Source: AFP ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, reported a 22-per cent drop in 2011 profit to US$2.3 billion owing to a difficult end to the year but forecast an improvement for 2012. “Looking ahead to 2012, the situation in Europe remains a live concern,” Lakshmi N. Mittal, ArcelorMittal’s chairman and chief executive said in ...
Source: AFP Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore said it had reached agreement with Swiss mining group Xstrata on a merger that would create a global group worth US$90 billion. “The Glencore directors and the independent Xstrata directors have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share merger of equals,” a statement issued by Glencore said ...
Source: Bloomberg UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank, has announced that fourth-quarter profit dropped 76 per cent after its investment bank reported a second consecutive quarterly loss. Net income fell to CHF393 million (US$427 million) from CHF1.66 billion in the year-earlier period, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement Tuesday. Earnings missed the CHF721-million average estimate ...
Source: Reuters Commodities trader Glencore International is set to offer a bigger-than-expected premium to seal its proposed US$88 billion merger with global miner Xstrata Plc, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Under the terms of the all-share deal, likely to be unveiled on Tuesday, Xstrata shareholders are set to receive 2.8 shares in Glencore for ...
Source: AFP The EU ambassador to China said Monday the Asian powerhouse could become Europe’s biggest export market this year, overtaking the United States as Beijing boosts domestic demand. His comments came after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China was considering helping the crisis-hit eurozone by contributing to bailout funds, and that a stable Europe ...
Source: AFP Greeks have moved at least EUR16 billion (US$21 billion) in funds to foreign banks in the last two years, about a third of which went to Britain, the finance minister said on Friday. Evangelos Venizelos said that overall, depositors had withdrawn EUR65 billion from Greek banks since 2009 when the country began a ...
Source: Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s largest bank, reported a 76-per cent drop in fourth-quarter profit as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis curbed trading and the company booked writedowns on holdings. The shares declined. Net income fell to EUR147 million (US$194 million) from EUR601 million a year earlier, the Frankfurt-based company said Thursday in a statement. ...
Source: Bloomberg Spain sold EUR4.56 billion of bonds maturing in 2015, 2016 and 2017, compared with the maximum target the Treasury set for the sale of EUR4.5 billion. Demand for the 2015 notes was 1.63 times the amount sold, the Bank of Spain said, compared with 1.8 times the last time they were sold in ...
Source: AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to reassure Beijing over the crisis in the eurozone and urged China to press Tehran on its nuclear programme as she began an official visit on Thursday. “The euro as our common currency has made Europe stronger,” Merkel said in a speech ahead of talks with China’s ...
Source: Bloomberg European Union regulators vetoed Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext’s plan to create the world’s biggest exchange after concluding the merger would hurt competition. “Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have been informed that the European Commission today has decided to prohibit their proposed business combination,” the companies said in a statement. “Despite the ...
