News For Thursday Dec 4, 2008 News For Thursday Dec 4, 2008

Business Business

Bermuda to build pier for large cruise ships - Added 1 week ago

Bermuda plans to build a second cruise ship pier in the island's western region to accommodate large ships. The government says it hopes the multimillion dollar project will transform an old naval town into a new...

Western governors: 'Obama, act quickly on energy' - Added 1 week ago

The governors of the nation's largest energy-producing states are encouraging President-elect Barack Obama to quickly adopt a national energy policy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bipartisan Western...

VW building Tenn. assembly plant during hard times - Added 1 week ago

With huge dirt movers shaping the site of Volkswagen's $1 billion assembly plant at Chattanooga, Europe's largest automaker says it has no regrets about announcing its arrival as an American employer in hard times. "We...

GM Europe wants to cut labor costs 10 percent - Added 1 week ago

General Motors Europe wants to cut labor costs by 10 percent without eliminating jobs, according to a letter sent to GM employees. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday, GM Europe chief Carl-Peter...

UBS: More former executives forgo pay, bonuses - Added 1 week ago

Former executives who oversaw massive losses at Swiss banking giant UBS AG will repay a further 22 million Swiss francs ($18.45 million), Chairman Peter Kurer said Thursday. The repayments by the unidentified...

Chesapeake Energy may sell $1.8B stock to get cash - Added 1 week ago

Chesapeake Energy Corp., the nation's largest producer of natural gas, seeks to raise up to $1.8 billion through common stock sales in an effort to fund its drilling and exploration activities and mitigate the impact of...

European markets track Asia higher after US gains - Added 1 week ago

European stock markets closed higher Thursday in the wake of earlier gains in Asia and Wall Street's fourth consecutive rise on Wednesday, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Indian markets were closed after deadly...

UBS finds some tax fraud by US clients - Added 1 week ago

The Swiss bank UBS AG has uncovered cases of tax fraud by some of its U.S. clients, Chairman Peter Kurer said Thursday. UBS examined its files as a result of investigations by the U.S. Justice Department and others...

Hungary hopeful for Nabucco deal - Added 1 week ago

Hungary's prime minister says he is hopeful that talks over a pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Caucasus to Western markets will resume smoothly soon. Talks for the project have been hindered by...

Brazil stocks wobble in light trading - Added 1 week ago

Brazilian stocks briefly tracked gains for European and Asian markets on Thursday before dipping slightly. Other markets rose moderately. Brazil's Ibovespa index was down 0.35 percent to 36,343 in afternoon trading....

World economy shaky despite massive bank rescues - Added 1 week ago

The U.S. government's recent decision to save banking giant Citigroup Inc. may ultimately be remembered as the last high-profile bank rescue in the great financial crisis of 2008, but that doesn't mean it's business as...

Macedonia unveils euro330 million economic aid plan - Added 1 week ago

The government on Thursday announced plans for a euro330 million ($425.7 million) support package to alleviate the impact of the financial crisis on the local economy. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said he would table...

Petrobras takes big loan; gov't says no problem - Added 1 week ago

Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras took out a loan worth $860 million from a state bank last month, but officials said Thursday the action was routine. The loan was given by the Caixa Economica Federal to...

MISSING TITLE - Added 1 week ago

French official: Airbus A320 on training flight crashes in Mediterranean; 5-7 people aboard. ...

As food prices climb, industry ponder trash - Added 1 week ago

Experts in the food industry are thinking a lot about trash these days. Food waste has been a chronic problem for restaurants and grocery stores _ with millions of tons being lost along the way as crops are hauled...

BAT could get 1.2 billion pounds of taxes back - Added 1 week ago

British American Tobacco PLC said it stands to get 1.2 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) worth of overpaid taxes back after a high court ruling in the company's favor on Thursday. Europe's largest cigarette maker said a...

UN: financial crisis a burden on climate change - Added 1 week ago

The global financial crisis will make it harder for countries to agree on an ambitious new treaty to combat global warming and underscores the need to make green technologies profitable, the U.N. climate chief said...

