International
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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...
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BofA posts slim profit despite settlement, charges
Bank of America Corp eked out a third-quarter profit even after taking $1.6 billion of litigation charges, as the second-largest US bank set aside less money to cover bad loans. The results show chief executive Brian Moynihan is still haunted by...
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Tycoons ‘agree to sell’ theirTNK-BP stake for $28 billion
The AAR consortium of billionaires that owns half of TNK-BP has agreed to sell its stake to Russia’s state-controlled oil producer Rosneft for $28 billion, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The tentative deal, struck in Moscow on...
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Germany chops 2013 forecast on euro crisis
Two years after expanding at its fastest rate since reunification, Germany’s economic growth is seen at just one per cent next year, finally hit by the eurozone crisis that has hammered most of its partners. The Government chopped its 2013 growth...
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US housing starts surge in positive sign for economy
Groundbreaking on new US homes surged in September to its fastest pace in more than four years, a sign the housing sector’s budding recovery is gaining traction and supporting the wider economic recovery. Housing starts increased 15 per cent last...
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Houses make way for new airport in France
A mechanical shovel clears away rubble as it demolishes a house which was squatted by protesters on land that will become a new airport complex in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, western France, yesterday. The new airport, some 30 kilometres from Nantes, is...
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Telecom operator Telia to cut 7,000 jobs
Lars Nyberg, president and chief executive of Nordic and emerging markets telecoms operator TeliaSonera AB addresses a news conference in Stockholm yesterday to unveil a $301.17 million cost-cutting plan as it reported third-quarter core profit...
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BAE Systems and EADS walk away from $45 billion merger
Talks on a $45 billion merger between EADS and BAE Systems collapsed yesterday after the governments of France, Germany and Britain failed to reach agreement over a deal to create the world’s largest aerospace and arms group. Britain’s BAE and the...
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IMF says it is ‘encouraged’ with Spain
The International Monetary Fund’s financial counsellor said yesterday the Fund was encouraged with steps by the Spanish Government to reduce its budget deficit. He added that whether Spain should apply for an international bailout was up to...
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New wave of complaints against Huawei, ZTE
People tour the Huawei booth at a communication technologies exhibition in Beijing earlier this year. A US congressional report that urged American companies to stop doing business with Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE has triggered a...
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Italy tax collectors took millions for parties, yachts, police say
The head of an Italian tax collection agency and four employees were arrested yesterday on charges of pocketing around €100 million from the money they gathered and spending it on private planes, parties and yachts. The news will infuriate Italians...
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Tesco halts sales slide at great cost while rivals gain
Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco managed to halt an 18-month slide in its sales, but the billion pounds it is spending to do so meant profits fell by more than 10 per cent in the first half, the first decline in 20 years. The company said the 0.1...
