January 6, 2012
Swiss National Bank head says he has not broken law
The chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), Philip Hildebrand, has denied any "legal breaches" resulting from his wife's currency trades. He said he would not resign as a result of the claims. Kashya Hildebrand bought $504,000 (£323,024) in…
January 6, 2012
Former Olympus boss ends takeover bid for camera firm
The ousted boss of Olympus has given up on his attempts to regain control of the Japanese camera and medical equipment maker. Michael Woodford was fired after highlighting accounting irregularities that sparked a police probe and stock-price slump.…
January 5, 2012
Greek prime minister warns of March default
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said Greece may default on its debts in March unless unions accept further cuts to salaries. Mr Papademos said more cuts were needed to avoid exiting the eurozone. Analysts say the warning is to prepare…
January 5, 2012
Top China airlines to ignore EU carbon tax, body says
China's biggest airlines will not pay a new European Union tax aimed at cutting carbon emissions, their trade body has said. On 1 January, the EU brought airlines under its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which levies a charge on flights based on…
January 5, 2012
Kodak shares tumble 28% amid fears about its future
Shares in Eastman Kodak have fallen 28% on speculation the photography firm was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the US. Shares dropped 18 cents to a record low of 47 cents on Wednesday. The sell-off was triggered by a report in the…
January 4, 2012
Swiss bankers charged in $1.2 billion tax fraud
Three Swiss bankers have been charged with helping American taxpayers hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan announced Tuesday. Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller face up to…
January 4, 2012
Ecuador appeals court rules against Chevron in oil case
An Ecuadorean appeals court has upheld a ruling that Chevron should pay damages totalling $18.2bn (£11.5bn) over Amazon oil pollution. Chevron said the judgement was "illegitimate" and "a fraud". Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, was…
January 4, 2012
BP asks Halliburton to pay for Gulf of Mexico spill
Oil giant BP has asked its contractor Halliburton to pay for all costs and damages that arose from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The claims were made in a filing by BP's lawyer Don Haycraft in a US Federal court. BP and Halliburton are…
January 4, 2012
Chinese oil company Sinopec agrees $2.2bn US shale deal
Chinese oil firm Sinopec has agreed a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) deal with Devon Energy, giving it access to shale deposits in the US. Sinopec will get a one-third stake in five new shale projects, with the firms expecting to drill 125 wells this year. China…
January 4, 2012
Oil prices soared Tuesday as tensions grew over key Persian Gulf oil
In midday trading, benchmark crude jumped US$3.55, or 3.6 per cent, to US$102.38 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil varieties that are imported by US refineries, rose US$3.26, or three per cent, to US$110.64…