Markets rally on US fiscal deal

2 January 2013 Last updated at 09:51 ETContinue reading the main storyGlobal stock markets have rallied after a short-term deal to stave off the US “fiscal cliff” was reached.The Dow Jones gained 1.8% at the open on Wall Street, while European shares were up by more than 2% for the day.Failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax rises worth $ 600bn (£370bn), expected to throw...

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UK assumes presidency of G8 group

31 December 2012 Last updated at 22:18 ETThe UK is assuming its year-long presidency of the G8 group of nations.The presidency – which rotates through the G8 members – means it will host the annual leaders’ summit and choose the global priorities that are discussed.June’s summit is to be held at Lough Erne, in County Fermanagh, while topics discussed will include tax havens.The G8 is made up countries...

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Commissions banned on new sales

31 December 2012 Last updated at 07:37 ETFinancial advisers and sales staff can no longer be paid commissions by the firms whose policies they are selling.New rules, aimed at eradicating the long-standing practice, are being imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) from now.The aim is to stop policies – such as private pensions and investments – being mis-sold by sales staff, motivated by...

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We’re Paying Off Our Debts, At Least At Home

Had it with the so-called fiscal cliff? Wondering what comes next now that Republicans pulled the plug on House Speaker John Boehner’s Plan B? Take a break from the frenzy in Washington and ignore for the moment the federal government’s red ink. Focus instead on another balance sheet that isn’t getting enough attention: The household balance sheet. Over the past five turbulent years, despite high...

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Pending home sales hit two-and-half year high in November

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose in November to their highest level in 2-1/2 years, an industry group said on Friday, further evidence of a strengthening housing market recovery.The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, increased 1.7 percent to 106.4 – the highest level since April 2010 when...

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‘Boxing Day record’ for web retail

27 December 2012 Last updated at 07:44 ETBy Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC NewsRecord numbers visited UK retail websites on Boxing Day, with analysts suggesting shoppers are also using the internet to identify bargains.Information service Experian said UK consumers made 113 million visits to retailers’ websites during 26 December.High Streets are expected to be busy again for the post-Christmas...

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Tube drivers in Boxing Day strike

26 December 2012 Last updated at 07:01 ETPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. BBC News spoke to commuters at Edgware Road station in London, some branding the strike “really inconvenient”A number of London Underground drivers have gone on strike in a long-running row over bank holiday pay.Transport for London (TfL) says there is likely to be “significant disruption” to Tube...

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Monti ‘available to lead Italy’

23 December 2012 Last updated at 08:29 ETItalian Prime Minister Mario Monti says he is not siding for now with any party in upcoming elections, but remains available to head a future government.Mr Monti said he was ready to lead any coalition committed to his reforms.The caretaker prime minister said he was unable to accept an offer from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to lead a centrist coalition.Elections...

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LSE agrees LCH Clearnet purchase

24 December 2012 Last updated at 07:56 ETThe London Stock Exchange is to buy a 60% stake in LCH Clearnet, the European clearing house, but for a lower price.The LSE will pay 366m euros ($ 482m; £300m), about 100m euros below the original offer price.The lower price reflected new European rules requiring clearing houses to hold more capital, the companies said.Clearing houses enable the trading of...

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China and India: The $10 Trillion Engine of Future U.S. Growth

My friend and colleague Michael J. Silverstein, writing in this space in late October, mentioned that the most dangerous thing about China is America’s misguided attitude toward the country. In short, we appear to be afraid of China’s success.The U.S. has never before run from a challenge. This is the wrong time to start.As Silverstein and his co-authors—Carol Liao, David Michael, and Abheek Singhi—point...

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Can Nepal’s Republic Be Saved?

If you were a politician in Nepal during the past two years, there’s some chance you may have been slapped. In January 2011—as well as in May and November of this year—three citizens who were fed up with chronic government inaction physically attacked three senior politicians.Nepal’s citizens survived 10 years of a bloody Maoist insurrection that killed an estimated 16,000 people but also brought...

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US budget negotiations setback drives stocks down

PARIS (AP) — A failed attempt find a compromise in U.S. budget negotiations sent global stock markets plummeting Friday, as investors feared the world’s largest economy could teeter into recession if no deal is found.Without an agreement, the U.S. economy will fall off the so-called “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1 when Bush-era tax cuts expire and spending cuts kick in automatically. The measures were designed...

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Wall Street ticks lower on “fiscal cliff” stalemate

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks edged slightly lower on Thursday as investors fretted that a deal on the U.S. budget wouldn’t come as soon as they had hoped after President Barack Obama threatened to veto a controversial Republican plan.The market barely reacted to a round of strong data, including on gross domestic product growth and housing, suggesting talks to avert the “fiscal cliff,” steep tax hikes...

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UBS in $1.5bn Libor rigging fine

19 December 2012 Last updated at 06:43 ETSwiss banking giant UBS has agreed to pay $ 1.5bn (£940m) to US, UK and Swiss regulators for attempting to manipulate the Libor inter-bank lending rate.It becomes the second major bank to be fined over Libor after Barclays was ordered to pay $ 450m to UK and US authorities in the summer.Regulators worldwide are investigating a number of banks for rigging Libor.Libor...

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Newtown Fallout: Cerberus Retreats From Guns

While President Barack Obama and other Democratic politicians clear their throats about proposing new gun control laws sometime next year, the marketplace is responding swiftly to the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre.Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of the largest retailers in its industry, said Tuesday it is suspending the sale of certain military-style semiautomatic rifles similar to the one...

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Japan’s Nikkei outperforms as opposition wins big

LONDON (AP) — Japanese shares outperformed all others Monday amid hopes that the new government will enact fresh stimulus measures to boost the world’s third-largest economy.Signs that U.S. politicians are inching toward a budget deal helped Wall Street open stronger than earlier predicted and shored up European markets after a bad morning.The standout index was Japan‘s Nikkei 225, which closed up...

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Cinnabon in Tripoli: Libya Opens Up to Foreign Business

After 42 years, the country formerly known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is getting its first taste of consumer capitalism in an unlikely form: sweet, sticky cinnamon rolls. Cinnabon, the Atlanta-based bakery chain, is at the vanguard of a potential business boom in the North African country, which deposed dictator Muammar Qaddafi last year in a bloody civil war. In July the...

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UBS faces $1.6 billion fine over Libor rigging: paper

ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS faces a fine of 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.63 billion) to settle interest rate rigging charges, a Swiss newspaper reported on Saturday.Citing unnamed sources, Tages-Anzeiger daily said the bank would admit 36 traders around the globe manipulated yen Libor between 2005 and 2010. A UBS spokesman declined to comment.People familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday UBS...

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Wall Street dips at open on “cliff” overhang

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks were little changed on Friday, with the Nasdaq weighed by a 3-percent drop in shares of tech giant Apple, amid investor worries about a lack of progress by politicians in ongoing fiscal negotiations.Apple was down 2.8 percent at $ 515.11 as UBS cut its price target to $ 700 from $ 780. The stock has tumbled in recent months for a variety of reasons, including investors...

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