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

Business Business

WTO rules against EU in bananas dispute - Added 1 week ago

The World Trade Organization has ruled that the European Union's import taxes for bananas break global commerce rules, putting some Latin American countries at an unfair disadvantage against former French and British...

Brazil, Russia want summit with India, China - Added 1 week ago

The presidents of Brazil and Russia agreed Wednesday that Russia will host a summit of the world's four leading emerging market nations next year. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil, Russia, India and...

21 killed in Ghana tanker blaze - Added 1 week ago

A tanker truck carrying gasoline overturned on a highway in Ghana and exploded while people were trying to take the leaking fuel on Wednesday, killing at least 21 and injuring about 80, police said. The accident...

UK furniture chain MFI goes into administration - Added 1 week ago

British furniture chain MFI said Wednesday the company had failed and was going into administration, citing the continuing pressure on Britain's battered housing market. MFI Group Ltd. said it was suffering from...

In US defeat, UN agency approves Syria nuclear aid - Added 1 week ago

The U.N. nuclear agency on Wednesday overrode U.S. concerns and approved sensitive technical aid for Syria, despite allegations the country has a secret atomic program that could be used to make weapons. In the end,...

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Missouri mother in MySpace cyber-bullying case convicted of lesser misdemeanor charges. ...

4 new reports reveal battered economy - Added 1 week ago

The government released a quartet of reports Wednesday that paint a bleak picture of the nation's economy: Jobless claims remain at recessionary levels, Americans cut back on their spending by the largest amount since...

Workers riot at Chinese toy factory - Added 1 week ago

It started as a pay dispute at a southern Chinese toy factory. But it quickly turned into a riot as laid-off workers tapped into a network of friends and unemployed laborers who flipped over a police car, stormed into...

Nigeria bans teething drug after 25 children die - Added 1 week ago

Teething formula tainted with a toxic thickening agent has killed 25 children in Nigeria, prompting regulators to yank it from shelves and shut down its manufacturer, officials said Wednesday. The national food and...

Trade dispute erodes Turkish interest to join EU - Added 1 week ago

A trade dispute is eroding Turkey's already fading interest to join the European Union, as the debate over EU restrictions on exports of a little-known mineral takes on unexpected political significance. Ankara is...

Kremlin ally proposed for Norilsk board - Added 1 week ago

One of Norilsk Nickel's billionaire shareholders has proposed political heavyweight Alexander Voloshin to sit on the miner's board, strengthening speculation that the Kremlin is seeking to tighten its grip at the...

Recession-hit Ireland to cut employees, agencies - Added 1 week ago

Battling red ink and recession, Ireland's government unveiled a sweeping plan Wednesday designed to slash its costs and reverse more than a decade of boom-fueled excess. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the...

Porsche sales decline as crisis bites - Added 1 week ago

German sports car maker Porsche SE said Wednesday it expects revenue in the four months through November to fall some 15 percent from a year ago as sales slump amid the global economic crisis. In a preliminary...

Compass Group's full-year profit down 14 percent - Added 1 week ago

Compass Group PLC, the world's largest catering company, reported Wednesday that profit fell 14 percent in the year ending Sept. 30 due to fewer sales of assets compared with a year earlier. Shares rose, though, as the...

Singapore economy may shrink in 2009 - Added 1 week ago

Singapore's prime minister says his country's economy may shrink in 2009 due to the international financial crisis. Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore's economy will grow by only around 2.5 percent this year. He spoke to...

Grenada reviving nutmeg industry with free trees - Added 1 week ago

The so-called spice island of Grenada is trying to revitalize the world's second-largest nutmeg industry by giving away thousands of trees. Agriculture Minister Michael Lett says he is encouraging people with...

Britvic's profit falls, but sales growth strong - Added 1 week ago

Soft drinks maker Britvic PLC, the British bottler for PepsiCo Inc., said Wednesday its annual net profit fell 25 percent because of one-time costs including a factory closure. Net profit for the 12 months through...

