ROME (AP) ― Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Rome Saturday to protest against Premier Matteo Renzi’s drive to make it easier to fire workers.Two noisy marches crisscrossed the heart of the Italian capital, snarling traffic for hours. Demonstrators cheered as CGIL labor confederation head Susanna Camusso promised more protests and strikes unless Renzi abandons efforts to give employers considerably more leeway to fire workers. The center-left premier contends businesses fear hiring work

Oct. 26, 2014

LONDON (AFP) ― A demand for Britain to pay an extra 2.1 billion euros ($2.6 billion) to the European Union shows the EU is a “thirsty vampire,” euroskeptic leader Nigel Farage said on Friday, as lawmakers voiced anger over the move.Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party, said Prime Minister David Cameron was powerless to prevent the payout being levied on Britain because its economy is growing faster than other European nations.“David Cameron once claimed that he had reduced the EU budget

Oct. 26, 2014

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, in a meeting Wednesday with German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, called on Germany to boost public spending to stimulate stuttering eurozone growth, the Treasury said.Lew and Gabriel, who met in Washington, discussed the slowdown in global economic growth and particularly in the 18-nation eurozone.The Treasury chief “emphasized the importance of strengthening public investment, and urged German and other European leaders to boost domestic

Oct. 23, 2014

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage provider, will announce about 9,000 job cuts next week as its customers shift to online services from physical branches, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The bank will detail the cuts, a target for branch closures and the increasing automation of its services as part of a new three-year plan on Oct. 28, when it releases third-quarter results, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the strategy hasn’t been finalized.

Oct. 23, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Yahoo said Tuesday its quarterly profit surged with its sale of shares in Chinese Internet powerhouse Alibaba, and also saw improving results from its mobile Internet initiatives.Net profit jumped to $6.8 billion, which included $6.3 billion from its Alibaba shares. But profits excluding one-time items were stronger than expected, and pumped up Yahoo shares by 2.7 percent in after-hours trade.Revenue from operations inched up a percent to $1.15 billion, according to third q

Oct. 22, 2014

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s shaky economy was dealt another blow Wednesday, as official data showed a widening September trade deficit that puts the world’s number-three economy on track to log a record annual shortfall.The worse-than-expected deficit of 958.3 billion yen ($8.96 billion) comes on the back of a string of weak figures and a sharp contraction in the second-quarter, which raised fears that a recovery in Japan’s economy has been derailed.The latest numbers translated into a trade deficit o

Oct. 22, 2014

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The European Commission fined U.S. banking giant JPMorgan more than 61 million euros ($78 million) on Tuesday for its role in rigging benchmark international interest rates.JPMorgan worked with Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008-09 to fix interest rates on Swiss franc LIBOR contracts, another example of major banks colluding “instead of competing with each other,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.“Our economy needs a healthy, transparent, well-functioning financial s

Oct. 22, 2014

BEIJING (AFP) ― The global economic recovery is beset by “downside risks,” China’s vice-premier told Asia-Pacific finance ministers Wednesday, a day after growth in the world’s second-largest economy hit a five-year low.The meeting in Beijing of ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum precedes the group’s annual summit next month, when Chinese President Xi Jinping is to host counterparts including U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime

Oct. 22, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― New big-screen iPhones helped propel Apple’s profit and revenue in the last quarter, as the California tech giant smashed earnings expectations.The company reported on Monday that profit rose 13 percent to $8.5 billion, as revenues jumped to $42.1 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ending Sept. 27.Apple said it sold more than 39 million iPhones in the quarter, boosted by last month’s launch of the large-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which hit some markets on Sept. 19. That

Oct. 21, 2014

BEIJING (AP) ― China’s economic growth waned to a five-year low of 7.3 percent last quarter, raising concerns of a spillover effect on the global economy but falling roughly in line with Chinese leaders’ plans for a controlled slowdown.The third quarter figures, released Tuesday, put China on course for annual growth somewhat lower than the 7.5 percent targeted by leaders, though they have indicated there is wiggle-room in their plan. The world’s No. 2 economy grew 7.5 percent from a year earlie

Oct. 21, 2014

BERLIN (AP) ― Germany and France agreed Monday to draw up proposals by the beginning of December to boost investment as they try to come up with a strategy that will help shore up the European economic recovery.Though the decision to come up with an investment plan shows the two countries trying to work together closely, the divide between Berlin and Paris on economic matters is wide.The German government has faced pressure from abroad to pump more money into the economy to help bolster both its

Oct. 21, 2014

Russian consumer-safety regulators are conducting inspections at more than 200 McDonald’s Corp. restaurants around the country. Russian courts have temporarily closed nine restaurants, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in a statement on its Russian corporate website. McDonald’s said it disagreed with the decisions and that it will appeal to a higher court. McDonald’s arrived in Soviet-era Russia in 1990 and was seen as a symbol of the nation’s rising prospects, helping open the communis

Oct. 20, 2014

KOMAKI, Japan (AFP) ― The first passenger aircraft to be made in Japan in nearly four decades was unveiled Saturday as its manufacturer pushed into the booming regional jet sector with an eye to taking on industry giants Embraer and Bombardier.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a military contractor best known for its “Zero” World War II fighter, pulled back the curtain on its new Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a fuel-efficient, next-generation aircraft that claims to offer more passenger comfort with lower

Oct. 19, 2014

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen warned Friday that the gap between the rich and poor in the United States is widening and is near the highest levels seen in 100 years.In a speech at a conference on inequality in Boston, Yellen did not mention monetary policy nor the current turmoil in financial markets. Instead, she focused on the widening wealth disparity and how that impacts economic opportunity. A sign next to a homeless man in New York. (Bloomberg)“By some estimates, in

Oct. 19, 2014