oshawa, and Edmonton were the top contributors to the increase.

The agency says their positive impact was offset in part by decreases in Vancouver and Victoria.

Between September and October, Edmonton (up 0.6 per cent) posted the largest monthly price advance, followed by Toronto and Oshawa (0.4).

In Edmonton, price increases were primarily the result of higher material and labour costs as well as higher land values, while in Toronto and Oshawa, some builders cited good market conditions paperless payday loans.

The agency says prices were unchanged in nine of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed.

The most significant monthly price declines were recorded in Victoria (down 0.6 per cent) and Saskatoon (down 0.3).

Year over year, the index was up 2.5 per cent in October.

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Tropical Storm Kenneth has formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean, with forecasters calling it a rare late-season tropical storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that Kenneth had maximum sustained winds near 40 mph (65 kph). The storm was centered about 525 miles (845 kilometers) south of Manzanillo, Mexico.

Projections show Kenneth moving west out to sea, away from land, over the next several days payday lenders.

The eastern Pacific hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

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