International
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New super-thin TV from LG
Models pose next to LG Electronics’ organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television in Seoul yesterday. LG Electronics started taking orders yesterday for OLED televisions, hoping to take the initiative over its rival Samsung in the next-generation...
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British retailers start online sales early
British retailers have brought forward their Christmas clearance sales online in the hope that shoppers will log on to buy bargains and offset lacklustre spending in stores. Marks & Spencer launched its sale online at midday on Monday, it said on...
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Starbucks to use cups to send ‘fiscal cliff’ message to lawmakers
Starbucks Corp will use its ubiquitous coffee cups to tell US lawmakers to come up with a deal to avoid going over the ‘fiscal cliff’ and triggering automatic tax hikes and spending cuts. Chief executive Howard Schultz is urging workers in...
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Egypt says sales tax hikes on hold for two weeks – paper
Egypt’s Government will not implement a series of planned tax increases until it completes a dialogue with different parts of society, al-Mal newspaper has quoted Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby as reaffirming. The Government on Tuesday began a...
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Japan’s new PM Abe pledges deflation fight
New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed yesterday to battle deflation and a strong yen, and bolster ties with the US as he kicked off a second Administration committed to reviving the economy while coping with a rising China. A hawk on security...
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German ministry wants to push pace of privatisation, paper says
German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler wants to push the pace of government privatisation efforts including in companies such as Deutsche Telekom, according to an Internal Ministry document obtained by Die Welt newspaper. “The state has to withdraw...
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Grounded Kingfisher ‘lacks’ funding plans
Grounded Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines has failed to present regulators with a clear funding plan under a proposal to get it flying again, the country’s Aviation Minister said yesterday. The airline, owned by liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya and...
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GM to buy stake from US Treasury, which plans full exit
General Motors Co. said yesterday it will buy back 200 million of its shares from the US Treasury, which intends to sell the rest of its stake in the company over the next 15 months, bringing to an end ownership that led many to dub the automaker...
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Britain ‘likely to lose’ AAA if debt plans slip
Britain is likely to lose its triple-A status if its plans to cuts its debts falter, while weak growth would put downward pressure on top-rated Netherlands, rating firm Fitch said yesterday. “For the UK, we forecast debt/GDP to peak at 97 per cent...
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UBS fined $1.5 billion in growing Libor scandal
Swiss bank UBS admitted fraud and accepted a $1.5 billion fine yesterday for its role in manipulating global benchmark interest rates. Dozens of UBS staff rigged the Libor rate, which is used to price trillions of dollars worth of loans, in...
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BoE spells out Carney’s governor package
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will get a £250,000 annual housing allowance when he starts as Governor of the Bank of England next year, on top of a salary of £624,000, the BoE said yesterday. The payments to the former Goldman Sachs investment...
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Asmussen opposes ECB bond buys if conditions not met
European Central Bank policymaker Joerg Asmussen said he would want the ECB to stop buying sovereign bonds if its new purchasing programme was activated and the country concerned did not stick to the conditions attached. Spain is the country most...
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Toronto sees 147 skyscrapers under construction
A construction worker looks out over the city atop the ICE Condominiums development site by Cadillac Fairview and Lanterra Developments in Toronto yesterday. More skyscrapers – 147 of them – are being built in Toronto than anywhere in North America,...
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Germany backs paying out next Greek aid tranche – letter
The German Government is in favour of paying out the next tranche of international aid to Greece after a successful debt buyback programme by Athens, Germany’s finance ministry said in a letter seen by Reuters yesterday. The letter to the Bundestag...
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Carney carries Canadian lessons to the Bank of England
The Bank of Canada’s Mark Carney mused about priorities in reply to a question about the lessons he would take to his next job in London, but said he would only discuss Britain’s needs when he talks to a House of Commons committee next year. Asked...
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Russia to ‘get tough’ on corruption, capital flight
Russian authorities will crack down on corruption and the flight of capital from the country, President Vladimir Putin said yesterday. In his first state-of-the-nation address since he started a six-year third term in May, Putin drew applause from...
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Prosecutors raid Deutsche Bank HQ as carbon probe widens
State prosecutors searched offices of Germany’s biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, yesterday in a widening probe linked to a tax evasion scheme involving the trading of carbon permits. Frankfurt public prosecutors said they were investigating suspicions...
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Spain’s justice workers take to the streets
Justice workers shout slogans in defence of the Spanish public justice system and against the raise of court and registry fees in front of Madrid’s main court yesterday.
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Zara owner Inditex continues on profits path
A man walks past a Zara store in Madrid yesterday as Zara owner Inditex shrugged off sluggish spending in austerity-wracked Europe, posting a 27 per cent rise in nine-month net profit to €1.65 billion, driven by a nimble production model and...
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Ireland to test economy, public patience with Budget
The Irish Government will test the economy and the public’s patience with another €3.5 billion dose of austerity yesterday, though better service sector and jobless data will help soften the blow. Bailed-out Ireland has begun its return to bond...
