Brussels / AFP The European Union on Thursday cleared a mobile phone tie-up between Hong Kong’s Hutchison and Russia’s VimpelCom in Italy after they agreed to sell some of the business to boost competition. Hutchison, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, and VimpelCom agreed last year to merge their 3 Italia and Wind networks but the European Commission ...
Read More »IMF may lift Argentina censure in November
Washington / AFP The International Monetary Fund said that it could remove its unprecedented 2013 censure of Argentina in November after the country improved its reporting of key economic statistics. The IMF Executive Board said that Buenos Aires had made “extraordinary efforts and important progress” in improving the accuracy of growth and inflation data that they are required to ...
Read More »US to host world’s largest conservation meeting
Miami / AFP Some 8,000 heads of state, policymakers and environmentalists convene in Hawaii this week for the world’s largest gathering aimed at forging a path forward on the planet’s toughest conservation problems. US President Barack Obama is expected to be among the world leaders in Honolulu as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) opens its ...
Read More »Cryan calls for bank mergers after Commerzbank pact
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer John Cryan urged more consolidation among European banks struggling to shore up profitability, after his own firm held talks with its biggest German rival earlier in August about a possible deal. “We need more mergers, at a national level but also across national borders,†Cryan said at a conference hosted by Handelsblatt ...
Read More »UK banks slammed for elitism as study shows shoe colour counts
Bloomberg The British investment-banking industry is underpinned by entrenched elitism that blocks people from lower-income backgrounds winning jobs on the basis of ability, according to a report by a government advisory body. Recruiters seeking polished candidates who speak and dress a certain way often discriminate against applicants on the basis of details including shoe color and where they went ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank gains in Frankfurt trading
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG extended gains in Frankfurt trading on a report Germany’s largest bank considered the sale of all or part of its asset management business as it explores strategic options to revive profit. While small parts of the asset management division could be sold, executives at the bank are keen to hold on to most of the ...
Read More »Bank of China posts US$6.9 billion profit
Bloomberg Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s fourth-largest lender, reported a 3.4 percent increase in second-quarter profit even after setting aside extra provisions to boost its bad-loan buffer. Net income rose to 46.4 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) in the three months ended June 30, from 44.9 billion yuan a year earlier, according to figures derived from first-half numbers released ...
Read More »Europe bankers see $2.5bn of bonuses vanish in stock rout
Bloomberg Investment bankers at Europe’s biggest securities firms are watching their bonuses melt. A rout in financial stocks this year has wiped more than $2.5 billion from the value of deferred shares that were paid as bonuses in the past few years at Barclays Plc, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG and UBS Group AG, data compiled by ...
Read More »Lufthansa, Air China to finalize venture
Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air China Ltd. plan to finalize a joint venture this month, sealing a deal to share revenue and coordinate routes after more than two years of negotiations, people familiar with the plan said. Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr will travel to Beijing to attend a signing ceremony scheduled for Sept. 20, said the ...
Read More »Qatar Airways CEO plans large aircraft order
Bloomberg Qatar Airways said it’s poised to make a major jetliner purchase, adding to a backlog of more than 340 outstanding orders for Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE planes. The Gulf carrier will place a “large†aircraft order “soon,†Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said at a briefing in Doha, without elaborating on the number or class ...
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