Oil drops below $100; first time since February

NEW YORK (AP) ― The price of oil dropped below $100 per barrel for the first time since February. The dramatic drop ― $5 per barrel by midday ― is easing fears that high energy prices would cripple a U.S. economy that is struggling to overcome high unemployment, stagnant wages and weak growth. The catalyst was Friday’s weaker than expected report on job growth in the U.S. That added to recent signs that the global economy is weakening, meaning demand for oil should slow. Earlier this year, world

May 6, 2012

Yahoo in talks to sell 15-25% of Alibaba: source

Yahoo Inc. could be weeks away from selling 15 to 25 percent of Alibaba Group’s stock back to China’s largest e-commerce company, in a deal designed to eliminate complexities that had scuttled the parties’ previous negotiations, a person familiar with the matter said.The two companies have been in talks for a month, the person said, but cautioned that there is no guarantee a deal will be reached.Numerous discussions have been held in recent years about a deal for Alibaba to reclaim some or all o

May 6, 2012

U.S. presses China over currency in economy talks

BEIJING (AP) ― U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged Beijing to let China’s tightly controlled currency rise in value amid strains over trade and industrial policy at a high-level economic dialogue Thursday.Beijing has allowed the yuan to rise gradually but Washington and other trading partners complain it still is undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage and hurting foreign competitors. Some American lawmakers are calling for punitive tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijin

May 3, 2012

S&P lifts Greece out of selective default

ATHENS (AP) ― The Standard & Poor’s ratings agency lifted Greece’s credit grade out of default on Wednesday after the country completed a massive debt writedown with private creditors. It upgraded the country from selective default to “CCC,” still in junk status, and gave it a stable outlook, which means no further ratings changes are being considered. Athens finalized its bond swap, the largest in history, on April 25. The deal wiped 100 billion euros ($132 billion) off Greece’s debt and saw pr

May 3, 2012

Eurozone unemployment hits record high

Jobless hits record high  of 10.9 percent as  recession, austerity biteLONDON (AP) ― The 17 countries that use the euro are facing the highest unemployment rates in the history of the currency as recession once again spreads across Europe, pressuring leaders to focus less on austerity and more on stimulating growth. Unemployment in the eurozone rose by 169,000 in March, official figures showed Wednesday, taking the rate up to 10.9 percent ― its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999.

May 3, 2012

Greenspan says U.S. stocks ‘very cheap’

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said U.S. stocks offer good value and are likely to rise as corporate earnings increase over time. “Stocks are very cheap,” Greenspan said Tuesday at the Bloomberg Washington Summit hosted by Bloomberg Link, citing “a very low price-earnings ratio.” “There is no place for earnings to grow except into stock prices,” said Greenspan, who served as Fed chairman from August 1987 to January 2006. Stocks have rallied on better-than-forecast corporate profi

May 2, 2012

Apple avoids billions in taxes

Company strategy helps  to legally cut its global tax bill by billions  every year: reportNEW YORK (AP) ― A published report says Apple Inc. uses subsidiaries in Ireland, the Netherlands and other low-tax nations as part of a strategy that enables the technology giant to cut its global tax bill by billions of dollars every year. The New York Times on Sunday outlined legal methods used by Cupertino, California-based Apple to avoid paying billions of dollars in federal and state taxes. One approac

April 30, 2012

Mittal: ‘Not giving up’ on Indian economy

Billionaire Lakshmi N. Mittal, who chose India for his first investment in crude oil processing, said the nation’s economy will continue to expand, unaffected by slowing reforms and delays in government’s decision-making. “The India story is not over,” Mittal, chairman of the world’s biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal, said in New Delhi Sunday. “Whatever may happen in terms of policies and paralysis, the country will continue to grow.” Mittal, with a net worth of $18.7 billion, said India is on hi

April 30, 2012

Tens of thousands protest in Spain against cuts

MADRID (AFP) ― Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across Spain on Sunday against new austerity measures targeting education and health care spending.“Cuts in health care and education, that’s the last straw for us, the working class,” said Domingo Zamora, a 60-year-old civil servant in Madrid. “Without that, what’s left? We don’t even have work.”“They’re pushing us to the point of asphyxiation,” said another protester, Pilar Logales, also 60.The protesters carried banners reading “It’s a C

April 30, 2012

Chinese tastes impact global vehicle designs

BEIJING (AFP) ― As more and more Chinese buy cars, automakers say consumer tastes in the Asian nation have a growing influence on vehicle design the world over.China emerged as the world’s top car market in 2009, and though the sector stalled last year, with sales rising just 2.5 percent to 18.51 million, carmakers are convinced it is where the industry’s future lies.Manufacturers at this week’s Auto China 2012 exhibition in Beijing said they have started to include features that appeal to the C

April 30, 2012