SWISS Returns to Changi
by Donavan Lim After a four-year hiatus, SWISS has returned to Changi Airport. The Switzerland flag-carrier will operate daily Zurich-Singapore services ultilising the 219-seat Airbus A340-300 aircraft in a three-class configuration. Featuring an end of day departure out of Changi and Zurich airports, SWISS’ flight schedule is ideally timed to meet the needs...
Portugal Signals IMF-EU Approval for Latest Austerity
The Portuguese government is signalling that it has reached an agreement with IMF and EU creditors on its latest radical austerity measures to correct public finances, after the constitutional court struck down some of the proposed policies. In saying late on Sunday that it had satisfied the conditions of the International Monetary Fund...
German Exports Increased in March in Further Sign of Recovery
German exports (GRBTEXMM) rose in March, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy is starting to recover from a contraction at the end of last year. Exports, adjusted for working days and seasonal changes, advanced 0.5 per cent from February, when they dropped 1.2 per cent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. The...
Cucinelli Becomes Billionaire Knitting US$1,920 Cardigans
Brunello Cucinelli, the 59-year-old founder of the luxury fashion house that bears his name, has become a billionaire. “From the beginning we hoped for a positive and gentle listing,” Cucinelli said by phone from his Milan showroom through a translator. “Investors appreciate our quality, our positioning in the absolute luxury market and our Italian heritage.”...
UK March Industrial Output Stronger Than Forecast as Factories Gain Pace
British industrial output rose more than expected in March as manufacturing gathered momentum, outweighing a fall in oil and gas production, official data showed on Thursday. Industrial output climbed 0.7 per cent on the month in March after a downwardly revised increase of 0.9 per cent in February, well above forecasts of a 0.2 per...
Borg Joins Wheeler in Escalating Response to Strong Currencies
Sweden’s government abandoned its hands-off stance on the krona and New Zealand announced it sold the kiwi, joining a growing band of countries to escalate their response to strengthening currencies. The New Zealand dollar plunged after Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler said the central bank sold the kiwi and can do so again to protect...
Standard Chartered Operating Profit Falls as Wholesale Slips
Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) said operating profit in the first quarter declined “slightly” as wholesale banking revenue fell, pushing down shares in the UK’s second- largest bank by market value. Revenue grew from a year earlier as an increase in consumer banking income offset a “mid single digit” decrease in wholesale operations, the London-based company...
German Factory Orders Rose in March in Sign of Recovery
German factory orders unexpectedly jumped for a second month in March, suggesting Europe’s largest economy is starting to grow again. Orders (GRIORTMM), adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, increased 2.2 per cent from February, when they also advanced 2.2 per cent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Economists forecast a 0.5 per cent drop,...
Credit Agricole First-Quarter Net Rises 51 Per cent After Greek Exit
Credit Agricole SA (ACA), France’s third- largest bank, said first-quarter profit climbed 51 per cent, helped by the disposal of its unprofitable Greek division. Net income rose to EUR469 million (US$613 million) from EUR311 million a year earlier, the bank, based in Montrouge near Paris, said in an e-mailed statement today. That topped the EUR374.4...
Spain Says Headline Jobless Queue Shrinks
The masses of people registered at unemployment offices in Spain shrank slightly in April to fewer than five million, raw data showed Monday, a result hailed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government. The number of job seekers registered as unemployed in April fell from the previous month by 46,050 people, or 0.91 per cent, dipping...
Eurozone Business Downturn Points to Deeper Recession in Second-Quarter
The eurozone’s business downturn dragged on in April, suggesting the region may be falling deeper into recession this quarter, business surveys showed on Monday. The purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) also showed that Germany is now suffering a contraction in business activity that has long dogged France, Italy and Spain. Markit’s Eurozone Composite PMI, which gauges...
RBS Falls in London Trading After Operating Profit Misses
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS), the recipient of the biggest bank bailout in history, dropped by the most in 11 months after operating profit fell by more than analysts estimated. Operating profit declined to GBP829 million (USUS$1.3 billion) from GBP1.16 billion a year earlier, Edinburgh- based RBS said in a statement today. That...
