Category: World

BEIJING, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) – China’s central bank announced Saturday that it would raise the reserve ratio requirement for banking institutes by half a percentage point to 13.5 percent as of November 26. Despite repeated measures to cool growth largely driven by excess cash in circulation, China’s economy expanded by 11.9 percent in the […]

TOKYO, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – The euro hit a fresh record high against the dollar Friday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke painted a gloomy picture of the US economy, dealers said.It declined to 42.78 Philippine pesos from 43.37 and to 9,126.50 Indonesian rupiah from 9,155.50 but remained unchanged at 31.54 Thai baht. His […]

TOKYO, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s largest telecom group NTT said Friday its operating profit for the first half dropped 18.4 percent as its cellphone unit DoCoMo suffered a slump amid a price war.Net profit is seen at 530 billion yen, up from 460 billion yen, but the revenue forecast was cut to 10.6 […]

NEW YORK, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Crude oil prices eased back from new peaks near the 100-dollar mark Wednesday after a weekly US energy report showed a smaller-than-expected decline in stockpiles. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, dipped 33 cents to close at 96. 37 dollars a barrel, after hitting […]

SINGAPORE, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Oil powered to a new all-time trading high in Asian trade Wednesday amid expectations of a decline in US energy reserves ahead of the peak northern hemisphere winter, dealers said. At 9:15 am (0115 GMT), New York’s main contract light sweet crude for December delivery was up 52 cents […]

SYDNEY, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank raised interest rates 0.25 points to an 11-year high of 6.75 percent Wednesday in a move expected to hurt Prime Minister John Howard’s re-election hopes. “Having weighed both the international and domestic information available, the board judged that a further increase in the cash rate was […]

LONDON, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar on Wednesday tumbled to a fresh historic low against the euro, as a Chinese official suggested China may diversify its reserves away from the US unit, analysts said. The greenback was also pressured by the prospect of yet another cut to US interest rates, dealers said. The […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 5, 2007 (AFP) – A Google-led international alliance announced Monday it is releasing open-source software that will free developers to bring the full power of desktop computing to mobile devices.The Open Handset Alliance bills “Android” as the first comprehensive mobile operating platform that software developers are free to adapt in any ways […]

MANILA, Nov 6, 2007 (AFP) – A strong peso offset rising oil prices and kept the Philippines inflation rate steady at 2.7 percent in October, the government said Tuesday.Last month’s inflation rate was within market expectations and the central bank’s forecast range of 2.5-3.0 percent. “Price pressures from major food, non-food and fuel items were […]

November 06, 2007 (LBO) — The Mauritius Commercial Bank has become the fifth foreign bank to secure a banking license to operate in the Maldives, the Maldivian Monetary Authority said Tuesday.The bank has been given six months to begin commercial operations in the Atoll nation and open a branch in the capital of Male to […]

WASHINGTON, Nov 4, 2007 (AFP) – The world’s biggest bank Citigroup named ex-US Treasury chief Robert Rubin as its new chairman Sunday, replacing Charles Prince who retired as it posted massive losses from the subprime mortgage crisis. “It is my judgment that given the size of the recent losses in our mortgage-backed securities business, the […]

WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2007 (AFP) – Six years after the September 11 attacks and despite the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the United States insists its war on terrorism justifies extreme forms of interrogation, including “waterboarding,” and rejects any talk of torture.During a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey refused to […]