World

  • Developers swoop as property prices ease

    Land acquisitions almost quadrupled in Shanghai in August as real estate developers expanded their land banks in a slightly less overheated market.

  • Wife, mistress meet at mine rescue

    One of the trapped Chilean miners is going to have some explaining to do after his wife ran into his mistress at the mine's entrance.

  • UK, France review military co-operation

    British and French officials are paving the way for unprecedented military co-operation, according to sources on both sides of the Channel.

  • Strong yen bolsters German export boom

    There was a touch of gloating in the most recent earnings report issued by Kuka, a company based in the Bavarian city of Augsburg.

  • RBS to cut 3500 jobs, close 10 UK offices

    Royal Bank of Scotland, the bank controlled by the British government, said on Thursday that it planned to cut about 2 per cent of its staff in a cost-cutting move.

  • ECB's Trichet not ready to declare victory

    The European Central Bank offered a slightly more optimistic view of the euro area's economy Thursday, but also extended its lifeline to troubled banks.

  • Reality check awaits Sarkozy's vision

    As France prepares to assume an agenda-setting role for the global economy at the helm of the Group of 20, ambition is not in short supply.

  • Economic outlook improves in the US

    Pending sales of previously owned US homes rebounded unexpectedly in July and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week.

  • Bernanke says he failed to see weak points

    Ben Bernanke said Thursday that he had failed to recognise vulnerabilities in the financial system that amplified the housing meltdown and nearly collapsed the global economy.

  • Pause along road to double dip

    A surprise pick-up in the pace of expansion of the US manufacturing sector in August has eased fears the world's biggest economy might be headed into a double-dip recession, despite lingering challenges on the job and housing fronts.

  • World briefs

    European businesses have expressed frustration with China's stalled effort to open up market access and make laws and regulations more predictable.

  • Lehman blames Fed for bankruptcy

    The former chief executive of Lehman Brothers told a federal commission that the bank could have survived if the federal government had stepped in to help.

  • Export recovery surprises

    European exports surged the most on record and corporate spending rebounded from a two-year slump in the second quarter, fuelling the region's fastest economic expansion in four years.

  • Brazilian burgers

    Burgers and beer - an American meal if there ever was one - could soon have a distinctly Brazilian flavour.

  • Irish bank is bottomless pit

    It may just be a few billion euros too far for Ireland's beleaguered taxpayers.

  • IMF warns G-7 on dangerous debt levels

    The world's most developed economies, which have been racking up spending since the mid-1960s, face record levels of debt as a result of the 2008-9 financial crisis and have little room for maneuver, the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday.

  • Bigger supply hits UK house prices

    Britain's house prices fell the most in six months in August as increased supply of property gave buyers more bargaining power.

  • Tesco makes bid to fill Carrefour's Asia space

    Tesco has put in a bid for more than 60 stores in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore owned by its French rival Carrefour as part of its strategy to conquer Asia and cement its position as a global force in supermarkets.

  • UK house prices fall for second month

    UK house prices fell for a second month running in August when they dropped 0.9 per cent, a key survey has found.

  • Kan, Ozawa debate policy at National Press Club

    In brief | Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Ichiro Ozawa, former Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Japan held a policy debate Thursday at the National Press Club, kicking off their campaigns for the party leadership.

  • Iraq needs economic investment, says US

    With the United States officially ending combat operations in Iraq, the US State Department is urging friends such as Australia to mark this new phase by injecting investment.

  • Car sales rev up

    China's automotive sales hit 1.22 million units in August, up 55.7 percent on year, ahead of an anticipated boom in demand in September.

  • China faces fresh calls for competition

    European companies in China on Thursday called for greater market access and a level playing field with Chinese rivals amid growing frustration among foreign firms over perceived unfair treatment.

  • China requires ID when buying SIM cards

    The Chinese government has begun to require cell phone users to furnish identification when buying SIM cards, a move officials cast as an effort to rein in burgeoning cell phone spam, pornography and fraud schemes.

  • Some say ... court rules Stig unmasked

    Britain's High Court has refused to grant a temporary injunction preventing the revelation of the identity of Top Gear's The Stig.

  • Blair's memoir sheds little light

    The publication of Tony Blair's memoir sheds little light on drove or shaped his political vision, and even on his decision to take Britain into the war in Iraq.

