Business
Latest stories
Switzerland, Luxembourg Plan to Join China-led Development Bank

Switzerland and Luxembourg are planning to join the Beijing-backed development bank AIIB, China's finance ministry said, the latest European nations to sign up to the multilateral lender which has drawn skepticism from the United States.

Britain, France, Germany and Italy have already announced their intentions to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank -- which is viewed by some as a competitor to the World Bank and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank.

W140 Full Story
Greece in New Race against Time to Get Bailout on Track

Greece was in a new race against time on Friday to get its EU-IMF bailout on track, with its international creditors pushing for a clear reform pledge.

The two-month-old radical government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until April to reach agreement with its creditors, but its cash reserves are running dangerously low.

W140 Full Story
British Bank TSB Agrees Takeover from Spain's Sabadell

TSB, a division of Britain's bailed-out lender Lloyds Banking Group, has accepted a £1.7 billion takeover from Spanish bank Sabadell, the pair said Friday.

The two lenders have agreed terms on the bid which was pitched at 340 pence per share and worth 2.3 billion euros or $2.5 billion, they said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
OECD Chief Welcomes European Participation in China-backed Bank

The head of the OECD on Friday welcomed major European countries' participation in a new China-backed infrastructure bank, saying it would ensure the institution was run under existing global standards.

Britain, Germany, France and Italy have announced their intention to sign up for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to the consternation of the United States and Japan, which lead the World Bank and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank respectively.

W140 Full Story
Euro Edges up in Asia after Greece Reform Pledge

The euro ticked higher Friday after Greece promised to provide its creditors with a new list of reforms to secure crucial bailout cash and avoid an exit from the eurozone.

The single currency bought $1.0685 and 128.98 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, against $1.0660 and 128.77 yen in New York as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the country's bailout was "back on track".

W140 Full Story
'ISIS Killers' Inspire Adman Omar Boustany to Advertise Himself in Unusual Manner

A Lebanese adman has taken an unusual path to draw the attention of headhunters, or recruiters, after he found himself without a job.

“When I came back from Dubai a few months ago, I found myself looking for a new (advertising) agency and a new opportunity but everything was on stand-by because of the situation in the region and the bad economical situation in Lebanon,” Omar Boustany said.

W140 Full Story
Sri Lanka Traces Stolen Public Funds to Dubai

Sri Lanka said Thursday it had traced more than a billion dollars in public funds allegedly stolen by members of the former regime to a bank in Dubai, and that the total amount taken could be as much as $10 billion.

Rajitha Senaratne, a spokesman for the new government, said investigators had traced $1.06 billion to the National Bank of Dubai, although he did not reveal who held the accounts.

W140 Full Story
Switzerland Halves Growth Forecast as Strong Franc Bites

Switzerland on Thursday halved its growth forecast for 2015 as the strong franc bit into the country's exports, but the central bank said it was keeping its monetary policy unchanged.

The Swiss National Bank caused an upheaval in world currency markets when it suddenly scrapped its 1.20 franc cap against the euro in January.

W140 Full Story
Kuwait: OPEC has no Option but to Keep Output Ceiling

OPEC members have no choice but to maintain current production levels despite falling oil prices in order to preserve their market share, Kuwait's oil minister said on Thursday.

"Within OPEC, we don't have any other choice than keeping the ceiling of production as it is because we don't want to lose our share in the market," Ali al-Omair told reporters.

W140 Full Story
Merkel Sees no Reason to Despair over Greece

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was no reason to despair over Greece, although she warned that a solution to the country's debt crisis would not be found at Thursday's EU summit. 

"If we look at what we have achieved on the road to the European Union, I don't see any reason to give up, or despair. On the contrary," Merkel said in a statement to the German parliament, just hours before the summit in Brussels.

W140 Full Story