National Bank of Greece reports flat 3Q profit - Added 1 week ago

National Bank of Greece said Wednesday its third quarter net profit remained flat compared to the previous quarter as higher profits in southeast Europe and Turkey offset losses in Greece. NBG, the country's largest...

New jobless claims drop from 16-year high - Added 1 week ago

New jobless claims fell more than expected last week from a 16-year high, the government said Wednesday, though they remain at elevated levels due to the slowing economy. The report was one of four released by the...

Central Bank head says Lebanese banks growing - Added 1 week ago

Lebanon's banking sector is weathering the global financial crisis and profits are expected to increase by 10 percent this year, the Central Bank governor said Wednesday, in a reflection of the country's ability to...

Guyana to close Net cafes that offer cheap calls - Added 1 week ago

Guyana plans to close hundreds of Internet cafes that it accuses of bypassing the telephone company system to offer cheap international calls. The Revenue Authority accuses them of tax evasion because they do not...

New home sales fall to slowest pace since 1991 - Added 1 week ago

Sales of new homes fell in October to the lowest point in nearly 18 years while the median price of a new home dropped to the lowest level since 2004. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales...

OTE telecom net profit up 30 pct in 3Q - Added 1 week ago

Greece's largest telecoms company OTE said Wednesday its net profit increased 30 percent in the third quarter due to a strong performance in its mobile phone units. Net profit reached euro201.3 million ($260.4 million)...

Britain to host G-20 meeting in April - Added 1 week ago

Leaders of 20 of the world's industrialized and emerging economies will meet in London in April to check their progress on tackling the global financial crisis, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday. Brown...

Ukraine says World Bank ready to loan $500 million - Added 1 week ago

Ukraine is due to receive a $500 million loan from the World Bank to battle a crippling economic crisis, the country's prime minister and the World Bank said Wednesday. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said the loan...

Iraqi Kurds to begin solo exports of crude oil - Added 1 week ago

Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish regional government will export crude oil for the first time by early next year, a Kurdish official said on Wednesday. Ashti Hawrami, the natural resources minister in the Kurdistan region,...

EU closes antitrust case against Germany's E.On - Added 1 week ago

The European Commission closed an antitrust case against E.On AG Wednesday when it formally accepted the German energy titan's commitment to sell a fifth of its power generation capacity along with its extra-high...

Serbia: Russia will finish South Stream by 2015 - Added 1 week ago

Moscow has pledged to complete its South Stream gas pipeline by 2015 _ two years behind the original schedule _ despite the global financial crisis, Serbian officials said Wednesday. The $13 billion pipeline to be laid...

Abu Dhabi firms set up new UAE mortgage lender - Added 1 week ago

Abu Dhabi launched a new home loan provider Wednesday in the latest effort by the United Arab Emirates to protect its property boom from the global credit crisis. The company, Abu Dhabi Finance, is backed by a mix of...

Russia sends upgraded cargo ship to space station - Added 1 week ago

Russian Mission Control says a modernized cargo ship has been launched to deliver supplies and equipment for the international space station. Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin says the unmanned Progress M-01M...

Russian gas price will double if Ukraine has debt - Added 1 week ago

Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom threatened on Wednesday to more than double the price Ukraine pays for natural gas next year if it fails to pay off a $2.4 billion debt. Gazprom has previously warned that the price could...

Lufthansa to launch airline in Italy - Added 1 week ago

Germany's biggest airline, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said Wednesday it will launch a new Italian carrier early next year that will offer flights to European destinations from Milan. The company said its Lufthansa Italia...

Credit crunch curbs Christmas shopping in Nordics - Added 1 week ago

Burdened by the global financial meltdown, Santa Claus will pack fewer Christmas gifts this year as he sleighs through Finland, Denmark and Sweden. The Norwegians, however, won't feel much of a Yuletide pinch,...

