Hunt for new IMF head; Foxtel expands
French finance minister Christine Lagarde late on Wednesday formerly launched her bid to lead the IMF as managing director. Lagarde, a former corporate lawyer, is the favourite to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn who resigned following sexual assault allegations. Augustine Carstens, the governor of the Mexican central bank, is another key contender for the position. The IMF executive directors […]
Greece debt crisis reaches stalemate
The head of Greece’s conservative party, Antonis Samaras, announced late on Tuesday that he would not back a further €6bn austerity measure to reduce the country’s deficit. The political stalemate over austerity measures is threatening to jeopardise the country’s next tranche of a €110bn bailout worth €12bn, which is due in June. Greece announced on Monday […]
Sony predicts $3.2bn loss
Electronics giant Sony announced late on Monday a revised surprise $3.18bn net loss for the fiscal year that ended in March. It originally posted a profitable projection of $857m in February. The company said the loss was triggered by the production disruptions due to the March earthquake and tsunami and the cyber attack on its online […]
Ryanair profit rises 26%
Low cost airline Ryanair posted a 26 percent profit increase to €401m in the year to March compared to €319m the previous year. Revenue rose 21 percent to €3.63bn from €2.98bn year-on-year due to a 12 percent jump in airfares, the company said on Monday. “We were pleased to deliver a 26 percent increase in profits […]
Tepco president resigns after record $15bn loss
Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant hit by the tsunami in March, announced on Friday an all time high $15bn net loss due to the disaster which destroyed four of its reactors. The news was followed by the resignation of Tepco’s president Masataka Shimuzu, and the head of the nuclear division, […]
Strauss-Kahn resigns as head of IMF
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as head of the IMF according to a statement issued late on Wednesday by the global finance body. Strauss-Kahn, who faces charges of sexual assault and attempted rape in New York, said in his resignation letter: “I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against […]
Dell profits triple
Texas-based technology company Dell reported late on Tuesday that its Q1 profits had almost tripled due to stronger than expected big business sales. Net income according to the company jumped to $945m from $341m a year earlier and revenue rose 1 percent to $15bn. The technology stalwart saw operating income reaching $1.2bn, while enterprise solutions […]
BP-Rosneft £10bn deal collapses
BP’s attempt to gain a grip in Russia’s Arctic oilfields through a £10bn share swap deal with state controlled company Rosneft has collapsed after BP failed to address a dispute and reach an agreement with its partner TNK before the midnight Monday deadline. The Russian half of the Russian-British TNK-BP joint venture had threatened in April […]
Canadian counterbid for TMX beats LSE by 20 percent
In a deal valued an estimated $3.7bn or $49.50 a share, a group of Canadian pension funds and banks collectively known as Maple Group Acquisition, confirmed late on Sunday that it has submitted a tender to buy all of TMX Group’s shares. The bid by Maple Group to buy the operator of the Toronto Stock […]
Japanese government to help pay plant victims
The Japanese government endorsed a scheme on Friday to help Tepco, Asia’s largest utility company, compensate victims of the disaster at its tsunami-stricken nuclear power plant and save it from financial collapse. Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister, approved the plan to create a new body to facilitate funds to utilities companies expecting to pay nuclear […]
