April 20, 2012
EU condemns Repsol state seizure
The European Parliament has passed a resolution condemning a nationalisation that has strained relations between Spain and Argentina. Argentina has nationalised YPF, wiping out the Spanish firm Repsol's controlling-stake in the oil firm. The…
April 20, 2012
McDonald’s profits boosted by store revamps
McDonald's profits rose 5% in the first quarter to $1.27bn, helped by a revamp of its restaurants. The company said profits had also been boosted by new menu items, including chicken McBites and McCafe drinks. Sales at US stores that have been open…
April 20, 2012
General Electric profits hit by one-off charges
US industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE) has reported a fall in first-quarter profits. The firm made $3.03bn (£1.88bn) in the three months to the end of March, down 10% on the £3.36bn made in the same period last year. This year's results…
April 18, 2012
VAT mixed with low -skill jobs and low wages is a stalled economy
September 1st, 2012 and Saint Lucia is scheduled to be shackled to the core by the economic witches of two political parties. One on the right and the other on the left, both trapped with incomplete reasoning, non – existent visions and ill –…
April 18, 2012
Citigroup investors reject bigger executive pay deal
Citigroup shareholders have voted against giving top executives a bigger pay deal in a rare show of investor discontent. The package, which had increased chief executive Vikram Pandit's pay to $15m (£9m), was backed by just 45% of shareholders.…
April 18, 2012
Italy slashes its 2012 growth forecast
The Italian government has slashed its forecast for the economy in 2012. It was previously predicting a 0.4% contraction in the economy, but has cut that to a 1.2% contraction. The government has also admitted that it will not be able to meet its…
April 18, 2012
Tesco unveils profits rise and £1bn investment in UK
Tesco will invest £1bn in its UK business this year in an attempt to revive its flagging domestic operation. The company is accelerating the revamp of UK stores and promises to hire more staff. That follows falling sales and profits at the UK…
April 18, 2012
Heineken hit by higher barley prices
Europe's biggest brewer sold more beer than had been expected in the first three months of the year, but was hit by higher costs. Heineken sold 4.7% more beer by volume in the first quarter than it had in the first quarter of 2011. But it said that…
April 16, 2012
Temasek to buy $2.3bn ICBC shares from Goldman Sachs
Singapore's Temasek Holdings has agreed a deal to buy Goldman Sachs's shares in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank. The state-owned fund will pick up $2.3bn (£1.5bn) worth of ICBC shares, taking its stake…
April 16, 2012
China loosens currency controls on the yuan
China has loosened its currency controls in a move that may spur gains in the value of the yuan. From Monday, the yuan can fluctuate up to 1% in trading against the US dollar from a fixed price set by the central bank, the People's Bank of China…