Oil meeting collapses without freeze

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- A meeting of oil-rich countries in Qatar that had been expected to boost crude prices by freezing production fell apart Sunday as Iran stayed home and vowed to increase its output despite threats by Saudi Arabia.Oil prices, which hit a 12-year low in January by dipping under $30 a barrel, had risen above $40 in recent days, buoyed by the bullish talks surrounding the Doha summit.But instead of a quick approval of a production freeze, the meeting of 18 oil-producing nations sa

April 18, 2016

IMF sees $1.3 trillion in 'at-risk' Chinese company debt

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that corporate China's balance sheets have deteriorated to the point that some $1.3 trillion in borrowings is at risk of default.It said that the financial health of Chinese companies has declined as profitability has sunk amid slower economic growth, and there is clear evidence that more companies are not earning enough to cover the interest owed on borrowings.Such "debt at risk" has risen to 14 percent of all debt at listed Chinese companies, trip

April 14, 2016

China exports jump 11.5%

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's exports surged 11.5 percent year-on-year in March to $160.8 billion, authorities said Wednesday, in a positive sign for the world’s second-largest economy. Imports fell for the 17th consecutive month, dropping 7.6 percent on-year to $131 billion, Customs said, while the trade surplus leaped to $29.9 billion, nearly 10 times the dollar figure for the same month last year.The data beat expectations, with a Bloomberg poll of economists predicting a 10 percent increase in ex

April 13, 2016

Asian markets track global surge on oil deal hope

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Energy firms led an Asian stock market rally Wednesday as a strong trade report from China and news of a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia to limit oil output injected traders with much-needed optimism.The renewed confidence also saw the safe-haven yen retreat against the dollar, having soared more than 5 percent since the start of the month.U.S. and European equities provided a perfect lead with healthy gains after Russian news agency Interfax said that Moscow and Riyadh h

April 13, 2016

Nomura to close Europe business, cut jobs

Nomura Holdings, Japan’s largest brokerage, said it will close certain businesses in Europe and “nationalize” parts of its operations in the Americas.Operations in Asia won’t be affected by the changes, the Tokyo-based securities firm said Tuesday in a statement. The firm will release a full strategic plan outlining the changes when it reports earnings on April 27, it said.Nomura will shutter equity research, sales, trading and underwriting for European stocks, a person with knowledge of the mat

April 13, 2016

World Bank: China’s growth to ease to 6.7% in 2016

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- China will remain the main driver of growth in Asia this year despite its prolonged slowdown, helped by sustained expansions in other developing countries in the region, the World Bank said Monday.The U.S.-led development bank forecasts that developing East Asia will grow at a still robust pace of 6.3 percent this year, down from 6.5 percent in 2015. It said the Philippines and Vietnam will lead growth, with economies expanding by more than 6 percent.Indonesia, the bi

April 11, 2016

Fed policymakers worried about slow global growth: minutes

Federal Reserve policymakers were broadly worried about the threat of slower global growth to the US economy, the minutes from their March 15-16 meeting showed Wednesday.As they decided against an interest rate hike at that meeting, several also cautioned against an increase in April, saying it would signal a sense of urgency over US monetary conditions that "they did not think appropriate," the minutes said.The minutes showed most of 17 participants in the Federal Open Market Committee policy r

April 7, 2016

New inversion rules will kill Pfizer-Allergan deal

Drugmakers Pfizer Inc. and Allergan Plc are scrambling to determine whether to proceed with their plan to merge and move Pfizer's address _ but not its operations or headquarters _ to lower-tax Ireland. They are taking another look after the U.S. Treasury Department issued new rules to make such ``tax inversion'' deals less profitable. Both companies were mum Tuesday on what they'll do, other than to swat swirling rumors that they're leaning toward dropping the inversion. But analysts and tax ex

April 6, 2016

Facebook programs computers to describe photos for the blind

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) -- Facebook is training its computers to become seeing-eye guides for blind and visually impaired people as they scroll through the pictures posted on the world‘s largest online social network.　 　The feature rolling out Tuesday on Facebook’s iPhone app interprets what‘s in a picture using a form of artificial intelligence that recognizes faces and objects. The iPhone’s built-in screen reader, VoiceOver, must be turned on for Facebook‘s photo descriptions to be read. For n

