Category: World

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 […]

NEW YORK, August 11, 2008 (AFP) – Crude oil prices sank Monday as the market worried about weakening demand, particularly in the eurozone and in China, after Chinese oil imports fell sharply.New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, fell 75 cents to close at 114.45 dollars a barrel. The contract hit an […]

TOKYO, August 12, 2008 (AFP) – The euro languished at six-month lows against the dollar in Asian trade on Tuesday as traders continued to focus on the deteriorating health of the eurozone economies, dealers said. Falling oil prices also helped prop up the greenback, they said. The euro was at 1.4898 dollars in Tokyo morning […]

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 […]

SINGAPORE, August 12, 2008 (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Tuesday pushed ahead with his vision of an Asia Pacific Community but played down comparisons with the European Union following criticism from his predecessors.Speaking to diplomats, academics, business executives and students at a public lecture in Singapore, Rudd said his proposal, first floated in […]

CAIRO, August 10, 2008 (AFP) – Inflation soared to a record 23.1 percent in Egypt in July, fuelled by skyrocketing food prices, the CAPMAS national statistics agency reported on Sunday. The dramatic rise in the national consumer price index — the highest jump in 16 years — was mainly due to an increase of 32.5 […]

SINGAPORE, August 11, 2008 (AFP) – Singapore’s economic growth slowed to an annual 2.1 percent in the second quarter, the government announced on Monday, just days after cutting the full-year growth target to 4.0-5.0 percent. The quarterly performance was sharply down from the 6.9 percent rise recorded in the first quarter and brought real GDP […]