February 9, 2012
Greece bailout: Coalition fails to agree cuts
Greek PM Lucas Papademos has failed to secure the support of his coalition for a raft of new…
February 9, 2012
European central banks to blast cash into economy
With Europe sliding toward recession, the region’s two main central banks are preparing to redouble their emergency measures aimed at softening the downturn and blunting the effects of the government debt crisis. Analysts expect the U.K.’s…
February 9, 2012
Apple seeks change to ‘essential’ patent licence rules
Apple has asked for more clarity over how patents deemed crucial to industry standards should be handled. The firm wrote a letter to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in November, which has now been reported by the Wall…
February 9, 2012
Nokia to carry out 4,000 job cuts
Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia announced the details of 4,000 job losses on Wednesday at plants in Hungary, Mexico and Finland. The company said the plants would remain open and refocus on customising phones whilst the actual assembly would…
February 9, 2012
Cuba and Dominican Republic strengthen commercial bonds
New business opportunities to boost a greater commercial flow between Cuba and the Dominican Republic were analyzed on Monday in Havana by a group of entrepreneurs from the two nations. Attending the meeting, organized by the Cuban Chamber of…
February 8, 2012
BHP Billiton profits fall on lower iron ore prices
Falling commodity prices have pushed down profits at the world's biggest mining company, BHP Billiton. The Anglo-Australian company reported a 5.5% annual drop in first-half net profit to $9.9bn (£6.2bn). It also warned of a volatile outlook due to…
February 8, 2012
Greek leaders postpone meeting as euro exit discussed
Pressure is rising on Greece's national unity government to agree tough reforms demanded by the country's lenders. Greek party leaders once more postponed plans to meet on Tuesday and approve terms of a new bailout. This comes as the European…
February 8, 2012
BP ups dividend as profits rise
BP has raised its dividend to shareholders by 14%, the first increase since the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, following sharply higher profits. Replacement cost profit, which is profit stripping out the effect of oil and other price movements, for…
February 8, 2012
Brazil’s Itau Unibanco has record profits in 2011
Itau Unibanco has posted the highest-ever annual profits for a bank from Brazil. Itau Unibanco, the biggest private bank in Brazil, said net profits rose almost 10% to 14.6bn reais ($8.5bn, £5.3bn) in 2011 from the previous year. The bank is also…
February 8, 2012
UBS profits slump on weak business
Profits UBS have slumped by 76% in its latest quarterly results. Net income for the last three months of 2011 were 393m Swiss francs ($430m; £270m), down from 1.7bn francs a year ago and well short of expectations. Business levels fell both at its…