Weak December sales show shoppers under pressure

(Reuters) – Some major U.S. retailers had a tough December, with chains like Target and Family Dollar feeling the pinch as consumers were cautious in their holiday spending.The economy took a toll on shoppers in the most important quarter of the year for retailers. The holiday season was never expected to be stellar, but even the single-digit growth anticipated by chains and analysts came under pressure...

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Markets rally on US fiscal deal

2 January 2013 Last updated at 09:51 ETContinue reading the main storyGlobal stock markets have rallied after a short-term deal to stave off the US “fiscal cliff” was reached.The Dow Jones gained 1.8% at the open on Wall Street, while European shares were up by more than 2% for the day.Failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax rises worth $ 600bn (£370bn), expected to throw...

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Commissions banned on new sales

31 December 2012 Last updated at 07:37 ETFinancial advisers and sales staff can no longer be paid commissions by the firms whose policies they are selling.New rules, aimed at eradicating the long-standing practice, are being imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) from now.The aim is to stop policies – such as private pensions and investments – being mis-sold by sales staff, motivated by...

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Pending home sales hit two-and-half year high in November

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose in November to their highest level in 2-1/2 years, an industry group said on Friday, further evidence of a strengthening housing market recovery.The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, increased 1.7 percent to 106.4 – the highest level since April 2010 when...

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‘Boxing Day record’ for web retail

27 December 2012 Last updated at 07:44 ETBy Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC NewsRecord numbers visited UK retail websites on Boxing Day, with analysts suggesting shoppers are also using the internet to identify bargains.Information service Experian said UK consumers made 113 million visits to retailers’ websites during 26 December.High Streets are expected to be busy again for the post-Christmas...

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Tube drivers in Boxing Day strike

26 December 2012 Last updated at 07:01 ETPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. BBC News spoke to commuters at Edgware Road station in London, some branding the strike “really inconvenient”A number of London Underground drivers have gone on strike in a long-running row over bank holiday pay.Transport for London (TfL) says there is likely to be “significant disruption” to Tube...

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Monti ‘available to lead Italy’

23 December 2012 Last updated at 08:29 ETItalian Prime Minister Mario Monti says he is not siding for now with any party in upcoming elections, but remains available to head a future government.Mr Monti said he was ready to lead any coalition committed to his reforms.The caretaker prime minister said he was unable to accept an offer from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to lead a centrist coalition.Elections...

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LSE agrees LCH Clearnet purchase

24 December 2012 Last updated at 07:56 ETThe London Stock Exchange is to buy a 60% stake in LCH Clearnet, the European clearing house, but for a lower price.The LSE will pay 366m euros ($ 482m; £300m), about 100m euros below the original offer price.The lower price reflected new European rules requiring clearing houses to hold more capital, the companies said.Clearing houses enable the trading of...

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China and India: The $10 Trillion Engine of Future U.S. Growth

My friend and colleague Michael J. Silverstein, writing in this space in late October, mentioned that the most dangerous thing about China is America’s misguided attitude toward the country. In short, we appear to be afraid of China’s success.The U.S. has never before run from a challenge. This is the wrong time to start.As Silverstein and his co-authors—Carol Liao, David Michael, and Abheek Singhi—point...

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Can Nepal’s Republic Be Saved?

If you were a politician in Nepal during the past two years, there’s some chance you may have been slapped. In January 2011—as well as in May and November of this year—three citizens who were fed up with chronic government inaction physically attacked three senior politicians.Nepal’s citizens survived 10 years of a bloody Maoist insurrection that killed an estimated 16,000 people but also brought...

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US budget negotiations setback drives stocks down

PARIS (AP) — A failed attempt find a compromise in U.S. budget negotiations sent global stock markets plummeting Friday, as investors feared the world’s largest economy could teeter into recession if no deal is found.Without an agreement, the U.S. economy will fall off the so-called “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1 when Bush-era tax cuts expire and spending cuts kick in automatically. The measures were designed...

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Japan’s Nikkei outperforms as opposition wins big

LONDON (AP) — Japanese shares outperformed all others Monday amid hopes that the new government will enact fresh stimulus measures to boost the world’s third-largest economy.Signs that U.S. politicians are inching toward a budget deal helped Wall Street open stronger than earlier predicted and shored up European markets after a bad morning.The standout index was Japan‘s Nikkei 225, which closed up...

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Cinnabon in Tripoli: Libya Opens Up to Foreign Business

After 42 years, the country formerly known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is getting its first taste of consumer capitalism in an unlikely form: sweet, sticky cinnamon rolls. Cinnabon, the Atlanta-based bakery chain, is at the vanguard of a potential business boom in the North African country, which deposed dictator Muammar Qaddafi last year in a bloody civil war. In July the...

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UBS faces $1.6 billion fine over Libor rigging: paper

ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS faces a fine of 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.63 billion) to settle interest rate rigging charges, a Swiss newspaper reported on Saturday.Citing unnamed sources, Tages-Anzeiger daily said the bank would admit 36 traders around the globe manipulated yen Libor between 2005 and 2010. A UBS spokesman declined to comment.People familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday UBS...

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Walmart vs. Walmart

Cindy Murray has been working at Walmart store No. 1985 in Laurel, Md., for 13 years. She’s stationed in the fitting rooms and earns $ 12.40 an hour. Murray, who’s in her fifties, says she loves her job. She thinks of herself as a model employee. She also helped start OUR Walmart, or Organization United for Respect at Walmart, the group of employees who defied one of the most powerful companies...

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Delta buys into Virgin Atlantic

11 December 2012 Last updated at 10:24 ETDelta Air Lines has agreed a deal to buy Singapore Airlines’ 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic for $ 360m (£224m).Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson will retain a 51% shareholding, and the Virgin brand will remain in place, the new partners said in a joint statement.The deal is subject to regulatory approval in the US and Europe.It follows a spat between Sir Richard...

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As “fiscal cliff” nears, market complacency sets in

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Like many on Wall Street, investor Todd Petzel cringed when U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this past Wednesday that he was ready to let the economy go over the “fiscal cliff” if Republicans would not agree to higher tax rates on the rich.“I didn’t think good things would come out of the comment,” said Petzel, the chief investment officer at Offit Capital Advisors...

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