Category: World

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Government and business leaders lamented the failure to reach a global trade pact in Geneva on Tuesday, with a leading US business group blaming China and India for the collapse of the talks.Argentina however blamed wealthy nations for failing to provide enough concrete benefits for developing countries. The breakdown […]

LONDON, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices fell heavily on Tuesday as traders reacted to the stronger dollar, erasing earlier gains seen after energy giant Royal Dutch Shell suspended some of its crude deliveries from Nigeria. OPEC President Chakib Khelil described crude prices above 120 dollars a barrel as “abnormal,” adding that they could […]

OSLO, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – The breakdown of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations signals a “new world order” in which the West can no longer unilaterally impose its will on the rest of the world, Norway’s foreign minister said Wednesday.“I may have been present as the world order crumbled.But at the same time, […]

GENEVA, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – World trading powers appealed on Wednesday for efforts to salvage WTO proposals amid regret and emotion at the collapse of nine-day marathon talks, and warnings that the poorest countries will suffer.“I would only urge the Director-General (of the WTO) to treat this as a pause, not a breakdown, to […]

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its emergency lending program to January 2009 for investment firms aimed at keeping credit flowing in the financial system.The Fed said it took the action “in light of continued fragile circumstances in financial markets” along with other steps to ease a global credit […]

GENEVA, July 28, 2008 (AFP) – Talks to forge a new global trade pact teetered on the brink of collapse Tuesday as the World Trade Organization said the mood was “very tense” and major powers blamed each other for the deadlock.“The situation is very tense, things are finely balanced and the outcome is by no […]

MUMBAI, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank Tuesday raised its key short-term lending rate by half-a-percentage point in an aggressive bid to tame inflation riding at a 13-year high, pushing shares down sharply. Indian shares slumped 3.6 percent after the bank announced the hike in the repo rate, at which commercial banks borrow […]

LONDON, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – British energy giant BP said on Tuesday that its net profit rallied by 28 percent to 9.47 billion dollars (6.02 billion euros) in the second quarter as oil prices surged to record highs. BP’s revenue soared by 49 percent to 111 billion dollars in the three months to June […]

TAIPEI, July 28, 2008 (AFP) – Typhoon Fung-wong slammed into Taiwan’s east coast Monday, bringing fierce winds and heavy rains that forced the closure of schools and offices across the island and severely disrupted travel. The stock market was closed for the day, along with all schools and offices in Taiwan, railway traffic was halted […]

HANOI, July 28, 2008 (AFP) – Hit with Asia’s highest inflation rate and a surprise 30 percent hike in petrol prices last week, some Vietnamese are rediscovering bicycles and the frugal lifestyle of bygone years. Galloping consumer prices — fuelled by record global oil, food and commodity costs — have rocked many countries, but few […]

GENEVA, July 27, 2008 (AFP) – Here is a summary of key proposals put forward by the head of the World Trade Organization in a bid to break the deadlock among the 153 member states and finally secure a new global trade pact.AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES Proposals drawn up by the WTO’s Director-General, Pascal Lamy, envisage sweeping […]

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2008 (AFP) – A US housing sector that has yet to hit bottom after its worst slump in decades secured a lifeline Saturday from a massive government aid package that is arriving none too soon, analysts say.The aid package expected to be signed by President George W. Bush comes with the housing […]