April 5, 2016

'Panama Papers' revelations trigger global probes

Several countries have launched tax evasion probes after a massive leak of confidential documents lifted the lid on the murky offshore financial dealings of a slew of politicians and celebrities.The scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups began revealing the results of a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in creating offshore shell companies.Among those named in the "Panama Papers" are close associate

April 5, 2016

Iran oil exports surpass 2 million barrels: minister

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran's oil exports have surpassed 2 million barrels per day following the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear deal with world powers, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Sunday.“Iran’s oil and gas condensate exports are now at more than 2 million barrels per day” after rising by 250,000 bpd since March 1, the ministry's Shana news service quoted Zanganeh as saying.Iran has doubled exports since its nuclear accord took effect on January 16.Iran, an OPEC member, has the world’s

April 4, 2016

Behind China's $100 billion shopping spree

China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co., which has twice sweetened its offer to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., is engaged in a high-stakes bidding war with Marriott International Inc. to acquire the owner of the upscale Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis brands.Win or lose, the latest $14 billion bid unveiled Monday by an Anbang-led investor group makes this much clear: Chinese companies have launched an unprecedented buying spree, one far more ambitious than previous efforts focused prima

April 1, 2016

Cnooc tops Sinopec as China's second biggest oil producer

Oil’s plunge has reordered the pecking order among China’s biggest explorers. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s move to close some high-cost fields has caused it to slip to number three in oil and gas production as rival Cnooc Ltd. got a boost from new domestic offshore projects.Sinopec, as China Petroleum is known, produced almost 472 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2015, down 1.7 percent. Cnooc overtook it by pumping about 496 million, jumping nearly 15 percent. PetroChina Co. remained t

March 30, 2016

Fed

Yellen confident in U.S. growth but stresses ‘gradual’ rate hikesNEW YORK (AFP) -- Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen expressed confidence in U.S. economic growth Tuesday but stuck to a dovish stance on monetary policy, saying the Fed still had to keep its eye on international economic and financial frailty.With markets on edge over when the Fed will next raise interest rates, which would increase the cost of money for borrowers worldwide, Yellen signaled clearly that was not likely to come befo

March 30, 2016

China to end state corn stockpiling amid glut: Xinhua

China will end its state corn stockpiling program this year, replacing it with other subsidies, amid surging reserves in the world’s second-biggest grower, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.The government will encourage state and private firms to buy corn at market prices and offer credit support to farmers, Xinhua reported late Monday, citing a press briefing by the National Development and Reform Commission. It will also promote changes in crop cultivation and move to reduce existing st

March 30, 2016

Japan factory output falls in February at worst pace since 2011

Japan's factory output plummeted in February at its sharpest pace since the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, government data showed Wednesday, the latest setback to efforts to rejuvenate the world's third-largest economy.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been trying for more than three years to pull Japan out of years of deflation, stagnant wages and weak consumer spending.Unorthodox measures including a massive bond-buying programme by the Bank of Japan have brought the yen do

March 30, 2016

Brexit will hurt world economy: US Treasury chief

If Britain exits the European Union it will have a negative impact on the British, European and world economies, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Tuesday.Britons are set to vote in a crucial referendum on June 23 to decide whether to back a so-called Brexit -- or exit from the European Union.The consequences of a Brexit -- in terms of the flow of trade and economic relationships -- would have far-reaching repercussions, Lew told Charlie Rose on public television PBS."I don't think it's goo

March 30, 2016

China's Anbang trumps Marriott with $15b bid for Starwood

The fight for Starwood Hotels swung back in favor of China’s Anbang after the insurance company offered $15 billion in a counterpunch to Marriott International. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which has a tony stable of hotels including the St. Regis New York, said Monday that the offer from the Anbang group is "reasonably likely" to trump a sweetened bid that Marriott submitted last week.Some industry analysts now believe Marriott will wind up on the losing end of this battle, unless other

March 29, 2016

Global concerns weigh on eurozone recovery: ECB

Economic recovery in the eurozone is set to continue in the coming months, but not as fast as hoped owing to global uncertainties and slowing growth in emerging economies, the European Central Bank said Thursday. "The economic recovery in the euro area is continuing, albeit with lower than expected growth at the beginning of the year on the back of a weaker external environment," the ECB wrote in its latest economic bulletin. Recovery "continues to be dampened by subdued growth prospects in emer

March 24, 2016