News

July 29, 2011

Former pitcher Hideki Irabu dead in apparent suicide

Former professional baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead at his California home, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Homicide detectives and representatives from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office determined that he…

July 29, 2011

Bradley sacked as U.S. national coach

United States national coach Bob Bradley has been fired less than a year into a four-year contract extension he signed last August after leading the Americans to the second round of the World Cup. U.S. Soccer spokesman Neil Buethe said Thursday…

July 29, 2011

Italy pays higher interest rate on latest bond sale

Italy has had to pay much more to borrow than a month ago as investors continue to worry…

July 29, 2011

Nintendo shares plunge 20% after company reports a loss

Shares in Nintendo have plunged on the Tokyo stock exchange a day after the company said it made a loss in the first quarter. Its shares fell by 20% in early trading as investors reacted to the worse-than-expected earnings report. On Thursday,…

July 29, 2011

Vodafone shareholders to get £2bn Verizon dividend

Vodafone shareholders will finally receive a return on the company's investment in Verizon Wireless after the US telecoms firm approved the payment of a $10bn (£6.1bn) dividend. Vodafone owns a 45% stake in Verizon, and so will receive $4.5bn,…

July 29, 2011

Unemployment claims drop below 400,000

Finally, some better news about the job market: the number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 for the first time since early April. There were 398,000 initial unemployment claims filed in the week ended July 23, the…

July 29, 2011

Exxon profits up on higher oil prices

US oil giant Exxon Mobil has reported a rise in quarterly profits on the back of higher oil prices. The company said that net profit rose to $10.7bn (£6.6bn) for the three months to June, up 41% from the same period last year. The profit was its…

July 29, 2011

US debt: House vote on Republican spending cuts delayed

A vote on a Republican bill to raise the US debt ceiling, cut spending and avert default has…

July 29, 2011

Nato takes over Kosovo border posts after clashes

Nato has deployed peacekeepers in the north of Kosovo after a border post with Serbia was burnt down and a Kosovo policeman killed. Serbian nationalists in Kosovo attacked the post on Wednesday after Kosovo's government sent police to enforce a…

July 29, 2011

Libyan rebel commander Abdel Fattah Younes killed

The military commander of the Libyan rebels fighting to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed, the rebel National Transitional Council says. NTC head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was killed by assailants, and the head of…