The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, warned ahead of Thursday’s Euro area summit that “nobody should be under any illusion because the situation is very serious.” Barroso urged European leaders to “show the ethics of European responsibility.” In a statement he outlined the key issues to be dealt with at the […]

Goldman Sachs announced late on Tuesday that it will lay off around three percent of its workforce, an estimated 1,000 staff, amid disappointing 2Q11 results. The news by the investment bank comes following lower than anticipated 2Q11 net earnings of $1.09bn after fixed income revenue dropped significantly due to a fall in trading activity. The […]

IBM reported growth in all of its key product areas and raised its income guidance for 2011 as net earnings for 2Q11 increased by eight percent to $3.7bn compared to $3.4bn in 2010, the company said late on Monday. The technology giant, which lifted its full 2011 year forecast to $13.25 a share following results, […]

Banking giant Credit Suisse said Friday it had received notice that it is being investigated by the US Department of Justice and other authorities regarding private banking services provided on a cross-border basis to US taxpayers. The bank said in a statement it will continue to cooperate with US authorities to resolve these matters, and […]

US treasuries futures fell late on Wednesday after Moody’s Investors Services placed the US government on review for a possible downgrade, which could see it stripped of its AAA rating. The ratings agency upped the likelihood of the US defaulting on loan obligations, saying that the possibility was higher than a month ago when it […]

The IMF urged the Italian government late on Tuesday to “continue pursuing fiscal consolidation”, stressing that it should cut its budget deficit to below three percent of GDP by 2012 through “decisive implementation”. Italy is hoping to approve a €40bn austerity plan by Sunday in an attempt to stabilise its budget and restore confidence in […]

The attention surrounding News International – Rupert Murdoch’s media empire – intensified as allegations emerged that former Prime Minister Gordon Brown had personal data targeted by several News International publications. Brown on Tuesday accused Murdoch’s newspapers of employing criminals to obtain confidential details about him and his family. The former prime minister believes, while in […]

Nestlé, the world’s largest food and drink group, announced on Monday that it intends to buy a majority stake in Chinese confectioner Hsu Fu Chi for $1.67bn or SFr1.4bn.
 The Swiss food company, which produces Dreyer’s ice cream, Nescafe Coffee and chocolate bars including KitKat, stated it will acquire 60 percent of shares in Hsu […]

JPMorgan Chase reached a record $211.2m settlement late on Thursday with federal and state regulators on charges it manipulated a bidding process to gain business from municipalities. The agreed settlement by the bank’s Wall Street division with 25 states and various federal regulators will see the bank paying, among others, the SEC, the Justice Department […]

German engineering and steel conglomerate ThyssenKrupp announced late on Wednesday plans to sell all of its remaining 49.48 million treasure shares accrued from its 2006 and 2008 buyback programmes. The share sale, which would generate €1.7bn based on Wednesday’s closing share price, will assist the company in paying off part of its €6.5bn debt. The […]

News of the World, the British tabloid paper that sold to millions as “the best for news, showbiz and sport exclusives” is shutting down amid the escalating phone hacking scandal, the head of News International James Murdoch said late on Thursday. It is widely believed that shutting down the 168-year-old title is an attempt to […]

FTSE 100 oil company Tullow Oil published a trading and operation statement on Tuesday ahead of the group’s half-year result release showing record revenues of $1.05bn. The company raised its full-year production guidance as it said that high revenues were due to strong operational performance driven by production in Africa. The group indicated that average […]

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker, has secured a majority stake in German-based heavy truck maker MAN SE, the company said on Monday. VW now holds 55.9 percent of the voting rights in MAN, which brings it a step closer to a tie-up with Swedish Scania. The company said it had made a mandatory offer to all […]

Swiss Bank UBS said on Friday it has nominated the former president of Deutsche Bundesbank, Axel Weber, for election to join its board in 2012 and to chair the board from 2013 onwards. Weber’s nomination to the board of directors will take place during its May 3 shareholders meeting according to the bank. Weber is […]

The Greek government is set to hold a second vote on Thursday on an austerity bill that forms part of the bailout deal with the IMF and ECB. Amid public protests Greece is expected to pass the bill which needs to be implemented to guarantee the next tranche of financial support. Greece’s Prime Minister George […]