Greece, Creditors Edge Closer to Deal
Source: Reuters Greece and its private creditors made progress on Thursday in talks on restructuring its debt, both sides said, and they will continue negotiating on Friday with the aim of sealing an agreement within a few days. Athens needs a deal quickly to avert a chaotic default when a major bond redemption comes due...
German Consumer Morale Hits 10-month High Going into February
Source: Reuters German consumer morale rose unexpectedly to a 10-month high going into February, a survey showed on Thursday, in the latest sign that consumption may support Europe’s biggest economy through uncertain times. Confidence improved for the fifth month in a row, the report by GfK market research institute showed, highlighting a consistently upbeat mood...
Roche Offers US$5.7 billion to Buy Gene Firm Illumina
Source: Reuters Roche Holding AG is offering US$5.7 billion in cash to buy US gene sequencing company Illumina Inc in a hostile takeover bid that marks a major play by the Swiss drugmaker into the gene technology field. Gene sequencing is central to personalised medicine, which allows scientists to predict a patient’s response to...
Most European Stocks Rise before Bond Auctions
Source: Bloomberg Most European stocks gained, after the Stoxx Europe 600 Index Wednesday rose to a five-month high, as Spain and France prepared to sell bonds. Asian shares advanced, while US index futures dropped. AstraZeneca Plc declined as its experimental diabetes drug failed to win backing from US regulators. Carrefour SA, the biggest retailer in...
German Finance Minister Rules Out Rescue Fund Hike
Source: AFP Germany’s finance minister on Monday ruled out a hike in bailout fund guarantees by eurozone members following the ratings downgrade of nine countries by Standard and Poor’s. “The guarantees for the EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility) are largely enough for what it has to do in the coming months,” Wolfgang Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk...
ECB Only Solution for Eurozone Crisis: UOB
by Jared Heng Despite its apparent unwillingness to directly bail out beleaguered eurozone governments, the European Central Bank (ECB) remains the only solution for the region’s debt crisis, UOB senior economist Alvin Liew wrote in a note on Monday. Liew was responding to Standard and Poor’s downgrades of several eurozone countries last Friday, which also...
Britain Seeks Major Slice of Offshore Yuan Market
Source: AFP Britain announced on Monday that it would partner with Hong Kong to develop the City of London as a major offshore centre of trade in China’s yuan currency. Finance minister George Osborne said Britain and Hong Kong had agreed to launch a joint private-sector forum to enhance cooperation and support China’s efforts...
European Stocks Gain before Italian Debt Auction
Source: Bloomberg European stocks climbed, with the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index extending its fourth weekly advance, as Italy prepared to sell more debt. US index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rose. The Stoxx 600 gained 0.7 per cent to 251.21 at 8:02 am in London. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500...
Foreign Banks Squeeze Costs as Asia’s Glow Fades
Source: Reuters Big Wall Street and European banks are looking to slash budgets across Asia, as the emerging market promise is trumped by an urgent need to control costs. From taxi and air fares and year-end parties to entire operational divisions and new country offices, little is sacred. The age of headquarters in New York...
Germany May Be on Brink of Recession
Source: Bloomberg Germany may be on the brink of recession after the sovereign debt crisis caused the economy to contract in the final quarter of 2011. Europe’s largest economy shrank “roughly” 0.25 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said Wednesday. Economists including Christian Schulz at...
German Economy Achieves 3-per cent Growth in 2011
Source: AFP The German economy, Europe’s biggest, grew robustly last year and the public deficit fell sharply, but a fourth-quarter slowdown highlights the impact of the eurozone crisis, data showed Wednesday. German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.0 per cent in 2011, compared with a record growth of 3.7 per cent the previous...
Fitch Not Planning to Downgrade France in 2012
Source: AFP Ratings agency Fitch said on Tuesday it does not plan to downgrade France’s top triple-A credit rating in 2012 unless the country suffers major economic shocks. “Fitch maintains its position from December. In the absence of important shocks that could be linked to a strong worsening of the situation in the eurozone,...
