Asian stocks fell on Thursday on profit-booking by nervous investors, while the Swiss franc stayed firm after plans to curb the currency disappointed those looking for more drastic action. Commodity and technology shares dragged the region's shares lower as investors skimmed off some of this week's gains amid lingering worries on the U.S. economy and
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New Franco-German proposals to boost fiscal convergence in the euro zone got a cool response from other member states on Wednesday and failed to convince investors the bloc's debt crisis was closer to being solved. Traditional German ally Austria criticised plans announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday to move
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German Bund futures wiped out earlier losses and rose on Tuesday after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said there was no need to increase the size of the euro zone rescue fund. Speaking at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Sarkozy said the two leaders had decided to propose common governance for the euro
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Hefty Spanish short-term debt sales went smoothly on Tuesday after bond-buying by the European Central Bank eased concerns financing costs would be left to spiral to unsustainable levels for the bloc's weaker economies. Spain's Treasury sold 4.15 bln euros ($5.85 bln) of 12-month T-bills, and 1.54 bln euros of 18-month bills, which together were at
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The Dutch prime minister called for tougher sanctions on euro zone members in financial trouble to stem the region's debt crisis, rather than raising the size of the bailout fund or issuing joint euro bonds. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager, who both appeared before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday
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Annual growth could still exceed 1% Real GDP growth in Cyprus accelerated in the second quarter, according to the flash estimate, growing in seasonally adjusted terms by 0.4% compared with the previous quarter, after zero growth in the first quarter. Growth slowed compared with the same period of the previous year, however, mainly because the
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German growth slowed to its weakest quarterly rate since 2009 between April and June, data showed, fuelling concerns a worsening outlook in the euro zone and beyond will hobble the region's powerhouse economy. Seasonally adjusted growth dropped to 0.1%, Tuesday's preliminary statistics office figures showed, underperforming euro zone laggard Spain as a negative trade balance,
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Asian handset makers using Google's Android operating system might turn to rival platforms such as Microsoft's Windows after Google upended the mobile landscape by buying Motorola Mobility Holdings for $12.5 bln. Taiwan's HTC and Korea's Samsung Electronics have sold millions of mobile devices running on the free Android device, catapulting Google to the top slot
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FIFA should limit terms for senior officials, set up an independent group to clear up anti-corruption allegations and “embrace transparency”, corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) said on Tuesday. TI said that, despite recent measures, world soccer's governing body still gave the impression of being run “like an old boys' network”. It added that the new
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* Expects no breakthrough at meeting with Sarkozy * The leaders of Germany and France, meeting on Tuesday under pressure to propose new plans for tackling the euro zone debt crisis, will not discuss the topic of common bonds for the bloc, Berlin said on Monday. In light of the region's current treaties, euro area
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