The U.N. chief called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest. Nevertheless, Israeli air strikes and Palestinian rocket fire continued for a seventh day. Egypt was trying to
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British low-cost airline easyJet doubled its dividend after annual results showed it took business from fading European rivals and customers bought more cheap flights for late summer holidays. Competitors are struggling to deal with high fuel costs, weak consumer confidence and the eurozone crisis. Some ceased operations this year, leaving gaps in the market that
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Cyprus remained stuck in recession in the third quarter but recorded its mildest slump this year according to the Statistical Service’s flash estimate based on partial data. In July-September real GDP contracted in seasonally adjusted terms by 0.5% compared with the previous quarter, having dropped by 0.9% in the second quarter and 0.6% in the
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British banking group Lloyds has taken a 90% loss on 1.47 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) of troubled Irish real estate loans after selling them to Apollo Global Management. The sale for 149 million pounds will not have a material impact because the value of the loans had been largely written down previously, Lloyds said on
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Credit Suisse said on Tuesday its private banking arm would swallow its smaller asset management unit to cut costs and announced a management shake-up that raises the profile of those jockeying to succeed its beleaguered chief executive. The Zurich-based bank also reinforced its commitment to fixed income business, after local rival UBS all but abandoned
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Four men have been arrested in southern California and charged with plotting to kill Americans overseas by joining up with al Qaeda to engage in "violent jihad" or Islamic holy war, the FBI said on Monday. Other charges the men face include plotting to bomb government facilities and conspiracy to kill Americans. Since the Sept.
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Russian investigators searched the home of the head of a state telecoms firm on Tuesday in a fraud probe, the latest of a string of scandals that is increasingly coming to characterise Vladimir Putin's six-month-old presidency. Investigators searched the house of Alexander Provotorov, the chief executive of Rostelecom, and the home of a minority shareholder,
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Chinese shares fell in weak trading on Tuesday, dragging down Hong Kong markets, after data showed that direct foreign investment in China fell for a tenth straight month and big Chinese consumer firms reported weak results. The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.2%, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong
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Britain's top share index slipped slightly in thin trade on Tuesday as Moody's downgrade of France pushed some investors to take profit after the market's biggest one-day rise this year. By 0847 GMT, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.2%, or 12.23 points, at 5,725.43, having rallied 2.4% on Monday on optimism U.S. lawmakers would soon
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Shareholders in commodities trader Glencore have overwhelmingly approved its long-awaited $31 billion takeover of miner Xstrata, paving the way for one of the largest tie-ups in the sector to date. After nine months of tense negotiations, late-night talks and last-minute twists, the deal to create a mining and trading powerhouse is within Glencore's grasp –
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