| | |
| China to open up services, test freer yuan in Shanghai trade zone Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:35 AM PDT  BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will open up its largely sheltered services sector to foreign competition in a free-trade zone in Shanghai, and test bold financial reforms including a convertible yuan, the government said on Friday. In a long-awaited announcement from its State Council, or cabinet, China said it will ease regulatory curbs for foreign investors to set up operations in the zone and free up controls on cross-border capital flows. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek refiner offers voluntary exit to 300 staff: sources Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:30 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme (VRS) to as many as 300 employees, or almost 8 percent of its total workforce, to cut costs, two company sources told Reuters on Friday. The offer predominantly targets administrative staff and a deadline for eligible employees to apply expires at the end of next month, the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Hellenic has nearly 4,000 employees, about 80 percent of whom are based in Greece. It runs refineries and petrol stations across southeast Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| GB Auto bets on Geely cars and expansion beyond Egypt Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:16 AM PDT By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's biggest car assembler GB Auto is betting on cheaper, locally assembled Chinese vehicles and expansion into northern and sub-Saharan Africa as it grapples with the effects of political instability in its main domestic market. The company, which controls around 25 percent of Egypt's car market, is manoeuvring to keep sales on track two and a half years after Egypt's popular uprising, which caused a decline in purchases of higher-priced cars. Its net income in the second quarter plummeted 72 percent year-on-year to 16.1 million Egyptian pounds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top shareholders back Alibaba's controversial corporate structure Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:13 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Alibaba Group's biggest shareholders have backed a partnership structure that is at the center of a debate over where the Chinese e-commerce giant may list its shares in the most highly anticipated Internet IPO since Facebook Inc's $16 billion offer last year. Alibaba, which analysts value at as much as $120 billion, appears to have failed to convince Hong Kong regulators to waive tough listing rules, potentially handing the lucrative IPO to rival U.S. market operators. ... Full Story | Top |
| Amplats strike could weigh on South Africa's rand Friday, Sep 27, 2013 12:07 AM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was stable against the dollar on Friday but the start of a strike at Anglo American Platinum's South African operations is likely to drag it lower. The rand was at 9.9955 to the dollar at 0655 GMT, in line with its close in New York on Thursday. Labour unrest in Africa's biggest economy has hurt investor confidence, pushing the rand to four-year lows earlier this year. The strike over job cuts at Amplats, the world's top platinum producer, started this morning, a senior Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) official said . ... Full Story | Top |
| Government kicks off Royal Mail sale with £3.3 billion price tag Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:57 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - The government said on Friday it expected the Royal Mail postal service to be valued at as much as 3.3 billion pounds when it makes its London stock market debut next month. Kicking of the sale of the near 500-year-old state-owned company, the government said it would dispose of a majority stake in Royal Mail, offering shares at between 260 pence and 330p each. The offer, which closes on October 8, will see the government selling between 40.1 percent and 52.2 percent of Royal Mail. ... Full Story | Top |
| BOJ's takeaway from Fed bungle: keep the message simple Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:54 PM PDT  By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's surprise decision not to start tapering its massive stimulus convinced the Bank of Japan about one thing - the need to keep market expectations anchored with a simple, clear message. BOJ policymakers have sprung into action since last week's Fed gathering with the most explicit explanations to date of how the central bank will measure the success of its own policy - turning years of deflation into 2 percent inflation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arcelor South Africa says in talks over new supply with Kumba Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:54 PM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal South Africa said on Friday it is in discussions with Kumba Iron Ore over a potential new supply agreement. ArcelorMittal South Africa is a unit of the global steelmaker. Kumba is a unit of Anglo American. Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's AMCU union says Amplats strike begins Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:51 PM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A strike over job cuts at Anglo American Platinum operations in South Africa has started, a senior Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) official said on Friday. Amplats, the world's top platinum producer and a unit of global mining group Anglo American, said last month it would cut 4,800 jobs - laying off 3,300 workers and paying off the rest. The company had initially said it would cut 14,000 jobs but backed away from that target after a fierce backlash from the government and unions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Europe's plan to address weak banks risks unraveling Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:21 PM PDT  By John O'Donnell and Eva Taylor BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's (ECB) plan to test the health of the euro zone's largest lenders without the means to plug any holes it uncovers risks foiling what some see as the bloc's final chance to put its financial crisis behind it. Unlike in the United States, where rapid infusions of capital put its banks quickly back on track, Europe's financial system remains frozen, with lenders in countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy hurt by weak demand and soured loans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: The road ahead for Europe's new banking watchdog Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:21 PM PDT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank (ECB) is set to become the euro zone's single bank supervisor from November next year. Until then, it wants to complete several checks on the banks it will watch over directly, appoint a supervisory board for the new institution and hire at least 1,000 staff. Here is an overview of what will happen in the next year: END SEPTEMBER 2013 The ECB appointed U.S. consultancy Oliver Wyman to help with the work of the Asset Quality Review (AQR) of at least 130 eurozone banks. ... Full Story | Top |
| BP faces pressure over Algeria gas plant attack Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:17 PM PDT By Lin Noueihed LONDON (Reuters) - Some foreign workers at an Algerian desert gas plant feared for their safety well before Islamist militants killed dozens at the site, and relatives and survivors want joint operator BP to investigate its own security record. Forty oil workers, all but one foreign, died at In Amenas in January after the militants took expatriates hostage during a four-day siege that ended when Algerian forces stormed the site. ... Full Story | Top |
| Carney says no case for QE in improved economy - paper Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:14 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney sees no need for more bond-buying by the central bank given the signs of recovery in the British economy, a newspaper quoted him as saying. Carney told the Yorkshire Post that the BoE would consider the case for more quantitative easing should the economy falter. "But my personal view is, given the recovery has strengthened and broadened, I don't see a case for quantitative easing and I have not supported it," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's EU bonus challenge offers scant hope for bankers Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:11 PM PDT  By Huw Jones and John O'Donnell LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain's challenge to European Union rules capping bankers' bonuses is likely to get bogged down in court long beyond their implementation, and critics say it is more about pleasing domestic voters unimpressed by the loss of powers to Brussels. The UK, which houses Europe's biggest financial center, was outvoted when the European Union agreed that bonuses must be no more than a banker's fixed pay, or twice that amount with shareholder backing. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK house prices rise in September, London prices at record high - Nationwide Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 11:08 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices rose strongly for the fifth straight month in September, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Friday, as prices climbed in all regions and London prices hit record highs. House prices jumped 0.9 percent this month compared with August, when they climbed a revised 0.7 percent, Nationwide said. That was well above the consensus 0.5 percent rise forecast by economists polled by Reuters. In the three months to September compared with the three months to the end of June - which many consider a better gauge of the underlying trend - prices rose by 2.1 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment