Japanese business confidence was at its best in two years in the three months to June and big firms revised up capital spending plans, a Bank of Japan survey showed, in a sign the export-driven economic recovery is taking hold. The tankan survey showed Europe’s sovereign debt woes and the sharp appreciation in the yen…
Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered Plc said it will invest $500m as a cornerstone investor in Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO in Hong Kong. AgBank is seeking to raise more than $20bn in a Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO, and sources had previously told reporters that Standard Chartered would invest $500m. The listing is expected to…
Over the past few years, more feasible, attractive options for financing Mexico real estate purchases have become available for non-Mexican buyers. If real estate buyers or investors plan to finance their purchase, there are steps they need to follow in order to make sure they are choosing the appropriate form of financing. While the steps…
World stocks hit a 2-1/2 week low on Tuesday while oil and the euro also slipped as investors grew nervous over the funding situation of banks about to repay 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank. Banks must repay the money borrowed a year ago at rock bottom rates on Thursday, leaving…
The government said on Tuesday it was cutting police red tape by scrapping two targets introduced by the ousted Labour administration ahead of budget cuts expected to see a reduction in officers. Police minister Nick Herbert said sweeping away bureaucracy would allow officers to “do more with less” but accepted that “substantial” funding cuts were…
Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Europe set to follow, as fears eased that Washington would draft a harsh bill for regulating the banking sector and after an unremarkable conclusion to a Group of 20 leaders’ summit. G20 leaders meeting in Toronto agreed to take their own paths to ensuring economic growth and…
China’s key stock index was down 0.6 percent by midday Monday, with volume slipping further as tight liquidity conditions worsened by Agricultural Bank of China’s looming stock offering starved the market of momentum for near-term gains. The Shanghai Composite Index (SSEC) ended the morning at 2,537.2 points, slipping for a fourth day in a row…
India’s opposition parties are gearing up for a national strike to protest the government’s move to hike fuel prices, putting pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition before the next parliament’s session. Last Friday’s hikes in petrol, diesel and kerosene were seen as a bold reform with which to attack India’s fiscal deficit and that…
Afghanistan’s untapped mineral deposits could be worth up to $3 trillion, the country’s mines minister said on Friday, higher than a recent U.S. estimate. Officials from the U.S. Department of Defense said this month that Afghanistan’s mineral wealth could top $1 trillion, a finding that could reshape the country’s economy and help U.S. efforts to…
Its celebrity residents include George Clooney, Donatella Versace, Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson, soccer coach Jose Mourinho…and could include you.The beauty of Italy’s Lake Como has long made it a magnet for rich and famous homebuyers. Nearly 200 years ago the Romantic poet Shelley said it “exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty” while in…
