International
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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...
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Record €1.47 bn fine for Philips, LG and Samsung
The European Commission imposed the biggest antitrust penalty in its history yesterday, fining six firms including Philips, LG Electronics and Samsung SDI a total €1.47 billion for running two cartels for nearly a decade. The Commission said...
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HSBC names new private banking chief
Europe’s biggest bank HSBC has named a new chief executive for its private banking arm to take over from Krishna Patel who is resigning from the role he has had since September 2011. Peter Boyles, the bank’s chief executive officer for Continental...
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Praying for progress in Spain
A trader reacts during a Spanish bond auction in Madrid yesterday as Spain fell short of its targeted amount at a triple bond auction, prompting a rise in yields on the secondary market as investors await the Government’s move to trigger European...
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UK inquiry to question ex-HBOS chief executives
Two former chief executives of HBOS will appear on Monday before British lawmakers conducting an inquiry into the bank’s near collapse in 2008, as part of a wider review of banking standards. HBOS had to be rescued in 2008 through a...
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Court postpones ruling on Strauss-Kahn sex inquiry
A French court yesterday postponed a decision on requests that it call off a sex offence inquiry where former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn risks trial on a charge of “aggravated pimping”. The court in Douai, a town north of Paris, had been...
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Protests rage over fire in Bangladesh garment factory, supervisors arrested
Three supervisors of a Bangladeshi garments factory were arrested yesterday as protests over a fire that killed more than 100 people raged on into a third day, with textile workers and police clashing in the streets of a Dhaka suburb. The Government...
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Shares in mobile operator MegaFon fall on debut
Shares in MegaFon fell two per cent on their market debut yesterday, following a bumpy ride for the IPO and showing limited demand among investors for another Russian mobile issue. Russia’s second-biggest mobile phone operator had priced its London...
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Arcelor Mittal scrambles before talks deadline
Arcelor Mittal workers from Florange site stand next to French riot police officers as they demonstrate in front the National Assembly in Paris yesterday. Arcelor Mittal, which employs some 20,000 people in France, seeks solutions to avoid shutting...
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Comet mulls more store closures as it awaits offer
British electrical retailer Comet will close a further 125 stores if it does not get a firm offer for the business, the administrators running the group said yesterday. Administrator Deloitte said the closures would occur over several weeks starting...
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HP accuses Autonomy of wrongdoing, takes €6.8 billion charge
Hewlett-Packard Co stunned Wall Street by alleging a massive accounting scandal at its British software unit Autonomy and taking an $8.8 billion (€6.8 billion) write down, the latest in a string of reversals that renewed questions about the...
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Standard Life cuts 139 jobs
British life insurer Standard Life is to cut 139 jobs as part of a previously announced plan to merge its domestic business with that in the rest of Europe. Standard Life, Britain’s fifth-biggest insurer, has been cutting costs and reorganising to...
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AIG, others to take up half of PICC €2.8 billion HK IPO
Chinese state-owned insurer PICC Group has secured pledges from American International Group – AIG – and other investors to buy about half of its up to $3.6 billion (€2.8 billion) IPO, set to be the biggest in Hong Kong in two years. The...
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Japan’s exports continue to fall
A worker is seen in a container area at a port in Tokyo yesterday as Japan’s exports fell in annual terms for a fifth month in October, hurt by the fallout from a diplomatic row with China and feeble global demand, a further sign the economy may be...
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Jobless business analyst markets his skills
Marko Stojanovik, a business analyst in search of employment, wears a board listing his skills and experience as he stands in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, yesterday.
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France Telecom teams up with Facebook
France Telecom Orange chairman and chief executive Stephane Richard speaks about a partnership with Facebook during a show to present the company’s innovations in Paris yesterday. Richard presented eight innovations that will be taken to the market...
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States divided as EU formally proposes female quota plan
Companies listed in European Union countries could be forced to have more women on their boards, with a target of 40 per cent by 2020, under rules proposed by the European Commission yesterday. But states are divided on whether positive...
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Ireland likely to need further bailout funds – Moody’s
Ireland will need more bailout funds when its current programme ends next year, according to Moody’s, the only credit-rating agency to have downgraded the country to junk. Ireland was the first bailed-out euro country to make a successful return to...
