International
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Euro factory output drop steepest in nearly four years
Output from eurozone factories in September took its steepest fall since January 2009, dragged down by German industry’s loss of resilience after three years of crisis in Europe. Industrial production in the 17 countries sharing the euro fell 2.5...
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Greek economic slump deepens in third quarter
Greece’s economic slump deepened in the third quarter, with output shrinking 7.2 per cent on an annual basis as the debt-racked country heads into its sixth year of depression. The contraction was deeper than the second quarter’s 6.3 per cent drop...
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UK faces ‘unappealing’ mix of weak growth and inflation
Britain faces the “unappealing” mix of a weak recovery and high inflation, the Bank of England’s chief warned yesterday, adding that the bank could still restart its bond buying programme to stimulate the economy. Governor Mervyn King also batted...
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Former UBS trader in court
Former UBS trader Kweko Adoboli arrives at Southwark Crown Court to attend his trial for fraud and false accounting in London yesterday. Adoboli has been blamed for a loss of $2.3 billion (€1.8 million) at the Swiss bank UBS in September 2011. He...
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Japan’s big banks creak under equity losses
A security guard walks past signboards of Resona Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Bank in Tokyo as Japan’s three mega banks posted earnings that were dragged down by heavy losses on their equity portfolios, renewing investor concerns...
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J Sainsbury’s increases market share to 16.7 per cent
Sainsbury’s beat forecasts by reporting pretax profit at £373 million in the 28 weeks to September 29. First-half sales rose four per cent to £13.4 billion as Sainsbury’s increased its market share to 16.7 per cent, its highest for nearly a decade.
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ING to cut staff after banking, insurance split
ING, the largest Dutch financial services group, is to cut more than 2,000 jobs worldwide as it prepares to separate its banking and insurance operations in difficult markets. The cuts, which equate to 2.5 per cent of ING’s workforce, come as banks...
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Burberry profit ahead of forecasts
British luxury goods group Burberry beat forecasts with a six per cent rise in first-half profit as its most wealthy shoppers continued to spend despite a faltering global economy. The group, best known for its camel, red and black check pattern,...
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6,000 jobs on the line at Commerzbank
Germany’s second biggest lender, Commerzbank, may cut up to 6,000 jobs, a German paper reported, catching local union officials off guard and pouring more misery on the eurozone’s prospects for a speedy recovery. Without naming sources German weekly...
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Betfair pulls back from Germany in tax dispute
Betfair Group plc has withdrawn its online sports betting exchange in Germany, blaming a five per cent turnover tax for making its main product unviable in Europe’s largest economy. Other British-listed gambling companies have also cried foul over a...
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GSK sales fall short as pain in Europe continues
GlaxoSmithKline sales fell a bigger-than-expected eight per cent in the third quarter, hurt by continued pressure on drug prices in austerity-hit Europe and lower demand for some vaccines. GSK, like its rivals, has suffered a string of patent...
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Barclays hit by fresh US investigations
Barclays, already rocked by an interest rate rigging scandal, unveiled new US regulatory investigations into the bank’s financial probity yesterday and said its profit was hit by charges for mis-selling insurance. Its shares fell almost five per...
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Next held back by slowing online sales growth
Next, Britain’s No.2 clothing retailer, reported a slowdown in sales growth at its online and catalogue business, whose stellar performance has helped it to avoid the worst of a downturn in consumer spending. Shares in the firm, up 40 per cent over...
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Panasonic sees €7 billion loss
Panasonic Corp. said it will lose almost €7 billion this business year as it cleans house of poorly performing operations, writing down billions of dollars of goodwill and assets in its mobile and energy units while its new boss readies for a fresh...
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Eurozone inflation eases, unemployment at new highs
Eurozone inflation eased as expected in October thanks to slower growth of energy prices, but unemployment rose to new record highs in September, data from the European statistics office Eurostat showed yesterday. Eurostat estimated consumer...
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Greek austerity package in detail
A draft deal between Greece and its international lenders obtained by Reuters outlines plans to further cut wages and pensions but, if implemented, would also give Athens more time to meet its budget targets. Talks on the deal, however, have been...
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Apple unwraps mini-iPad to take on Amazon, Google
Apple Inc will begin to sell an eight-inch version of the iPad tomorrow to compete with Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle and other smaller tablets, but it set a higher-than-expected price tag of $329 that Wall Street fears could curb demand. The 7.9-inch...
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Nurofen maker sales buoyed by emerging markets
Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser, the British maker of Finish dishwasher tablets, Nurofen painkillers and Cillit Bang cleaners, said like-for-like sales grew five per cent in the third quarter. Underpinned by a strong performance in emerging...
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Peugeot gets government rescue as crisis deepens
PSA Peugeot Citroen unveiled a government-backed refinancing deal for its lending arm as the struggling French automaker’s financial position deteriorated further, sending its stock to historic lows. Europe’s second-biggest automaker said it was...
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Ford to close 4,300-job Genk plant
A worker at a Ford assembly plant despairs after an emergency meeting with the plant management in Genk yesterday. Ford Motor Co announced to unions it will close the factory employing 4,300 workers in the Belgian town. Ford is battling to stem...
