May 18, 2012
Spanish banks have credit ratings cut by Moody’s
Ratings agency Moody's has cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, a further blow to a country that is struggling to deal with the bad debts of its banking sector. It also cut the debt rating on Santander UK, a subsidiary of the Spanish…
May 18, 2012
Markets drop on eurozone worries
Concern over the eurozone debt crisis has continued to weigh on financial markets. The euro fell for the sixth day against the US dollar, to $1.2688, as an interim Greek government was sworn in to steer the debt-ridden country into repeat…
May 17, 2012
Spain borrowing costs set to rise amid Greece fears
Spain's borrowing costs look set to spike on Thursday when the country's treasury sells up to 2.5bn euros (£2bn; $3.2bn) of three- and four-year sovereign bonds. It could pay buyers about 5% on the longest bond - up from just over 4% at its last…
May 17, 2012
Bank governor warns of eurozone crisis ‘storm’
The Bank of England has cut its growth forecast for this year to 0.8% from 1.2%, saying the eurozone "storm" is still the main threat to UK recovery. The eurozone was "tearing itself apart" and the UK would not be "unscathed", said its governor…
May 17, 2012
Japan’s economy grows 1.0% on rebuilding spending
Japan's economy grew 1.0% between January and March compared with the previous three months, as government spending helped fuel a gradual recovery from last year's earthquake and tsunami. That translates to annualised growth of 4.1%, the Cabinet…
May 17, 2012
Greeks withdraw money from banks as worries grow
Greeks withdrew 700m euros ($894m; £560m) from the country's banks in the week ending on Monday, according to the Greek president. The action comes as fears increase that the country may be forced out of the eurozone and on to a weaker currency.…
May 17, 2012
Toshiba stops domestic LCD TV production
Toshiba has halted production of LCD televisions in Japan due to falling demand, a spokesman has told the the BBC. The producer of Regza brand TV sets said it had stopped operations at its only domestic manufacturing plant in Fukaya, Saitama…
May 16, 2012
Strauss-Kahn Countersues New York Hotel Maid
Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is countersuing the New York hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her. His $1 million lawsuit says the maid, Guinea native Nafissatou Diallo, cost him not only his IMF…
May 16, 2012
Sina, China’s largest internet portal, swings to loss
Sina Corp, China's largest internet portal and media website, has swung to a loss in the first three months of the year. Its first quarter net loss was $13.7m (£8.6m) compared with a profit of $15m in the same period last year. The company said…
May 14, 2012
European, US Markets Fall on Greek Uncertainty
European stock markets fell sharply Monday as traders voiced new concerns about political uncertainty in Greece and whether it could become the first country to drop out of the 17-nation euro currency union. Stock indexes in London, Paris and…