Toyota faces 20% drop as aid ends

Vehicle sales will drop as much as 20 percent next quarter as the payouts expire, analysts sayToyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. can thank government aid for helping auto industry sales grow faster in Japan than any major market this year. As state subsidies are about to run out, so may the euphoria. Japan vehicle sales, after surging 53 percent in the first seven months, will drop as much as 20 percent next quarter as the payouts expire, analysts at BNP Paribas SA and IHS Automotive said. T

Aug. 20, 2012

De Guindos says bailout fund to manage Spain bank restructuring

Spain will put its bank rescue fund in charge of the bad assets separated out from the nation’s struggling lenders that are receiving a European bailout. The FROB fund will be the main shareholder in a so-called bad bank, according to a proposal that will be approved by the Cabinet on Friday, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told the Efe news agency in an interview Sunday. All the banks receiving loans from European rescue funds will have to transfer their non-performing assets to the bad bank,

Aug. 20, 2012

‘No room for Greece concessions’

BERLIN (AP) ― A senior ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that there is no room for concessions to Greece on fulfilling the conditions of its aid program and said in an interview published Sunday that he sees little chance of Germany’s governing coalition supporting a third rescue package.Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to visit Germany and France over the next week as Europe awaits a report next month from debt inspectors on Greece’s progress in implementing reforms and austerity

Aug. 20, 2012

Italy makes financial progress: Monti

ROME (AP) ― Italy’s financial situation has made progress compared with last year, the premier said Sunday, believing the country will eventually emerge from the bleak economic crisis. Mario Monti said the condition of the economy was “worse” in 2011, before he was appointed to lead Italy down a tough path of austerity, new taxes and pension reforms. But Monti, an economist who put together a government of technocrats in November, didn’t venture any timeframe for the hoped-for exit from financia

Aug. 20, 2012

Sharp could cut thousands more jobs

Japan’s embattled Sharp is considering cutting thousands of jobs in addition to its current plan of slashing 5,000 jobs to repair its disintegrating balance sheet, a report said Saturday.As the struggling electronics maker decided to cut thousands more jobs, its main banks are likely to provide bridge loans of about 60 billion yen ($755 million) to shore up Sharp’s cash flow, the Mainichi Shimbun reported, without citing sources.A separate report by the Yomiuri Shimbun said Saturday it is consid

Aug. 19, 2012

Greece won’t leave eurozone: Juncker

Luxembourg’s P.M. says Greece won’t leave eurozone, exit isn’t politically feasible: reportBERLIN (AP) ― Greece won’t leave the 17-nation eurozone, Luxembourg’s prime minister said, arguing in an interview published Saturday that an exit wouldn’t be politically feasible and would carry unforeseeable risks.Greece has been kept afloat by international loans, but has fallen behind on implementing reforms and austerity measures demanded in exchange, fueling impatience in Germany and other prosperous

Aug. 19, 2012

Committed to do everything we can: Merkel

OTTAWA (AP) ― German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Germany is committed to doing everything it can to maintain the euro and renewed her call for fiscal discipline by praising Canada for not “living on borrowed money” and saying it should serve as a model for Europe. Merkel, fresh off her summer vacation, arrived in Ottawa for two days of meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Last month, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank would do “whatever it

Aug. 17, 2012

S&P cuts Nokia further into junk

Finnish cellphone maker has been downgraded to ‘BB-’ from ‘BB+’HELSINKI (AP) ― Rating agency Standard and Poor’s on Wednesday downgraded Nokia Corp.’s long-term corporate credit rating further into junk status amid concerns over the cellphone company’s deteriorating profitability. While cutting its rating on Nokia by two notches to “BB-,” S&P warned there could be further downgrades as it slapped a negative outlook on the company. For S&P, anything below “BBB-” is considered junk status, or not

Aug. 16, 2012

7 banks subpoenaed over rate-fixing

ALBANY, New York (AP) ― The attorneys general of New York and Connecticut have issued subpoenas to seven banks over the possible manipulation of a global interest rate, a person with knowledge of the matter told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Subpoenas were issued, mostly last month and this month, to Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS, the person said.  The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to d

Aug. 16, 2012

Europe on the edge of recession

European Union’s GDP shrinks 0.2 percent in second quarterLONDON (AP) ― Europe is edging closer to recession, dragged down by the crippling debt problems of the 17 countries that use the euro, official figures showed Tuesday.Eurostat, Europe’s statistics agency, revealed that the economies of both the eurozone and the European Union, which has 27 countries, shrank by a quarterly rate of 0.2 percent in the second quarter of the year. In the first quarter, output for both regions was flat. A reces

Aug. 15, 2012

Greek economy shrinks 6.2%

ATHENS (AFP) ― The Greek economy, struggling in a fifth year of recession, shrank 6.2 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, official data showed on Monday.The economy contracted 6.5 percent in the first quarter, worse than the initially given 6.2 percent, according to revised figures issued in June.The Bank of Greece expects the economy to shrink 4.5 percent for 2012 as a whole, following a 6.9 percent drop last year.The country is relying on two financial rescue packages b

Aug. 14, 2012

Italy needs ‘quiet’ markets, not EU aid

Debt-laden Italy does not need rescue funds from the European Union but could use “a little quiet” on the markets, Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli said in an interview published Sunday.“We think the instruments put in place by the Central European Bank, when they are operational, will substantially ease tensions on the spreads” between bond yields in Italy and Germany, he told the left-leaning daily La Repubblica.“The only thing that would be useful is a little quiet on the markets ... normalis

Aug. 13, 2012

Iraq oil production tops Iran: official

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― Iraq’s oil output now stands at 3.2 million barrels per day, outpacing neighboring Iran to become the second-biggest producer in OPEC, Iraq’s top energy official said on Sunday.“Oil production is now at 3.2 (million bpd), higher than other countries like Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait,” Hussein al-Shahristani, deputy prime minister responsible for energy affairs, told journalists.Iraq has sought to dramatically increase its oil output and exports, the latter of which a

Aug. 13, 2012