Citigroup to settle negligence charges
Federal regulators late on Wednesday charged a unit of Citigroup with negligence after they found it had sold $1bn worth of financial products linked to the flagging 2007 housing market. The bank’s Global Markets division had misled investors when it failed to inform them that the $1bn investment was doomed for failure, the SEC said. […]
China’s GDP slows in Q3
China’s economic growth slowed down in 3Q11 to 9.1 percent, down from 9.5 percent in 2Q11 and 9.7 percent in 1Q11, the national Bureau of Statistics of China announced Tuesday. According to the statement fixed asset investments remained high for the first three quarters of the year with an increase of 24.9 percent. Investments […]
Philips to cut 4,500 jobs amid profit slump; Occupy Wall Street continues
Dutch electronics group Philips on Monday announced that 4,500 jobs will have to be cut “inevitably” to help restore earnings after 3Q11 profits dropped to a two-year low, as demonstrators in London continued a sit-in at the London Stock Exchange. Net profit for the three months to the end of September decreased to €74m, down […]
S&P drops Spain rating one notch on weak growth
Standard & Poor’s late on Thursday slashed Spain’s credit rating one notch to AA- with a negative outlook from AA, citing economic woes. The lowering of Spain’s long term rating reflects its uncertain growth prospects in light of the private sector’s need to access fresh financing to roll over high levels of external debt amid […]
China trade slows; BlackBerry outrage continues
China’s trade surplus shrank for a second straight month in September to $14.5bn. Trade data published on Thursday showed September’s figures were $3.3bn lower than the $17.8bn in August and had reduced by more than half from the $31.5bn figure recorded in July. September’s imports rose 20.9 percent compared with 30.2 percent in August, and […]
Brazil’s retail sales plunge; Occupy Wall Street kicks off
Brazil saw retail sales volumes drop 0.4 percent from a month earlier indication a slowdown as South America’s largest economy continues to struggle with rising inflation, the Brazilian Institute of geography and Statistics announced late on Tuesday. Sales in August were up 6.2 percent year-on-year but nonetheless produced the second most sluggish growth rate since […]
Qatar’s royals to buy Dexia’s KBL and BIL
The royal family of Qatar is moving up its investment in Europe’s banking sector with plans to acquire private banking arms of Dexia and its Belgian competitor KBC. Private lender KBC said it was to sell its Luxembourg division to Qatari investment group Precision Capital for €1.05bn. The sale will allow the bank to reduce […]
China’s Sinopec to acquire Daylight for C$2.2bn
Sinopec Group, a unit of China’s state-backed energy company China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, late on Sunday signed a deal to acquire Canada’s oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy for C$2.2bn. In its largest acquisition this year Sinopec offered a 43.6 percent premium to Daylight Energy’s 60-day weighted average trading price, or C$10.08 a share, […]
Sony secures financial backing from Abu Dhabi fund
Sony Corporation has reportedly secured financing from Abu Dhabi’s investment fund, Mubadala, to help compete for British music label EMI Group. The Middle Eastern investment funds’ backing, and additional financial support from media investment bank Raine, will assist Sony to better compete with the other bidders which are said to include Warner Music Group and […]
IMF says swift action needed to steady Europe’s banks
A quick recapitalisation of European banks is necessary to steady markets and avert the economy from falling into another recession, IMF Europe Director, Antonio Borges, said late on Wednesday. The price tag for such a move was estimated in the range between €100bn and €200bn, he said. According to the IMF report, the eurozone debt […]
