Business

July 6, 2011

Japan’s cabinet approves $24.7bn for disaster relief

Japan's government has approved a second budget of 2tn yen ($24.7bn; £15.4bn) for reconstruction after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. The money will be spent on rebuilding, and on compensating victims of the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Japan…

July 6, 2011

Portugal’s debt is downgraded to junk status by Moody’s

The credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Portugal's debt to junk status. The agency said there was a growing risk the country would need a second bail-out before it was ready to borrow money from financial markets again.…

July 6, 2011

Japan ‘to hold stress tests at all nuclear plants’

Japan is to conduct safety tests on all its nuclear reactors in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima plant following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said Japan's 54 reactors would undergo "stress tests" to…

July 6, 2011

Moody’s warns over China bad debt

Bad debts held by local governments in China are a far bigger problem than first estimated, ratings agency Moody's has warned. Chinese banks had lent 8.5tn yuan ($1.3tn; £820bn) to the local governments in 2010 in an attempt to boost growth.…

July 3, 2011

Greece crisis: Eurozone backs 12bn euros in aid

Eurozone finance ministers have approved the latest tranche of emergency help for the Greek economy.

July 3, 2011

Russia rescues Bank of Moscow in record bail-out

Russia's fifth largest bank, Bank of Moscow, has been given the biggest bail-out in Russian history. The $14bn rescue came after another bank, VTB, gained control through a hostile bid, only to uncover bad loans valued at $9bn - a third of the…

July 3, 2011

Palestinian Authority faces budget crisis

The Palestinian Authority has had to cut salaries paid to its civil servants by half as it faces a major budget shortfall. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on "donors and our Arab brothers" to come to their aid, saying that international donors -…

July 3, 2011

China manufacturing slows as Beijing reins in growth

China's manufacturing sector expanded at its slowest pace in 28 months following government policies to prevent the economy from overheating, according to an official survey. China's purchasing manager's index (PMI) fell to 50.9 in June from 52 in…

July 3, 2011

Apple and Microsoft group buys Nortel patents

Bankrupt telecoms firm Nortel has sold its remaining patent portfolio for $4.5bn (£2.8bn) to a consortium of six firms including Apple and Microsoft. The other consortium members are Sony, Research In Motion, Ericsson, and EMC. The auction of…

June 27, 2011

BIS warns low rates may create ‘financial distortions’

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned that low interest rates across the…