International
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Croatia cuts 2013 growth forecast
Croatia reduced its growth projection for this year to 0.7 per cent from the 1.8 per cent originally forecast, Finance Minister Slavko Linic told state radio yesterday. “In the coming Budget we will change our growth projection to 0.7 per cent from...
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Agricole aims for positive 2013 after historic loss
Credit Agricole posted its biggest full-year loss since it went public 11 years ago after an unexpected €838 million tax demand from France’s Socialist Government compounded weaker revenues and hefty asset write-downs. The French bank’s full-year...
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Portugal ‘needs one more year’ to cut Budget gap
Portugal will need one more year to meet Budget goals agreed under its €78 billion bailout after the economic outlook worsened, Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar signalled yesterday. “It is reasonable to envisage that the European Commission will...
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Egypt state grain buyer steps aside as currency reserves fall
One of the most powerful figures on the global wheat market, Nomani Nomani, said yesterday he has left his job as vice chairman of Egypt’s state grains buyer GASC, at a time when the country is struggling with falling foreign currency reserves. For...
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German employment reaches highest level since reunification
German employment is at its highest level since reunification more than 20 years ago, the Statistics Office said, boosting hopes that domestic demand will offset weaker exports in Europe’s largest economy. Some 41.9 million people were employed in...
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China’s annual consumer inflation eases
A shopper is seen through large lantern decorations at a shopping mall in Beijing yesterday as China’s annual consumer inflation eased to two per cent in January from a seven-month high of 2.5 per cent in December, while producer prices fell 1.6...
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FBI investigating potential insider trading in Heinz
Traders work at the post that trades H.J. Heinz Co. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as the FBI examines possible insider trading in the options of the ketchup maker before its blockbuster deal last week to be acquired by Warren Buffett...
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Peugeot defends recovery plan after record loss
PSA Peugeot Citroen vowed to avoid further asset sales or government bailouts, insisting that cuts under way will be enough for it to recover from its biggest-ever full-year loss. Peugeot shares rose yesterday after the troubled carmaker said it...
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Apple risks big if e-books antitrust case goes to trial
As the only remaining defendant in the US government’s e-books antitrust case, Apple Inc appears headed for a high-stakes trial that could significantly increase the personal computer company’s liability in related litigation. Apple faces a June 3...
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Worldwide mobile phone sales fell in 2012
Sales of mobile phones around the world fell last year for the first time since 2009 as consumers shunned cheaper feature phones, research company Gartner said yesterday. “Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences, and intense market...
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Flybe, Ryanair seal deal on new Irish airline
British airline Flybe has agreed to create a new carrier as part of a deal with Ryanair to satisfy regulatory concerns over the Irish carrier’s last-ditch bid to take over peer Aer Lingus. The new carrier, Flybe Ireland, would receive €100 million...
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GSK promises growth this year after 2012 shortfall
GlaxoSmithKline, Britain’s biggest drugmaker, renewed its promise to return to growth this year, after failing to deliver a hoped-for sales and margin recovery in 2012. GSK also announced a restructuring of European operations, drug manufacturing...
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HSBC’s global spread ‘left it open to crime’
HSBC’s was forced into its biggest restructuring in almost 150 years because the bank’s complex structure and wide geographical spread had made it attractive to criminals, its chief executive said. “Our structure was not fit for purpose for a modern...
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Fed says internal site breached by hackers
The Federal Reserve said one of its internal websites had been briefly breached by hackers, though no critical functions of the US Central Bank were affected by the intrusion. The admission, which raises questions about cyber security at the Fed,...
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UBS owes Brazil tax agency $1.2 billion for Banco Pactual
UBS AG says it owes Brazil at least $1.2 billion (€0.9 billion) in back taxes dating back to when the Swiss lender owned an investment bank in the country. UBS said in its annual financial report on Tuesday that BTG Pactual Group, which was formed...
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Virgin under Liberty will avoid BSkyB UK rights battle
Virgin Media will steer clear of a fresh battle with Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB over expensive content like England’s Premier League football under the ownership of Liberty Global, the US company said. Billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Global agreed to...
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H&M suffers unexpected hit in earnings
Hennes and Mauritz, the world’s No.2 fashion retailer, posted an unexpected drop in quarterly earnings, hit by competition in tough European markets and the cost of its expansion drive to take on bigger rival Inditex. The Swedish group does the bulk...
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Judge okays BP plea, $4 billion penalty in Gulf oil spill
A US judge accepted an agreement by BP plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in US history. The company said it pleaded guilty to 11...
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ECB’S Nowotny sees recovery coming to real economy
A recovery in financial markets is feeding into the real economy to some extent although growth rates were still low, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said yesterday. He said the Austrian Central Bank, which he heads, might have to...
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Analysts raise Amazon price targets as margins surprise
Amazon.com Inc’s better-than-expected profit margins surprised Wall Street, prompting at least five brokerages to raise their price targets on the world’s largest internet retailer’s stock yesterday. “We can’t help but stop and wonder whether the...
