December 19, 2011
Vickers report on banks to be accepted in full – Cable
The government will accept the Vickers report into banking "in full", Business Secretary Vince Cable has told the BBC. The report, launched in the wake of the financial crisis, recommended separating banks' retail business from their investment…
December 17, 2011
Fitch revises outlook on France to ‘negative’
Ratings agency Fitch has affirmed France's top-notch AAA credit rating but has revised its outlook on the country to "negative" from "stable". A negative outlook usually means a downgrade is possible in 12-18 months. Fitch said the change in…
December 17, 2011
Ex-Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bosses charged with fraud
The US financial regulator has brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the executives had misled investors about the companies'…
December 17, 2011
Multi-million dollar contract to upgrade water system
The National Water Commission (NWC) in Jamaica has signed a US$115 million loan with the Bank of Nova Scotia for funding of the second phase of the Jamaica Water Supply Improvement Project (JWSIP). The JWSIP, which is divided into segments A and B,…
December 17, 2011
Early US stock market rally fades
An early rally faded on the stock market yesterday, leaving indexes down about three per cent for the week as worries resurfaced about a breakup of the euro. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion plunged after slashing its forecast for holiday…
December 17, 2011
EU and IMF end informal Hungary debt talks
The European Commission and the IMF have cut short informal aid talks with Hungary due to worries over the independence of its central bank. Hungary had been seeking a standby credit line of 15-20bn euros ($19.5bn, £12.6bn) in case it ran into…
December 17, 2011
Senate approves two-month extension of payroll tax cut
Senate lawmakers on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to extend the payroll…
December 16, 2011
Lagarde: No country’s economy immune from rising risks
IMF head Christine Lagarde has said the world economic outlook is "gloomy" and no country is immune from rising risks. She said all nations, starting with Europe, needed to head off a crisis with risks of a global depression. "There is no economy in…
December 16, 2011
ECB chief Draghi: Governments must save themselves
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi says there’s “no external savior” for heavily indebted governments in the 17-nation eurozone and gave no indication the bank is ready to step in and support their finances. Investors had hoped the ECB…
December 16, 2011
Europe anxiety pushes oil prices lower
Oil prices continued to drop after Wednesday’s 5 per cent plunge, as Europe’s weakest economies failed to get more help from their central bank. Benchmark crude on yesterday fell 58 cents to US$94.37 per barrel in afternoon trading in New York.…