Cuba names general new agriculture minister - Added 1 week ago

Cuba's governing body has named Gen. Ulises Rosales Toro to the long-vacant post of agriculture minister as it struggles with shortages following three hurricanes. Rosale moves from the post of sugar minister. He also...

Poland cuts interest rate to 5.75 percent - Added 1 week ago

Poland's central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 5.75 percent on Wednesday amid signs that the booming economy may slow down under the weight of the global financial crisis. The National...

October durable goods orders drop by 6.2 percent - Added 1 week ago

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in October by the largest amount in two years as manufacturing was battered by the overall economic weakness. The Commerce Department reported...

US lending rates fall for first time in 4 days - Added 1 week ago

Lending rates on three-month dollar loans between banks fell for the first time in four trading days Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it will commit $800 billion to unfreeze credit markets. According to...

Consumer spending down 1 percent in October - Added 1 week ago

As the financial crisis was gaining force, Americans cut back on their spending in October by the largest amount since the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that consumer spending...

Singapore's Temasek cancels sale of power company - Added 1 week ago

Singapore's state-owned investment company, Temasek Holdings Pte., said it canceled an auction of electricity generator PowerSeraya Ltd. because of a lack of investor interest. "We launched the tender process early...

Brazil stocks fall Wednesday after 2 days of gains - Added 1 week ago

Brazilian stocks are down as investors pocket profits following two days of gains for shares of big companies in Latin America's largest economy. Brazil's Ibovespa index fell 0.9 percent to 34,500 shortly after trading...

Singapore manufacturing falls 13 pct in October - Added 1 week ago

Singapore manufacturing plummeted 13 percent in October from a year earlier as demand for the city-state's electronic and pharmaceutical exports dried up amid the global economic slowdown. Electronics, which account...

GDF Suez sticks to its full-year profit goals - Added 1 week ago

French gas and electric utility GDF Suez said Wednesday it is sticking to its full-year and medium-term profit goals after "excellent" nine-month results, and announced a new euro1 billion ($1.28 billion) savings plan. ...

FTSE 100 down 60.71 at 4,110.54 - Added 1 week ago

Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were lower at midday Wednesday. At midday, the FTSE 100-share index was down 60.71 points at 4,110.54. ...

Emirates president downplays oil price concerns - Added 1 week ago

The president of the United Arab Emirates is downplaying concerns about falling oil prices ahead of an emergency OPEC meeting later this week. The Emirates is one of the world's top oil producers. Sheik Khalifa bin...

Alcatel-Lucent names new CFO - Added 1 week ago

Alcatel-Lucent on Wednesday said Paul Tufano will take over as chief financial officer after Hubert de Pesquidoux resigned from the French-American telecommunications maker. The latest high-level shake-up comes after...

Woolworths suspends trading pending possible sale - Added 1 week ago

Shares in Woolworths Group PLC were suspended on Wednesday at little more than a penny each as the century-old retailer held last-ditch discussions with potential buyers. Woolworths confirmed it is in discussions to...

HK stock index up 3.8 pct after Wall Street gains - Added 1 week ago

Hong Kong's stock index rose nearly 4 percent Wednesday amid growing optimism after Wall Street gained and the U.S. announced new measures to stimulate its economy. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index added 490.85 points, or...

Poland's jobless rate dips in October - Added 1 week ago

Poland's unemployment rate fell slightly to 8.8 percent in October despite the global economic crisis, according to government data released Wednesday. The rate was down 0.1 percentage points from September. The...

Rio Tinto says it is comfortable with debt level - Added 1 week ago

Mining giant Rio Tinto on Wednesday sought to allay concerns about its debt levels a day after bigger rival BHP Billiton abandoned a takeover bid for that reason, sending Rio's share price plummeting. Rio Tinto...

Dollar mixed, gold falls in morning trading - Added 1 week ago

The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading Wednesday morning. Gold fell. The euro traded at $1.2973, down from $1.3022 late Tuesday in New York. Other dollar rates: _95.18 Japanese...