  • Kabul Bank losses spark solvency concerns

    Afghanistan's top bank official tried to calm fears of a meltdown at Kabul Bank, while scores of Afghans lined up to empty their accounts and found the bank unwilling to comply.

  • Netanyahu's pragmatism key to peace talks

    Benjamin Netanyahu's apparent willingness to a compromise with the Palestinians to counter what he sees as a rising threat from Iran is a sign of unrivalled political power.

  • US auto sales drop, as expected, in August

    Auto makers felt the downside of the cash-for-clunkers program last month, as their sales fell significantly from the US government-induced surge a year ago.

  • Lehman could have survived, Fuld says

    A defiant Richard S. Fuld Jr. today told a US commission that Lehman Brothers could have survived had the federal government stepped in to help.

  • Apple steps into social networking arena

    Apple dived into the competitive social networking business on Wednesday, introducing Ping, a service geared to music lovers.

  • South Africa braces for another strike

    South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said that more than 8000 workers at Northam Platinum would go on strike for higher wages on Monday.

  • Sovereign debt risk overestimated, IMF says

    Investors have overestimated the risk of default in debt-burdened advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

  • America's manufacturers offer recovery hope

    The United States manufacturing sector picked up its pace in August despite signs of a general slowdown in the economy, according to a report on Wednesday.

  • Spenders throw frugality to the wind

    So much for the new frugality. The household saving rate has fallen to its lowest in two years, in a worrying trend that could add to upward pressure on interest rates.

  • Monetary discord

    The Fed signalled that easier monetary policy was no sure thing. Some officials were concerned investors would misinterpret the August 10 decision to put a floor on securities holdings.

  • Fed divided over round of asset-buying

    US Federal Reserve officials appeared increasingly divided about their next step at last month's policy meeting, diminishing the likelihood that the central bank will soon opt for a new round of asset purchases.

  • PMI shows China merely moderating

    Confidence in China's ability to steer a steady course for its economy received a boost yesterday as a key leading economic indicator revealed an uptick in the country's manufacturing sector in August, even as Beijing moves to cool the property market and pull back on government spending.

  • Pledge to switch resources to economy

    President Barack Obama used his second Oval Office address to signal to hard-pressed Americans the winding down of the war in Iraq would enable greater resources to be directed at dealing with the country's economic malaise.

  • Calculated gamble by Obama

    Barack Obama looked and sounded melancholy in announcing that the United States was ending its combat operations in Iraq after what will go down as one of the more wasteful episodes in American military history.

  • Europe slows as factory orders weaken

    Growth in Europe's manufacturing industry slowed in August and export demand fell to the lowest in seven months, adding to signs the economy is cooling after the second-quarter surge.

  • Emirates seeks funding of $31bn

    Emirates, the world's biggest airline by international traffic, needs more than $US28 billion ($31 billion) through to 2017 to expand its fleet of Boeing and Airbus jets, almost double the amount raised since 1996.

  • Ozawa pledges to rein in yen

    Ichiro Ozawa kicked off his campaign to become Japan's prime minister this month with a promise to intervene in currency markets to weaken the yen.

  • World briefs

    Retail sales in Germany, Europe's largest economy, unexpectedly fell for a second month in July, suggesting faster hiring is slow to feed into consumer demand.

  • Belfast out as Ryanair spreads wings

    Budget airline Ryanair said on Tuesday it would pull out of George Best Belfast City airport from October, citing repeated delays over extending the airport's small runway.

  • Baosteel gears up for M&A

    China Development Bank signed on Tuesday an agreement with Baosteel to provide $US10 billion to conduct overseas investment and mergers and acquisitions of domestic peers.

  • US housing blips up

    US home prices continued their recovery in June but economists fear the still depressed housing market will see renewed price declines as the boost from tax incentives fades and stubbornly high foreclosure rates add to the glut of supply.

  • Obama treads fine line on Iraq withdrawal

    In a sombre Oval Office speech US President Barack Obama sought to make a connection between the costs of the war in Iraq- a trillion US dollars - and America's economic woes.

  • Small banks left out of profit bonanza

    US banks are making money again, although a split picture of the industry has emerged since the financial crisis.

  • Murdoch's pay falls

    News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch's pay fell 6 per cent in fiscal 2010, even though the company grew profits thanks to "Avatar" and a rebounding advertising market.

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