Britain's top share index fell in early trade on Thursday, as investors paused for breath after the previous session's gains, with miners leading declines weighed by downbeat Citigroup comments on precious metal miners. By 0803 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 4.06 points, or 0.1% at 5,362.35, having closed up 2.7% at 5,366.41 on Wednesday,
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Hong Kong shares rose for a second session on Thursday, spurred by gains in other Asian markets, while Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance was up after raising its stake in a Chinese lender. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 1.19% at 20,868.92. The China Enterprise Index was up 1.65% at 11,688.84. Ping An rose
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Despite weeks of political violence that disrupted economic life in Bangkok this year, the combined wealth of Thailand's 40 richest people increased by 46% from 2009, according to a study by Forbes magazine. Dhanin Chearavanont, owner of Thailand's largest agribusiness conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group, is the country's richest man with net worth of $7 bln,
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A cooling global economy and an impending austerity squeeze in Britain will make the Bank of England wait well into next year before hiking interest rates, a Reuters poll of 60 economists showed on Wednesday. A median of forecasts showed the UK central bank would begin hiking its base rate by the end of the
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Greece lifted a ban on short-selling shares on Wednesday, returning the market to normal after the havoc of the debt crisis, a move expected to bring back short-term traders and boost thin trading volumes. Greek stocks greeted the move with gains of almost 1% on light volume of 75 mln euros, but brokers hope turnover
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India on Wednesday launched a clampdown on major Internet communications firms, including Google and Skype, and began accessing some BlackBerry traffic in a campaign driven by security fears. Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said notices were being sent to Google and Skype asking them to set up servers in India and allow access to web data
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A British airplane en route to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after a 56-year-old woman spilled a hot cup of tea on herself, German police said on Wednesday. The Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Poznan made the unscheduled landing in the northwestern city of Bremen on Tuesday, local police said.
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Greece's largest food group, Vivartia, has agreed to take control of rival dairy firm Mevgal as part of efforts to cope with a consumer slump in the recession-plagued, cash-strapped country. The move to create Greece's top dairy group comes two days after Vivartia owner Marfin Investment Group (MIG), Greece's biggest investment fund, posted a record
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For the second straight year, "Transformers" star Shia LaBeouf topped a Forbes.com list of Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck with women claiming five of the top 10 spots compared to zero last year. Based on the financial news site's own calculations, for every $1 the studios spent on LaBeouf, his films return about $81
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The Dutch are set to live longer — good news for them but bad news for insurers that are expected to suffer from higher capital requirements and tighter profit margins as a result. The Dutch Actuarial Society's latest table of prognoses estimate average lifespans will be three years longer in coming decades. Men will live
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