Category: World

March 6, 2008 (AFP) – Oil edged close to 105 dollars a barrel in Asian trade early Thursday as investors fretted over an unexpected drop in US energy stockpiles, dealers said. It also said it was concerned that the current price “does not reflect market fundamentals (of real supply and demand).” OPEC’s decision to maintain […]

NEW YORK, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – The number of billionaires in Asia jumped more than 30 percent last year, with tycoons from India and China leading the charge, according to Forbes magazine’s annual billionaires list. Taiwan had seven, Indonesia and Singapore both counted five, while Thailand had three and the Philippines two. In total, […]

NEW YORK, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – US financier Warren Buffett has overtaken Bill Gates as the world’s richest man, according to Forbes annual billionaire’s list, which this year saw Russia, China and India making increasing inroads. Buffett, the 77-year-old chief of the Berkshire Hathaway holding company, saw his wealth jump from 52 billion dollars […]

MANILA, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – Inflation in the Philippines rose to 5.4 percent in February, its highest level since October 2006, the government said Wednesday. The figure was a sharp increase on the 2.6 percent posted for the same period last year and up on the January inflation rate of 4.9 percent. Core inflation, […]

BEIJING, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – China has set an inflation target of around 4.8 percent for 2008, according to the text of a speech Premier Wen Jiabao is to deliver to the national legislature later Wednesday. Wen will deliver the speech when parliament opens around 9:00 am (0100 GMT). The speech was given to […]

SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2008 (AFP) – A comScore study released Tuesday shows US mobile Internet use is rising exponentially as people increasingly opt to be online while on the move.The comScore study indicates more than half the US mobile broadband use is done from work computers and that more than 75 percent of the […]

NEW YORK, March 4, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar slipped against the euro Tuesday in the face of fresh inflation fears in the eurozone and a call by the US Federal Reserve chief for tough action to stem US mortgage foreclosures.The single European currency was at 1.5210 dollars around 2200 GMT, up from 1.5203 late […]

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 4, 2008 (AFP) – Democrat Hillary Clinton vowed to fight all the way to the White House after she checked rival Barack Obama’s momentum in Ohio, while Senator John McCain captured the Republican mantle Tuesday. US networks projected the former first lady would take the economically scarred state of Ohio, but said […]

REIMS, France, March 2, 2008 (AFP) – As champagne sales pop all-time record highs and demand outstrips supply, France’s wine-making czars are to issue an historic ruling to extend the champagne-growing area, a move that will pour new wealth into 40 small rural villages. Like other French wines, Champagne-labelled bottles are produced only from grapes […]

TOKYO, March 3, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese share prices tumbled 4.0 percent in morning trade on Monday, battered by a stronger yen and mounting worries about the health of the US economy, dealers said.The benchmark Nikkei-225 index was down 545.93 points or 4.01 percent at 13,057.09 by lunch, while the broader Topix index of all […]

FRANKFURT, March 2, 2008 (AFP) – The European Central Bank will make a cut of sorts this week — but with eurozone inflation stubbornly high the cut will be to its growth forecasts, not interest rates. “The ECB council will cut on Thursday its forecasts for growth in the euro zone, but not its main […]

NEW DELHI, March 2, 2008 (AFP) – A populist budget unveiled by India’s ruling Congress party forgiving loans for poor farmers and cutting income taxes is unlikely to help its re-election chances in looming polls, analysts say.“People say Uttar Pradesh is just a glimpse of what’s going to unfold at the national level,” declared Mayawati […]