Finance

Econ min: Spain will not have to ask for help

Spain’s debt is under control and it will not have to ask for help like fellow eurozone member Greece, Economy Minister Elena Salgado said in an interview with newspaper Cinco Dias. “Our debt is clean, we will not have to ask for help,” she said. The country is sticking to its targets to reduce the […]

Pernod lifts profit target as Q3 sales beat forecast

French drinks group Pernod Ricard lifted its full-year profit target as it posted third-quarter sales above forecasts and said key markets such as the US, Russia as well as duty free had improved. “We clearly see an improvement in the economic environment with one dark zone which is Western Europe,” Chief Executive Pierre Pringuet told […]

Germany’s E.ON agrees to sell US business-sources

German utility E.ON agreed to sell its US business, two people with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal investors expect to yield billions of euros for the world’s largest power company. “That’s right,” one of the persons said when asked whether the power provider had reached an agreement. The power provider aims to […]

Bank of Ireland details 3.4bn capital raising

Bank of Ireland launched a plan to raise 3.4 billion euros ($4.6bn) without resorting to further state cash in a package the Irish government hopes will help differentiate it from Greece’s woes. Ireland last year came close to a similar market attack as Greece due to its own fiscal and banking crises and Bank of […]

Greek PM requests activation of EU/IMF aid package

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou asked for the activation of an EU/IMF aid package on April 23 aimed at pulling the nation out of a debt crisis. “It is a national and imperative need to officially ask our partners in the EU for the activation of the support mechanism we jointly created,” Papandreou said in […]

German bank severs Goldman ties, France eyes probe

A German state bank said it had severed business ties with Goldman Sachs Group Inc , citing US regulators’ allegation that the dominant Wall Street bank committed fraud, while France eyed an investigation of its own. Goldman is accused of defrauding investors by failing to say that prominent hedge fund manager John Paulson bet against […]

FinMin: Greece to tap aid when needed, eyes debt costs

Borrowing costs and the progress of talks with European and IMF officials will determine whether Greece triggers an international aid mechanism, the country’s finance minister has stated. Greek borrowing costs hit a fresh high in mid-April and investors increasingly believe the discussions will lead Greece to tap an aid package of 40-45 billion euros ($53.8bn). […]

Banco Popolare CEO sees 2010 results in line

Italy’s Banco Popolare expects 2010 results to be in line with forecasts while possible sales of non-strategic assets could boost its capital ratios, its chief executive said recently. In La Stampa daily, Pier Francesco Saviotti also ruled out any merger with Italian cooperative bank peer Ubi Banca, speculation which regularly surfaces, and said there had […]

WTO: Global crisis to hurt trade for up to 2 years

Global trade will face lingering protectionism for up to two years, as the job market reels from the global financial crisis, World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy said recently. “We are not out of the woods in coping with this protectionist tensions,” Lamy told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago during a visit. “We on […]

Hungary to seek new or extended IMF/EU deal

Hungary’s new centre-right Fidesz government will seek a new financing deal or an extension to the existing agreement with the IMF and the EU, foreign minister-designate Janos Martonyi told reporters in an interview. The Fidesz party, which named Martonyi as its candidate for the top job in Hungarian diplomacy, won elections by a landslide on […]

Eurozone aid for Greece is only short-term solution

The Eurozone’s standby aid package for Greece offers only a short-term solution to Athens’s debt crisis and leaves many questions about the future of the single currency group and the EU unanswered. Financial markets welcomed the deal reached on April 11 by the finance ministers of the group of 16 countries that use the euro, […]

BoE to be regulator & rate setter under Conservatives

The Bank of England will get sweeping new powers to police London’s financial centre if Britain’s opposition Conservative Party wins the coming election, but changes to the structure may take about 18 months. Analysts say that could increase short-term uncertainty – investors might think UK assets are that much riskier as a result. There is […]

UK March factory gate inflation hits 16-month high

British factory gate inflation rose in March at its fastest pace in 16 months, driven by a surge in the cost of oil and imported goods, official data shows. The Office for National Statistics said producer output prices rose 0.9 percent on the month, more than twice the jump analysts had forecast, for an annual […]

Chartists see new peak for Europe shares in 2010

European shares’ rally of 70 percent in just over one year has a way to go in 2010, according to a survey

Europe’s Q1 earnings next big catalyst for market

Weak currencies and low interest rates will help European and UK firms post better results for the first quarter versus the previous three months, helping to extend a rally in the region’s equities at least to mid-year. European shares, up 69 percent from lows hit in March 2009, are looking for fresh impetus from company […]

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