South Korea announces sanctions against Iran ( September 8th, 2010 )
SEOUL (AFP)
South Korea said Wednesday it would penalise a key Iranian bank and put all financial transactions with Tehran under strict government supervision as part of sanctions over its nuclear programme.
Foreign ministry spokesman Kim Young-Sun said the government would impose a “heavy penalty” on the Seoul branch of Bank Mellat, which allegedly facilitated hundreds of [...]
Speculation rife over HSBC chairman’s successor ( September 8th, 2010 )
HONG KONG (AFP)
The abrupt departure of HSBC chairman Stephen Green to become Britain’s trade minister sparked widespread speculation on Wednesday over who will lead Europe’s largest bank.
Green, a 28-year veteran at Asia-focused HSBC, was appointed Minister of State for Trade and Investment by Britain’s coalition government Tuesday.
He will take up his new role in early [...]
Air fares up as Asian travel rebounds from recession ( September 8th, 2010 )
SINGAPORE (AFP)
Asia-Pacific airlines are raising ticket prices as travellers return in their droves after holding back on their travel plans last year because of the global recession.
A strong economic rebound, led by China, has resulted in carriers filling more seats during the summer holidays and demand should remain robust despite slower expansion in the second [...]
EU official calls for regular bank ’stress tests’ ( September 8th, 2010 )
BERLIN (AFP)
The European Union’s financial services chief called on Wednesday for so-called “stress tests” on banks to be carried out on a regular basis, to judge their resilience in the event of another crisis.
“I am completely of the opinion that in future, we need to conduct stress tests regularly,” Commissioner Michel Barnier told the German [...]
Top Greek bank NBG says it will raise new capital ( September 8th, 2010 )
ATHENS (AFP)
National Bank of Greece, a leading Greek bank, has announced it will raise 2.8 billion euros (3.6 billion dollars) with a share issue and by selling part of its holding in Turkish subsidiary Finansbank.
NBG was one of five Greek lenders to pass EU-wide stress tests with varying success in July, although a sixth bank, [...]
Finnish economy shows 1.9-pct growth in quarter ( September 8th, 2010 )
HELSINKI (AFP)
The Finnish economy, after several quarters of little or no growth, firmed sharply by 1.9 percent in the second quarter from output in the previous quarter, official data showed on Wednesday.
The data from statistics agency Statistics Finland also showed that on a 12-month comparison, the economy grew by 3.7 percent.
Statistics Finland also revised sharply [...]
Vodafone sells China Mobile stake ( September 8th, 2010 )
LONDON (AFP)
British mobile phone giant Vodafone has announced the sale of its 3.2 percent stake in China Mobile for around 4.3 billion pounds (6.6 billion dollars, 5.2 billion euros).
The sale, announced late Tuesday, is the first in what is expected to be a series of sell-offs of Vodafone’s minority holdings as it seeks to focus [...]
BP report on Gulf oil disaster to accept ’some blame’ ( September 8th, 2010 )
LONDON (AFP)
An internal BP inquiry due on Wednesday into what caused the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is expected to accept that BP staff made mistakes before the disaster, the Financial Times reported.
The report, due at 1100 GMT, is likely to admit failures ahead of an explosion at a BP-operated oil rig in April which [...]
Australia’s Foster’s rejects 2.5 bln dlr wine bid ( September 8th, 2010 )
SYDNEY (AFP)
Australian drinks giant Foster’s Wednesday knocked back an offer worth up to 2.7 billion dollars (2.46 billion US) from a private equity firm for its wine assets but said it would consider other bids.
Foster’s said it had received the unsolicited offer for Treasury Wine Estates — the group’s underperforming wine arm — which involved [...]
German exports roar ahead in July ( September 8th, 2010 )
BERLIN (AFP)
German exports rose sharply in July compared to the year before, official data showed Wednesday, providing a further boost to Europe’s top economy as it bounces back from last year’s crippling recession.
And although the pace of export growth slowed slightly compared to the month before, analysts said that exports would continue to be an [...]