Business

May 25, 2011

US new home sales rise in April

US new home sales rose for the second month in a row in April, climbing 7.3% on the month before, figures show. April sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000 homes, the Commerce Department said, which was stronger than analysts…

May 25, 2011

Greece default would hurt other countries, says Moody’s

Any Greek debt default would likely hurt the credit rating of other peripheral eurozone countries, the ratings agency Moody's has warned. In a statement on the impact of a potential default, Moody's said such a default would also hurt Greek……

May 25, 2011

Chrysler repays $7.6bn in government loans

US car giant Chrysler has repaid $7.6bn (£4.7bn) in US and Canadian government loans that helped it stay afloat in 2009, six years ahead of schedule. The repayments include $5.9bn to the US and $1.7bn to Canada. Plummeting sales forced Chrysler,…

May 23, 2011

IMF boss should be chosen on merit say Australia and SA

South Africa and Australia have said the next managing director of the International Monetary…

May 23, 2011

Realigning trade alliances

With the demise of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a realignment of trade alliances is evident in the hemisphere—witness ALBA, Petro Caribe, expanded Mercosur. In the aftermath of the Lome Convention between the European Union and its…

May 23, 2011

Greece default fears rise as reprofiling talk flounders

Bond markets are pricing in a growing risk of an outright debt default by Greece, with its 10-year cost of borrowing hitting a new high of 16.7%. The rising market fears come as European leaders give mixed messages over whether Athens would be…

May 23, 2011

BP reaches Deepwater Horizon settlement with MOEX

One of the owners of the oil well that leaked millions of gallons into the Gulf of Mexico last year has agreed to contribute to BP's compensation fund. MOEX Offshore has agreed to pay $1.065bn (£657m) to BP to settle all claims between the…

May 23, 2011

Tepco president quits as firm reports $15bn loss

The president of Tepco, which operates Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, has resigned as the firm reported a loss of 1.25tn yen ($15.3bn; £9.4bn) for the past financial year. Masataka Shimizu will be replaced by managing director…

May 19, 2011

Japan back in recession as earthquake cuts consumption

Japan, the world's third largest economy, contracted sharply in the first three months of…

May 19, 2011

Greece warned over economic reforms by IMF

The man leading the IMF mission to Greece has warned that the country's plans for reducing its budget deficit will fall short without further reform. Greece must cut its budget deficit to 7.6% of GDP this year to meet the terms of its EU and IMF…