Category: World

LONDON, August 15, 2008 (AFP) – Gold prices tumbled underneath 800 dollars per ounce on Friday, hitting a ten-month low point as the precious metal was hampered by the strong US currency and weak oil prices, analysts said. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold slid to 772.98 dollars per ounce. That was […]

NEW YORK, August 13, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices rallied Wednesday after a weekly US government snapshot showed a surprisingly sharp drop in gasoline stockpiles amid the peak demand season. Oil prices bounced back strongly after sliding to four-month lows Tuesday after Russia announced the end of military operations in Georgia and as the International […]

HANOI, August 14, 2008 (AFP) – The Vietnamese government has targeted economic growth of seven to eight percent in 2009 and aims to win its fight against soaring inflation, state media said Thursday.Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday asked officials to draw up a plan to achieve the growth objective, and to bring inflation […]

SHANGHAI, August 14, 2008 (AFP) – China’s consumer inflation is expected to continue to slow in the rest of this year and in 2009 as global commodity prices ease, Chinese state media reported Thursday.China’s consumer price inflation fell to 6.3 percent in July, off from a nearly 12-year high of 8.7 percent hit in February […]

BRUSSELS, August 14, 2008 (AFP) – The eurozone economy contracted for the first time ever, with output falling 0.2 percent in the second quarter increasing the threat of recession driven by a sharp global downturn. The initial official figures come amid rising concern that recession, two consecutive quarters of contraction, is now stalking the 15-nation […]

NEW YORK, August 12, 2008 (AFP) – The euro ticked slightly higher against the dollar Tuesday in a market awaiting a fresh batch of indicators on the fragile economic health of the eurozone. “On Thursday, weak GDP (gross domestic product) data from Germany and the eurozone will highlight the problems of the European economies, putting […]

MUMBAI, August 13, 2008 (AFP) – Indian corporate giant Reliance announced a tie-up with famed British toy retailer Hamleys, promising to bring India’s children “world-class toy stores.” Reliance Retail, part of the Reliance Group conglomerate, plans to open two Hamleys stores in Mumbai and New Delhi in 2009 with a total of 20 set to […]

NEW DELHI, August 13, 2008 (AFP) – India urged developed nations to return to the negotiating table to hammer out a new global trade deal — but only if they are willing to give and not just look for what they can get.The latest round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, which saw emerging powers […]

PATNA, August 13, 2008 (AFP) – Eating rats is the best way for rich and poor people to solve the global crisis of rising food prices, an Indian official said Wednesday as he unveiled his plan to put rodents on menus.Regular rat snacks would translate into fewer rodents eating precious grain stocks — 50 percent […]

LONDON, August 13, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the Bank of England forecast on Wednesday that Britain faced increased risk of recession with economic growth set to slow further and inflation expected to spike.“It is bound to be the case there will be a quarter or two of negative growth,” BoE governor Mervyn King […]

TOKYO, August 12, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese wholesale inflation hit a 27-year high of 7.1 percent in July on soaring commodity costs, the central bank said Tuesday, adding to gloom about the health of Asia’s largest economy. The fresh signs of pain in the manufacturing sector came on the eve of figures expected to show […]

Aug 12, 2008 (LBO) – Standard Chartered said that its push into Asia, Africa and the Middle East had fuelled a profits surge at the emerging markets bank despite a jump in bad debts caused by the credit crunch, AFP news agency reported.Standard Chartered, Britain’s fourth-biggest retail bank by market value, said in an earnings […]