Taiwan’s economy has contracted in the second quarter by 0.16 percent, according to official data. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected it to grow by as much as 0.5 percent. “With deteriorating of European debt crisis and slowdown in major economies, the global demand is expected to decelerate and the outlook of world trade in…
Lending by German banks to weaker parts of the eurozone has dropped to nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the year and is currently at its lowest level since 2005, according to central bank data. A total of €55bn less in net loans were granted to Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain by German…
Spain’s unemployment rate has risen once again to 24.6 percent in the three months to June, despite a small decline at the beginning of the summer attributed to temporary positions linked to the holiday trade, according to the National Statistic Institute. Half of those under the age of 26 and available for work are unemployed,…
Brazilian iron ore giant Vale has reported a quarterly drop in net income of 59 percent as slow growth in China has affected iron ore prices. Further foreign exchange losses were triggered by a weak Brazilian real. The world’s largest iron ore miner has recorded a second quarter net income of $2.66bn, equivalent to 52…
Apple, currently the most valuable public company in the world, has missed growth forecasts in the third quarter of the fiscal year as the public held out for the release of their new iPhone. After selling 26 million iPhones in the three months to June 30, Apple recorded a 28 percent increase on the same…
The World Trade Organisation has announced it will be investigating China’s quotas and tariffs on exported tungsten and molybdenum following complaints by the US, the EU and Japan that it might be breaking global trade rules. Over 90 percent of the world’s rare earths are produced in China; they are 17 key metallic elements used…
Policy makers have stepped up plans to stimulate the real estate market and entice more buyers after the country registered tentative demands and want to prevent further wavering domestic growth. The debt-to income ratio, which monitors the type of mortgage loan imposed by banks, is due to be incremented to meet the needs of borrowers,…
In the last five months, the US has lost around 100m tonnes of crops, predominately in South America and the US grain belt, an area which has been struggling with over 37.C degree (100F) temperatures. Maize prices have risen by 40 percent and soya bean by 25 percent. These crops are then converted into other…
The change comes after the Hong Kong market watchdog, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), threatened to move in on investment banks if they allowed any false information about the companies to float on the exchange. Recent difficulties with companies like KXD Digital Entertainment, which had breached a string of rules including failure to disclose…
In his opening statement to a committee in Congress yesterday, Bernanke said the bleak issues must be dealt with “sooner rather than later.” “We are looking very carefully at the economy, trying to judge whether or not the loss of momentum we’ve seen recently is enduring, and whether or not the economy is likely to…
