Blackberry maker RIM was the biggest winner in a slowing smartphone market in the second quarter, roughly doubling its market share from a year ago to 17.4%, research firm Gartner said on Monday. The market was still dominated by Finland's Nokia Oyj , which sold 15.3 million phones with capabilities like e-mail and navigation, giving
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Electronic Arts Inc has delayed its latest Harry Potter video game until next summer, a title it expected to reap $120 million in revenue and 13 cents a share in profit, the video game publisher said on Monday. EA expects to sell the game "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in the summer of 2009,
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Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stocks took a dive while their debt soared on Monday, as investors bet the U.S. government's takeover of the mortgage finance firms would wipe out shareholders but fully guarantee their bonds. Equity markets around the world surged on the bailout news as hopes rose that the U.S. Treasury's plan to
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Oil rose on Monday as Hurricane Ike spun towards the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil hub and traders awaited OPEC's decision this week on output policy. OPEC ministers gathering in Vienna were expected to leave formal production targets unchanged as Ike threatened U.S. offshore oil installations still recovering from Hurricane Gustav last week. U.S. crude
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U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Monday after the government's takeover of troubled mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raised hopes of a recovery in the U.S. housing market, sparking a global equity rally. Financial and home builder shares were among the strongest gainers. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 321.12 points, or
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Nationwide, the UK's No.1 customer-owned lender, is to take over The Derbyshire and The Cheshire building societies after bad debt-induced losses left both facing "financial issues". Nationwide, the country's No.2 mortgage lender, said the move was instigated by its smaller rivals, who approached it after suffering first-half pretax losses of 17 million pounds ($30.78 million)
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The London Stock Exchange suspended trading on Monday in the latest of a series of systems problems, and several hours into its normal trading day was still battling to reconnect customers. The LSE, the the world number-three exchange by traded volume in the first half of this year, opened for trading as usual at 0700
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OPEC ministers on Monday gathered in Vienna ahead of a meeting to review output policy, but were widely expected to leave formal targets unchanged, especially as a powerful hurricane could lift oil prices. A hard core of ministers has said the market is over-supplied following months of over-production led by top exporter Saudi Arabia. They
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Cyprus continues to enjoy low unemployment, with the unemployed persons registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of August 2008 falling by 1,082 to 10,801, compared with 11,883 in July 2008. The Statistical Service reports that the decrease was mainly recorded in the sectors of education, public administration and hotels and restaurants.
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The apparent rebound in motor vehicle registrations in July was shortlived as registrations in July fell by 6% over the year-earlier period to 4,762 in August. Registrations of motor vehicles had rebounded in July, rising by 18.2% over the same month of 2007 to 7,077. However, the annual trend is still upwards. Total registrations in
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