Apple Inc iPhone and iPod Touch users can now read books on their devices using software from Amazon.com Inc's Kindle electronic reader, boosting shares of the online retailer 5 percent. The news on Wednesday dispelled speculation that Amazon plans to compete more directly with smartphone providers by adding more functions to the Kindle, which represents
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The euro and European shares slipped on Thursday ahead of expected interest rate cuts by the euro zone and British central banks, while Asian shares dipped on disappointment China did not announce new stimulus plans. Concerns about the financial sector and the adverse impact on corporate profits from the slowing global economy were still haunting
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The consumer price inflation rate has continued to tumble in response to falling oil prices, reaching just 0.7% in February, compared with 1.1% in January. Compared with the previous month, prices rose by 0.1%–the first time they had increased since October. The biggest monthly fall in prices was recorded in prices of the oil-dominated housing,
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The Obama administration on Wednesday launched a $75 billion foreclosure relief plan, as new data showed one in five U.S. homeowners with mortgages owe more than their house is worth. The mortgage plan, part of a $275 billion housing stimulus program announced last month, enables struggling homeowners to modify loans even if they are "under
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Asian stocks extended gains on Thursday on hopes that a revival in China will support the weak global economy, while the euro fell on expectations the European Central Bank will cut rates to an all-time low later in the day. China's Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday that China will achieve 8 percent growth this
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China vowed on Thursday to ramp up spending and help exporters to hit its 8 percent growth target this year in a rare display of confidence in a world battling the worst financial crisis in 80 years. Investors found some solace in Beijing's pledge to keep the world's third-largest economy in high gear as they
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The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, namely President of the Republic Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, will be meeting on Thursday in the context of direct negotiations to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem. Τhe meeting will take place in the UN protected area of Nicosia at 1000
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Cyprus offers international investors the core competitive advantages that they seek before opting for an operational or business base, Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides has said. Addressing a seminar entitled “Cyprus an international business and professional center” in Teheran, where he paid an official visit, the Minister said that the objective
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The euro zone's powerful services sector has plumbed new depths and U.S. services are expected to show an accelerating decline, but Chinese manufacturing is displaying signs of bottoming out. The Markit Eurozone Purchasing Managers Services Index (PMI) showed on Wednesday new business in the euro zone services sector, which accounts for the bulk of the
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U.S. private companies hemorrhaged nearly 700,000 jobs in February and the service sector slump deepened as the year-old recession showed little sign of abating, according to data released on Wednesday. The private sector cut 697,000 jobs versus 614,000 in January, according to an ADP Employer Services report that suggested hefty employment declines are on the
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