Telecoms equipment giant Nokia Siemens Networks has said it will be shedding 17,000 staff globally in an attempt to bolster profitability in a stagnating network gear market. The company plans to cut a quarter of its workforce by the end of 2013 in a restructuring that will allow it to focus in mobile broadband equipment. […]

As Pravin Gordhan, the finance minister, tries to improve the state of finances, South Africa is downgraded

Stocks in early trading in Asia slumped on Wednesday after a downward revision of US economic growth in the third quarter and rising yields on Spanish bonds. The US economy grew at a two percent annual rate, 0.5 percent less than its initial estimate, the Commerce Department said. Meanwhile, higher borrowing costs in Spain triggered […]

As Pravin Gordhan, the country’s finance minister, tries to improve the state of the country’s finances, Moody’s downgrades South Africa

Washington’s most ambitious effort in years to come to grips with its mounting debt is set to end with a whimper on Monday as negotiators plan to announce they have failed to reach a deal

Recep Tayyip Erdogan unable to shed light on Syria-Turkey relations

Palestinian Authority to struggle if US ceases funding, says Palestinian Monetary Authority Governor Jihad al-Wazir

Northern Rock, the nationalised British bank, has become on Thursday the first bailed out lender in the UK to be sold back to the private sector, according to the treasury. The British government has given the go-ahead for the £747m loss-making deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Money almost four years after Northern Rock’s near collapse. […]

As Kyrgyzstan considers letting the lease on a US military base in Bishkek run out, many wonder will a trade agreement with neighbouring nations be enough to support the country’s economy

World Finance profiles Abdel Rahim al-Keeb, the man tasked with the unenviable mission of guiding Libya through a transitional period

As German chancellor Angela Merkel sits at the negotiating table with the rest of Europe’s leaders, unemployment at home in Germany has gone through the roof

Royal Dutch Shell has allegedly withdrawn from oil development talks with the Kurdistan regional government in an attempt to protect its southern Iraq investments, according to the Financial Times. The FT speculates that Shell pulled out of talks in the hope of saving a possible $17bn natural gas deal which the Iraqi government cleared on […]

Growth in Europe almost came to a halt in the 3Q11 with a weak 0.2 percent increase, the same pace as in 2Q11, according to data released by Eurostat late on Tuesday. GDP growth was driven by Germany, Europe’s largest economy, which rose 0.5 percent in the third quarter due to stronger company and consumer […]

UBS on Tuesday confirmed Swiss-national Sergio Ermotti as permanent CEO with immediate effect. The appointment comes just two months after Ermotti was named interim CEO when Oswald Grübel stepped down in September following an alleged $2.3bn rogue trading incident at the bank. The group announced that chairman Kaspar Villiger will stand aside a year earlier […]

Investors delve into photovoltaics as the future of solar energy brightens