Category: World

PARIS, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – World stockmarkets lost 5.2 trillion dollars (3.6 trillion euros) in January thanks to the fallout from the US subprime crisis and fears of a global economic slowdown, Standard & Poor’s said Saturday. But only Argentina and Taiwan slipped into negative territory for the 12-month period. “If investors thought the […]

PARIS, Feb 10, 2008 (AFP) – A new court battle will be held Monday over the detention of French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel while Societe Generale is to soon launch an eight billion dollar capital increase to cover the losses they blame on him.The decision by a Paris appeals court on Friday to back a […]

LONDON, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – OPEC could switch the pricing of oil from dollars into euros within a decade, secretary general Abdullah al-Badri told a weekly magazine. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could adopt the euro to combat the decline of the dollar, Badri told the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), published […]

NEW YORK, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – US stock markets tumbled heavily in the week to Friday, giving Wall Street a fresh battering, despite Congress granting a green light to a giant economic stimulus package sought by the White House. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. The plan, worth around 150 billion dollars, […]

SYDNEY, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka were the second best side at last year’s World Cup but captain Mahela Jayawardene has admitted that a continuing inability to beat Australia is becoming a major concern.Another loss would make it hard for Sri Lanka to reach the finals of the tri-series. On Friday, in the […]

TOKYO, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – The euro is still above its fair value, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Saturday. There may be calls however behind closed doors from European ministers for action to try to stem the dollar’s decline against the euro, which is hurting exporters in the eurozone, analysts […]

TOKYO, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – Top world finance ministers warned Saturday that the global economy faces growing threats from a US housing slump and credit crunch, urging banks to come clean on their subprime loan losses.The role of ratings agencies, which have been criticised for not flagging up the impending global credit woes, is […]

TOKYO, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the IMF on Saturday renewed his call for countries to consider fiscal measures to boost demand in the face of slowing economic growth caused by the US subprime loan crisis.International Monetary Fund director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn also urged the world’s financial authorities to work together closely […]

TOKYO, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – World finance chiefs will try to bolster confidence in the faltering global economy when they meet Saturday amid signs of trans-Atlantic friction over how to respond to recent market mayhem. Washington’s calls for other major economies to boost domestic demand seem set to fall on deaf ears as Japan […]

NEW YORK, Feb 7, 2008 (AFP) – Tobacco use could kill more than one billion people around the world this century unless governments and civil society act to reverse the epidemic, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report released Thursday.“One hundred million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20th century,” said the report […]

US-VOTE – 02/07/2008 01:41 GMT – AFP PRINT WASHINGTON, Feb 6, 2008 (AFP) – Hillary Clinton’s race for the White House showed vulnerability Wednesday as she admitted tapping her own pocketbook for five million dollars to keep up a grueling fight against rival Barack Obama. “A month and a half is an eternity in politics […]

LONDON, Feb 7, 2008 (AFP) – A property fund backed by an investment arm of the Dubai government bought prime west London property from the Queen’s portfolio, the monarch’s property managers announced on Wednesday. Its revenues from its assets are paid to the finance ministry. The Crown Estate, which manages Queen Elizabeth II’s real estate, […]