The euro decreased sharply on Tuesday against the dollar to $1.3599 following Italy’s debt rating cut by Standard & Poor’s late on Monday. S&P cut Italy’s credit rating by one notch to A from A+ with a negative outlook. The downgrade by the ratings agency comes amid worries that a “fragile governing coalition” and “weakening […]

Credit Suisse said on Monday it has agreed an out of court settlement of €150m with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Germany to end an investigation into its employees concerning tax evasion. The payment will be taken as a charge in the 3Q11. Switzerland’s second largest bank said in a statement: “The entire proceedings are […]

Canadian BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion, saw its share plummet almost 20 percent Friday after it announced it had missed its earnings target for the third consecutive quarter. Profits decreased sharply by 47 percent for 2Q11 to $497m from $797m year-on-year, while revenue dropped by ten percent to $4.17bn in the three months to August […]

France’s second and third largest banks by assets – Credit Agricole and Société Générale – on Wednesday saw their credit ratings downgraded one notch by Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s slashed Credit Agricole to Aa2 from Aa1 while Société Générale was reduced to Aa3 from Aa2 with a negative outlook for long-term debt and deposit ratings. […]

Shares in BNP Paribas on Tuesday plummeted nine percent to €23.63 after a drop of 12 percent in an earlier session. The decrease followed allegations that the lender could be facing a possible credit rating downgrade. Several French banks remain under pressure by markets amid worries over Greek debt exposure. Stocks had opened higher in […]

Markets remained stable on Thursday as investors await President Obama’s speech on job proposals detailing plans of boosting employment before a joint session of Congress. President Obama is said to put forward a jobs package of an estimated $300bn amid US voter frustration over the country’s 9.1 percent unemployment. The plan will outline measures to […]

Swedish car manufacturer Saab on Wednesday filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors amid mounting debt and production stoppages in a last minute attempt to save the brand. The filing at the Swedish court includes its subsidiaries Saab Powertrain and Saab Tools but excludes overseas subsidiaries and Saab Parts. The car maker signed a financing agreement […]

European and Asian stocks slumped on Labor Day after US growth fears hit the markets late on Friday following weak employment data that showed the US economy had added no jobs at all in August. Stocks in Europe on Monday traded lower on the news with the FTSE 100 down 1.7 percent to 5,201, the […]

As increasing prices continue to aggravate Asia’s governments moving into September, manufacturing activity slowed in August within Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, according to data released on Thursday. Investors in the US worried ahead of Labor Day – America’s annual holiday to welcome in September – that it would have adverse affects across the water. […]

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin late on Tuesday announced an agreement between US oil conglomerate ExxonMobil and Russia’s Rosneft to explore the country’s oil-rich Arctic continental shelf. The deal replaces a comparable but failed agreement with BP that differs in that Exxon offers Rosneft assets in Texas and in the Gulf of Mexico in exchange […]

Bank of America late on Monday announced it is to sell around half of its ten percent stake in China Construction Bank to a group of investors in an effort to increase capital and shed assets.  The sale of around 13.1 billion shares is expected to generate an estimated $8.3bn in cash proceeds and an […]

Markets showed signs of caution and the dollar declined against its counterparts as traders await a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke which is expected to show a slowing US economy. Following Japan’s downgrade on Wednesday wild rumours emerged that Germany could face a credit rating cut and unnerved German markets in early trading […]

Credit Agricole, France’s third largest bank by market value, published in its 2Q11 net profit results on Thursday a 10.6 percent decrease at €339m compared to €379m in the same period last year. The decline was mainly attributed to a pre-tax impairment on its Greek bond exposure of €202m, the bank said in a statement. In Paris […]


Asian highs were short-lived on Wednesday when regional markets failed to hold on to Tuesday’s gains after sentiment dampened following Moody’s decision to downgrade Japan’s credit rating to Aa3.
 The ratings agency said that the nuclear accident coupled with the earthquake disaster had aggravated its economy and deferred Japan’s recovery.
The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng […]

Asian markets rebounded on Tuesday following a series of losses last week after released data showed improved manufacturing activity in China and buoyancy that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may unveil steps to boost the US economy. 
 
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.99 percent to 19,875, Japan’s Nikkey rose 1.2 percent to 8,733 while […]