US beef back on shelves of SKorean supermarkets - Added 1 week ago

South Korea's supermarket chains resumed selling U.S. beef Thursday, nearly five months after the government lifted an import ban imposed over fears of mad cow disease. South Korea banned American beef in 2003 after a...

Panasonic slashes profit forecast by 90 percent - Added 1 week ago

Panasonic slashed its annual profit forecast by 90 percent, blaming a strong yen, sluggish sales and heavy discounting as electronics makers fight for market share amid a global economic downturn. Panasonic Corp. said...

BVI premier warns of stalled construction projects - Added 1 week ago

The premier of the British Virgin Islands is warning of budget cuts and says construction projects will likely be placed on hold to weather a global financial crisis. Ralph O'Neal says government programs related to...

From Bust to Broom: Foreclosure cleanups bustling - Added 1 week ago

Several men wordlessly carry out furniture, broken computers and boxes of garbage from a large blue house on a quiet upstate street on a brisk autumn morning. Rusting bikes and an old grill lay discarded in the...

Woolworths desperate for buyer amid retail turmoil - Added 1 week ago

Just a year shy of celebrating its centenary, retailer Woolworths Group PLC was on the verge of collapse Thursday as financial administrators appointed to the company raced to find a buyer for its 800-strong chain of...

Oil falls below $54 as US demand outlook worsens - Added 1 week ago

Oil prices fell below $54 a barrel Thursday as dismal U.S. economic data and rising crude inventories outweighed the possibility of production cuts by OPEC and Russia. By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for...

Queen sets examples for Britain in credit crunch - Added 1 week ago

It may seem improbable for a woman who divides her time among four palaces, but Queen Elizabeth II has a reputation for watching her pounds and pence. On Thursday, for instance, she toured Oxfordshire in the same...

German carmaker Daimler may cut some working hours - Added 1 week ago

Daimler AG said Thursday it is considering cutting working hours at some of its car production plants in Germany as the economic gloom pushes down sales. The company said it may scale back hours at Mercedes-Benz car...

Spain: economic stimulus plan to create jobs - Added 1 week ago

Spain's prime minister has announced an euro11 billion ($14 billion) stimulus plan to revive the country's flagging economy. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero says the package will feature major spending on public works and...

Trade fears arise after China cancels EU summit - Added 1 week ago

The head of France's business lobby said Thursday she is "worried" about the trade implications of China's decision to pull out of an upcoming China-European Union summit. The EU-China summit was planned for Monday in...

Jamaica launches $3 million tourism ad campaign - Added 1 week ago

Jamaica is launching a $3 million advertising campaign to lure tourists to the island despite a global financial crisis. Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says TV and radio ads are targeting the United States, which is...

ArcelorMittal looks to cut 9,000 jobs - Added 1 week ago

ArcelorMittal SA, the world's largest steelmaker, said Wednesday it is looking to cut 9,000 jobs through voluntary agreements, shedding around 3 percent of its global workforce in response to the economic downturn. In...

Austria: MAN to make 2,000 workers part-time - Added 1 week ago

Austrian truck manufacturer MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Oesterreich AG will downgrade 2,000 of its employees to part-time status due to the global economic downturn, the company said Thursday. The decision will affect workers at...

South African anti-bribery police visit BAE - Added 1 week ago

British defense company BAE Systems PLC said Thursday that South African police visited its offices near the capital of Pretoria as part of an investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office into alleged bribery. BAE...

Venezuela, Russia say oil prices must stabilize - Added 1 week ago

Venezuela will back repeated cuts in OPEC oil production until prices stabilize, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez says, and Russia is proposing closer cooperation with the oil cartel. Ramirez said Wednesday that his country...

Porsche suffers court setback on VW - Added 1 week ago

A court on Thursday rejected an attempt by Porsche SE to have a provision struck from Volkswagen AG's statutes that gives VW's second-largest shareholder a blocking minority vote at the automaker. The state court in...

