European stocks were slightly higher in early afternoon trade on Thursday, after earnings from Goldman Sachs beat forecasts, but with initial U.S. weekly jobless claims rising. At 1356 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,053.25 points, after falling to as low as 1,048.41 points, a level not
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HSBC is launching a new investment grade corporate bond fund, seeking to tap demand from latecomers to a sector which saw dramatic returns last year. The HSBC GIF Global Core Credit Bond will be run by the bank's specialist active management arm, Halbis, under chief investment officer for fixed income Xavier Baraton. Baraton said on
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Tourists staying in hotels in Turkish-controlled north Cyprus could be in for a shock along with their bill: a suit brought against them on behalf of Greek Cypriot owners. Greek Cypriot lawyer Constantis Candounas, who won a landmark ruling this week triggering upheaval among foreign home buyers in ethnically split Cyprus, said on Thursday he
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Cyprus Communications and Works Minister Nicos Nicolaides has said that as the financial crisis goes on, the shipping industry has to focus on quality, security and efficiency, investing in human resources and new technologies. The Minister was addressing a seminar organized by Cyprus Shipping Chamber and the Baltic and International Maritime Council under the title
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The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week as claims delayed from the year-end holidays were pushed through, government data showed on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 482,000 in the week ended January 16, the Labor Department said, rising for
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The British economy bounced out of the longest recession on record in the last quarter of 2009 but is not seen making any dramatic move over the coming year as stimulus packages are gradually removed, a Reuters poll showed. Median forecasts from the survey, taken over the past week, showed they expect the UK economy
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Thursday reduced its 2009 bonus pool as it posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. The Wall Street bank said the total set aside for compensation for the year was $16.19 billion, down from $16.7 billion at the end of the third quarter. Goldman has been the primary target of public anger toward
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Goldman Sach's earnings helped lift developed market stocks and set Wall Street up for modest gains on Thursday while worries about more tightening in China hit emerging market shares. The euro fell to a six-month low against the dollar as concerns about Greek debt pushed bond spreads out to record levels before recovering. Goldman Sachs
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Beijing needs to tighten its monetary policy to head off asset bubbles, leading economist Nouriel Roubini said on Thursday. "It will be nice to see an increase in the interest rate … in China because credit growth in China has been excessive," Roubini, told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Financial Forum. "Doing it
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President Barack Obama, reeling from an election defeat in the Senate, will propose stricter limits on financial risk-taking on Thursday in a move that may recall Depression-era curbs on banks. The president will announce a series of measures to cut down on excessive risk-taking as part of a revamp of the country's financial regulatory system,
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