China inflation rate little changed at 4.1% in December

China's rate of inflation was little changed in December, despite government efforts to rein in prices. Consumer prices rose 4.1% from the same month last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That is down from 4.2% in November. For the…

RBS to cut 3,500 jobs in investment bank shake-up

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said it will cut a further 3,500 jobs, with most of them to happen this year. The cuts are part of a reorganisation and shrinkage of its investment bank. The losses, which will be split between its UK and…

Web domains to get major overhaul with custom names

Applications will soon open for new top-level domains in the biggest change to the system in over two decades. From Thursday it will be possible to register almost any word as a web address suffix. Familiar endings like .com and .org could…

IRS comes up $385 billion short

The IRS has collected $4.4 billion from two programs that allowed tax evaders hiding money in offshore accounts to come clean and said it will launch a similar initiative this year. The two voluntary disclosure programs, launched in 2009 and 2011,…

Intel Medfield chip on Motorola and Lenovo smartphones

Intel's new processor designed for mobile devices will be used by Motorola Mobility and Lenovo in upcoming Android-based smartphones. The Medfield chip is designed to help Intel make headway in a sector dominated by processors based on designs by…

Nissan-Renault alliance in sales record in tough year

The Renault-Nissan partnership's global vehicle sales increased 10% last year to a record high. Deliveries by the two car companies and their Russian partner AvtoVaz rose to 8.03 million vehicles, up from 7.28 million in 2010. Renault-Nissan chief…

Fannie Mae CEO to resign

Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams plans to resign, the government-controlled mortgage giant said Tuesday. Williams, who took over as president and CEO of the troubled company in 2009, will continue as CEO until Fannie Mae's board names a successor.…

China export growth slows on weak demand from Europe

Growth in China's exports slowed in December because of sluggish demand from the US and Europe. Exports rose by 13.4% from a year earlier, the customs agency said, down from 13.8% in November. Import growth also slowed, rising 11.8% compared with…

Gov’t accused of ‘enslaving’ CLICO policyholders

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has accused the coalition People's Partnership government of seeking to "enslave" policyholders even as the High Court is being asked to enforce their right to full compensation on the Executive…

French industrial output rises more than expected

French industrial output rose by a greater-than-expected 1.1% in November, lifted by production of electronic equipment and refinery output. Manufacturing output increased by 1.3%, said national statistics office Insee. Year-on-year, manufacturing…