S&P calls U.S. lawsuit ‘retaliation’ for downgrade

McGraw Hill Financial Inc.’s Standard & Poor’s unit called the $5 billion fraud lawsuit filed against it by the federal government “retaliation” for the ratings company’s downgrade of U.S. creditworthiness. S&P said the government brought “selective, punitive and meritless litigation” after the company exercised “free speech rights with respect to the creditworthiness of the United States of America,” according to a filing Tuesday in federal court in Santa Ana, California, responding to the gove

Sept. 4, 2013

Australian holds rates at 2.5%

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Australia’s central bank on Tuesday left interest rates on hold at a historic low of 2.5 percent, in a widely expected move four days ahead of national elections.The Reserve Bank of Australia last month cut rates to their lowest level since it was established in 1959, underscoring fears of a slowdown as country’s the decade-long mining boom slows down.On Tuesday RBA governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement: “At its meeting today, the board decided to leave the cash rate unchange

Sept. 3, 2013

Italy imposes tax on high-frequency trading

ROME (AFP) ― Italy implemented a new tax on high-frequency trading on Monday, becoming the first country to impose a levy on an opaque and little-regulated market.The 0.02-percent levy applies to derivatives deals lasting less than half a second and is the second part of new financial transaction taxes being imposed in Italy.It applies to transactions involving Italian stocks or indices and is calculated based on the product‘s overall value.A tax on all share transactions was installed in March.

Sept. 3, 2013

HTC employees detained amid trade secrets probe

HTC Corp. employees were detained by Taiwan authorities after the smartphone maker alleged that some of its trade secrets were breached. Five people, including four employees in research and development at HTC, were questioned after a complaint by the company, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang Mou-hsin said by phone. Two workers were detained while the others were released on bail, according to Huang. Shares fell as much as 5.1 percent in Taipei before trading 4.5 percent lower at NT$149.50 as of 10

Sept. 2, 2013

Apple launches iPhone trade-in program in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Apple on Friday began letting U.S. iPhone owners trade in their smartphones for credit toward buying new models.The California company’s trade-in program kicked off in the wake of unconfirmed reports of a Sept. 10 event at which Apple will unveil new iPhones, with rumors ranging from a gold handset to a low-price version aimed at emerging markets.“iPhones hold great value,” Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette said in an email to AFP.“So Apple Retail Stores are launching a new pr

Sept. 1, 2013

China factory activity rises in August

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s manufacturing activity strengthened in August, official figures showed Sunday, the latest data to suggest that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilising.The official purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.0 last month from 50.3 in July, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.The index tracks manufacturing activity in China’s factories and workshops and is a closely watched gauge of the health of the economy. A reading below 50 indicates

Sept. 1, 2013

Finland plans to raise retirement age: government

HELSINKI (AFP) ― Finland plans to raise its retirement age to strengthen public finances and encourage Finns to work more, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said after his coalition government clinched a deal.The government plans to propose increasing the effective retirement age to 62.4 years by 2025, a year and a half higher than it is today.The retirement age to obtain a full pension in the country is 65, but Finns stop working earlier on average, as in many other countries in the Organization fo

Sept. 1, 2013

Eurozone unemployment steady at 12.1% in July

Eurozone unemployment was unchanged at an “unacceptable” record 12.1 percent in July but another slight fall in the total jobless after an improvement in June offered some hope, official data showed on Friday.The number of people without work in the 17-nation eurozone fell 15,000 to 19.23 million, after a drop of 35,000 in June, the Eurostat statistics agency said.In the full 28-member European Union ― including Croatia which joined in July ― the unemployment rate was unchanged at 11 percent, wi

Sept. 1, 2013

U.S. economy grew at 2.5% rate in spring

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate from April through June, much faster than previously estimated. The steep revision was largely because U.S. companies exported more goods and imports declined. The Commerce Department said second-quarter growth was sharply higher than the initial 1.7 percent rate it reported last month. And the growth this spring was more than double the 1.1 percent rate from January through March. The improvement in the trade deficit helped of

Aug. 30, 2013

U.S.-Swiss tax evasion deal reached

The U.S. and Switzerland agreed to resolve a long-running dispute over offshore tax evasion by letting some banks voluntarily disclose wrongdoing and turn over account information on American clients, a senior Justice Department official familiar with the matter said. The accord divides Swiss banks into four tiers: 14 banks under criminal investigation; those allowed to avoid prosecution by disclosing wrongdoing; those without wrongdoing to disclose; and those complying with U.S. anti-tax evasio

Aug. 29, 2013