January 8, 2013
Iranian oil revenues ‘drop 45%’ because of sanctions
Iranian oil revenues have fallen around 45% in the last nine months because of Western sanctions, a leading Iranian politician says. Gholam Reza Kateb, an MP on the national planning and budget committee, said the country's economy as a whole was in…
January 8, 2013
Banks to pay $8.5b for foreclosure abuse
Ten major banks agreed yesterday to pay $8.5 billion to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes. The banks, which include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells…
January 8, 2013
Dominican Republic poor region upbeat on major gold find
San Juan de la Maguana province (west) took the biggest step in the country’s mining development after gold and copper was discovered in its depressed territory, which will create new jobs in the corridor called Las Tres Palmas, that links the…
January 8, 2013
HTC profits slump 90% on strong competition
Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC has reported a slump in profits as it continues to suffer at the hands of rivals Apple and Samsung. Unaudited net profit in the fourth quarter was T$1bn ($34m; £21m), down more than 90% on the T$11bn the firm made a…
January 4, 2013
Transocean agrees to pay $1.4bn oil spill fine
Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, has agreed to a settlement with the US government. The Swiss-based company will pay $400m (£248m) in criminal penalties and a $1bn civil fine after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water…
January 4, 2013
US Congress: John Boehner re-elected as House speaker
The US Congress has begun its new term, with House Speaker John Boehner re-elected amid the prospect of more budget battles with the White House. The 113th Congress began two days after the 112th passed an 11th-hour law to avoid the so-called…
January 4, 2013
Google makes concessions to avoid legal action in US
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided not to take legal action against Google at the end of a 19-month investigation into the search giant. It found Google had not biased its search results to favour its products. Google has agreed to give…
January 4, 2013
Concern over Federal Reserve’s bond-buying programme
A number of senior figures at the Federal Reserve want the US central bank to stop or slow down its bond-buying programme "well before the end of 2013". December minutes of its interest rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) showed that…
January 4, 2013
Spain sees jobless total fall in December
The number of people registered unemployed in Spain fell in December, the Labour Ministry has said, a rare glimmer of hope for its recession-hit economy. Adjusted for seasonal swings, the total fell by 41,023, or 0.8%, in December from the previous…
January 2, 2013
Asian shares rise as US House passes fiscal-cliff deal
Asian markets have risen after the US House of Representatives passed a deal to stave off the fiscal cliff. A failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax increases worth $600bn (£370bn). There had been fears that the measures…