Troika hopes for Greek debt deal within days

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The EU-IMF-ECB troika of international lenders behind Greece’s delayed bailout said Wednesday that they hoped to conclude a deal to resume financial aid after ending a review mission in Athens.Negotiators “agreed on most of the core measures needed to restore the momentum of reform,” but were to continue discussions from headquarters “with a view to reaching full staff level agreement over the coming days,” a statement said.Officials from the European Commission, the European Ce

Oct. 18, 2012

Vikram Pandit steps down as Citigroup CEO

Vikram Pandit, who steered Citigroup through the 2008 financial crisis and the choppy years that followed, abruptly left the bank on Tuesday, stepping down as CEO and as a director. The move shocked Wall Street, and Citigroup offered no explanation. There had been no hint of the departure Monday, when the bank discussed its strong third-quarter earnings in lengthy calls with financial analysts and reporters. A second top executive resigned as part of the shake-up: President and Chief Operating O

Oct. 17, 2012

Microsoft becomes friend and foe to PC partners

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― With the launch of its Surface tablet computer, Microsoft is becoming a genuine “frenemy” ― part friend, part enemy ― to its longtime manufacturing partners. Since its founding 37 years ago, the company has had a mutual understanding with makers of computer hardware: Microsoft creates software. Companies such as Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo pay Microsoft a licensing fee to place the Windows operating system on the desktop PCs, notebooks and other gadgets they market to consumers.

Oct. 17, 2012

Moody’s confirms Spain outlook negative

Signals downgrade still possible in coming monthsMoody’s Investors Service on Tuesday confirmed its rating on Spain’s government debt but assigned a negative outlook, signaling that a downgrade is still possible in the coming months. The rating agency said Spain’s efforts to improve its financial position and the European Central Bank’s willingness to lend support should give the government the time and flexibility it needs to stabilize its public debt over the next few years. It cited the gover

Oct. 17, 2012

Citi beats expectations after loss on brokerage

NEW YORK (AP) ― Citigroup said Monday that it beat Wall Street predictions for quarterly earnings after stripping out a big loss on its retail brokerage and other one-time charges.Net income was $3.3 billion, excluding one-time items. That amounts to $1.06 per share, beating the 96 cents predicted by analysts polled by financial data provider FactSet. Analyst predictions generally exclude one-time charges and gains.Revenue, after the special charges, was $19.4 billion. That beat expectations of

Oct. 16, 2012

Softbank close to Sprint takeover bid: report

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Japanese mobile carrier Softbank could announce as early as Monday a $20 billion deal for a 70 percent stake in U.S. competitor Sprint Nextel, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.The newspaper, citing informed sources, said Softbank would buy $8 billion of shares directly from Sprint and another $12 billion of shares in the market. The deal could vault Softbank among the top three mobile firms in the world.The agreement would provide heavily indebted Sprint with liquidity to

Oct. 15, 2012

Fischer backs Fed’s QE3

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said the world is “awfully close” to a recession, and backed the Federal Reserve’s increase in quantitative easing as strengthening its policy credibility. While there has been “a lot of progress made” to improve the global economy, its impact hasn’t materialized, Fischer said in an interview in Tokyo with Bloomberg Television airing Sunday. He signaled that by deciding not to set an end date or total amount to its third program of bond buying, the Fed is

Oct. 15, 2012

Apple said to plan Oct. 23 debut for smaller iPad tablet

Apple Inc. may unveil a smaller version of the iPad at an event on Oct. 23, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public. The new model will have a screen that’s 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally, less than the current 9.7-inch version, people familiar with the designs said in July. A smaller, less expensive iPad could undercut the tablet ambitions of Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., according to Shaw Wu, an analyst at St

Oct. 14, 2012

China exports jump but weakness seen ahead

BEIJING (AFP) ― Chinese exports rose 9.9 percent in September year-on-year to a record monthly high, the government said on Saturday, but analysts warned the performance was unsustainable given the weak global outlook.The national customs bureau also said the trade surplus of the world’s second-biggest economy, a source of friction with China’s trading partners, widened to $27.7 billion for the month, up from $26.7 billion in August.Global concern has mounted over a weakening trend in the Chines

Oct. 14, 2012

Japan Inc. to spend $2.5b to save Renesas

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s state-backed turnaround fund and leading domestic manufacturers will invest 200 billion yen ($2.55 billion) in troubled chipmaker Renesas Electronics, a business daily reported Saturday.The government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan will invest 150 billion yen to acquire two-thirds of Renesas shares, in a plan likely to be agreed next month, the Nikkei daily said.About 10 leading Japanese companies ― including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Panasonic, Canon and Nikon ― are

Oct. 14, 2012

Thousands protest in Spain, Portugal against austerity cuts

LISBON (AFP) ― Thousands of protesters in Portugal and Spain marched Saturday in fresh protests against the austerity measures their governments have imposed to tackle their debt crisis.Portuguese demonstrators staged marches that took on a festive air in the capital Lisbon and a number of other cities.In Lisbon, actors, singers, singers and dancers took center-stage on a special podium set in one of the city’s main squares.“Culture is resistance, the artists are in the street,” was the slogan f

Oct. 14, 2012

Greece will leave euro within 6 months: Borg

As European Union leaders prepare for a summit next week devoted to saving the euro, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said Greece may quit the common currency within the next six months. “It’s most probable that they will leave,” Borg said Saturday on a conference call from Tokyo, where global finance officials have gathered for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund. “We shouldn’t rule out this happening in the next half-year.” Borg’s warning comes a day after the EU was awa

Oct. 14, 2012