Category: World

SINGAPORE, June 23, 2008 (AFP) – World oil prices rose in Asian trading on Monday after Saudi Arabia said at a weekend summit that it had raised output, and said speculators were partly to blame for higher prices.New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was 29 cents higher at 135.65 […]

BRUSSELS, June 23, 2008 (AFP) – Business activity in the 15 countries sharing the euro contracted in June for the first time for almost five years, according to a widely watched survey on Monday.The eurozone’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), compiled by data and research group Markit, slid to 49.5 points in June, from 51.1 in […]

SAN FRANCISCO, June 22, 2008 (AFP) – A Harvard University dropout who ushered in the home computer age and made billions of dollars along the way will have his last official day of work at Microsoft on June 27.Three people will essentially fill the void left behind when Bill Gates retires from the company he […]

JEDDAH, June 22, 2008 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah launched an offensive against oil “speculators” on Sunday as he opened a summit on the soaring price of crude which exposed OPEC divisions over whether to increase production.The king announced that Saudi production had now risen to 9.7 million barrels a day, the highest figure […]

SINGAPORE, June 22, 2008 (AFP) – Got at least five million US dollars? A private banker is at your service in Singapore, which is fast gaining a reputation as the Switzerland of Asia for the world’s growing ranks of multi-millionaires.The tiny, tropical island-state, Southeast Asia’s most advanced economy, has emerged as a centre for the […]

LHASA, June 21, 2008 (AFP) – The Olympic torch relay made its way through Tibet’s capital Saturday amid heavy security three months after deadly riots against Chinese rule, in a move condemned by rights groups.Hand-picked spectators cheered runners as they carried the torch through Lhasa, after the relay started in front of Norbulingka, the former […]

NEW YORK, June 21, 2008 (AFP) – Whipsawed by fresh worries on the financial sector, Wall Street enters the summer season with investors in a sour mood ahead of a meeting of increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve policymakers. Market jitters have risen amid high oil prices, troubles in the banking sector and the prospect of higher […]

KUWAIT CITY, June 21, 2008 (AFP) – The oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are projected to earn close to 1.3 trillion dollars in oil revenue in 2008 and 2009, a Kuwaiti economic report said on Saturday. The six-nation alliance — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — earned 364 billion […]

NEW YORK, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices slumped Thursday after Saudi Arabia said it planned to boost daily output by 200,000 barrels to help cool record-breaking energy costs which are hurting consumers globally. The world’s biggest exporter of crude oil said it would ramp up daily crude production to 9.65 million barrels per […]

NEW DELHI, June 20, 2008 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 11.05 percent, its highest level in 13 years, according to data on Friday, piling pressure on the government as general elections loom. Inflation jumped by more than two percentage points to hit 11.05 percent for the week ended June 7 from 8.75 […]

BEIJING, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – The World Bank said Thursday it expected China’s economic growth to fall to single digits in 2008 for the first time in six years, while inflation would be higher than previously forecast. “China’s economic growth has moderated to a more sustainable pace,” the bank said in its quarterly report […]

BRUSSELS, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – Soaring fuel and food prices posed a stiff challenge to EU leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels on Thursday, amid clear divisions over how to respond to growing calls for intervention.Following Irish voters’ rejection of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty last week, EU leaders are eager to demonstrate […]