SAS wants to increase stake in Estonian Air - Added 1 week ago

Scandinavian airline operator SAS AB wants to increase its ownership in Estonian Air by buying the Estonian government's 34 percent stake in the troubled airline, a SAS spokesman said Thursday. SAS, which owns 49...

New Alitalia owners not ready to take over on time - Added 1 week ago

The Italian investors taking over bankrupt Alitalia are not ready to assume control on Dec. 1 as planned, but the airline will continue to operate, the country's aviation authority said Thursday. The aviation...

US interbank lending rates climbing again - Added 1 week ago

Lending rates on dollar loans between banks increased again Thursday, reversing a one-day improvement and suggesting that banks are again becoming concerned with funding their operations. The rate on three-month loans...

Sierra Leone pirates attack Chinese vessel - Added 1 week ago

Sierra Leone police say pirates attacked a Chinese fishing vessel in a rare attack off West Africa that ended with four suspects dead. The pirates forced the crew to hand over their cargo of fish before being caught by...

Report: TNK-BP to stop investing in new refining - Added 1 week ago

Russian oil company TNK-BP will halt investment in new refining projects and focus on maintaining current production levels, the state-run news agency RIA-Novosti cited a top company official as saying Thursday. TNK-BP...

Zimbabwe labor leaders call for run on banks - Added 1 week ago

Labor leaders called on Zimbabweans Thursday to demand more money for food and medication than they are allowed to take out of their bank accounts because of tight daily withdrawal limits. The cost of basic medications...

FTSE 100 up 65.75 at 4,218.44 - Added 1 week ago

Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were up midday Thursday. At midday, the FTSE 100-share index was up 65.75 points at 4,218.44 ...

UK house price crash eases in November - Added 1 week ago

The drop in British house values slowed in November, although prices were still nearly 14 percent lower than a year ago as banks curbed lending and worried buyers avoided the property market amid the credit crunch, a...

UK electronics retailer DSG posts 1H net loss - Added 1 week ago

DSG International PLC, Britain's largest consumer electronics retailer, posted a net loss for the first half of the year on Thursday, after the company cut prices to compete with internet retailers and spent more on...

Malaysia's Proton posts strong quarterly profit - Added 1 week ago

National carmaker Proton reported upbeat news about the most recent quarter Thursday: a jump in quarterly net profit, stronger sales and a bigger share of Malaysia's domestic auto market. And despite the global...

German unemployment down in November - Added 1 week ago

Germany's jobless rate dipped in November to 7.1 percent as the number of people out of work hit a new 16-year low, but the national labor agency warned Thursday of increasing signs that the economic crisis will soon...

Dollar down, gold up in morning trading - Added 1 week ago

The U.S. dollar was lower against other major currencies in European trading Thursday morning. Gold rose. The euro traded at $1.2943, up from $1.2899 late Wednesday in New York. Other dollar rates: _95.31 Japanese...

HK index rises on China's rate cut - Added 1 week ago

Hong Kong's benchmark stock index advanced for a third straight session Thursday, boosted by China's biggest interest rate cut in 11 years to spur economic growth. The blue chip Hang Seng index rose 182.61 points, or...

Thai economy braces for blow amid airport shutdown - Added 1 week ago

Thailand's already faltering economy is bracing for a fresh blow as the shutdown of the country's main airport by protesters entered its third day, stranding thousands during the tourist high season, disrupting exports...

China shares slightly higher, rate-cut rally fades - Added 1 week ago

China shares surrendered most of an early rally to close slightly higher Thursday as continued worries about the slowing economy overshadowed the country's biggest interest rate cut in 11 years. The benchmark Shanghai...

Landmark Mumbai hotel targeted in terrorist spree - Added 1 week ago

They showed up Wednesday, as they do every night: businessmen for meetings in the elegant restaurant that overlooks the harbor, politicians for cocktails in a bar with velvet seats and wood and marble floors, friends...

Air Berlin 3Q net profit rises 43 pct - Added 1 week ago

Air Berlin PLC said Thursday its earnings grew 43 percent in the third quarter as an efficiency program paid off, with sales rising even though passenger numbers decreased. Air Berlin _ Germany's second-largest airline...