Business
Latest stories
Greece Called on to Produce Results as Auditors Arrive

EU President Herman Van Rompuy warned Greece Friday that it needs to produce results as bailout auditors arrived on a mission that will determine whether Athens gets extra time to make spending cuts in return for badly needed loans.

Amid growing exasperation from Greeks about having to accept cuts upon cuts as they struggle through a fifth year of recession, Van Rompuy warned that Greece must deliver on promised fiscal and reform results to obtain further support.

W140 Full Story
Indonesian Leader Issues Foreign Investment Call

Indonesia's leader on Saturday invited foreign investors to help fund a huge development plan that Jakarta projects will require $500 billion dollars in investments by 2025.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued the call during a speech to global business executives in the Russian port of Vladivostok ahead of an annual Asia Pacific economic summit that he will host next year.

W140 Full Story
Portugal Economy Shrinks by 1.2 Percent in Second Quarter

Portugal's economy shrank by 1.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter and 3.3 percent on a 12-month basis, final GDP data from the national statistics institute (INE) said Friday.

The data, which INE said was attributable to a decline in internal demand, were in line with gross domestic product estimates made last month.

W140 Full Story
Serbia Announces Belt-Tightening Measures

Serbia on Friday announced a series of belt tightening measures worth around one billion euros ($1.3 billion) to reign in the budget deficit which is running almost double the target.

"Half of this sum will be saved by cutting costs and the other half by boosting income through raising certain taxes," Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in a statement published on the government website.

W140 Full Story
Spain Wants to Know Conditions for any Bailout

Spain wants to know the conditions it must submit to before requesting any sovereign bailout, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Friday.

"We have to know the conditions, analyse them and then it will be decided," he said in Paphos, a coastal resort in Cyprus where European Union foreign ministers are gathering.

W140 Full Story
Japan Slams Brakes on $63 Billion in Spending

Japan said Friday it would suspend 5.0 trillion yen ($63 billion) in spending as a political row has left the government facing a severe cash crunch that could see it run out of money within months.

Officials warned there would not be enough in its coffers to cover expenses as political gridlock ties up the passage of a bond-issuance bill needed to help pay for some 40 percent of Tokyo's spending in the fiscal year to March.

W140 Full Story
OECD Economist Forecasts 'Weaker' French Growth In 2013

The French economy will probably grow by less than expected next year, the OECD's chief economist said Thursday, making it harder for the new government to reduce an excessive public deficit.

"France will be weaker next year," Pier Carlo Padoan told a Paris press conference in response to a question regarding the country's chances of achieving its 2013 growth target of 1.2 percent.

W140 Full Story
Embattled Qantas in Major Alliance with Emirates

Struggling Australian carrier Qantas on Thursday announced a major global alliance with Emirates that will see its hub for European flights shift to Dubai from Singapore in a bid to stem losses.

The 10-year tie-up, described as a "momentous day" in global aviation, is part of Qantas's drive to turn around its fortunes after last month posting its first annual loss since privatization in 1995.

W140 Full Story
EU Businesses Urge China's New Leaders to Speed Reforms

China's upcoming political changes represent a breakthrough chance to boost its economy by accelerating reforms and fostering innovation, a European business group said Thursday.

The Communist Party is slated to carry out a once-in-a-decade revamp of top officials in coming weeks with Hu Jintao stepping down as general secretary before resigning as the country's president in March.

W140 Full Story
Australian Bank Customers Score Win in Fees Case

Australian bank customers scored a major win in a class action against top lenders Thursday, with the nation's highest court ruling they could challenge a wide range of fees as excessive.

The High Court of Australia found in favor of the 38,000 customers of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) fighting back against the fees, overturning an earlier ruling limiting the case to credit card charges.

W140 Full Story