Crisis has no end in sight: King

BOE governor says banks can learn from Olympic GamesBank of England Governor Mervyn King said the U.K. must press on with reforms to the banking industry and repeated his gloomy outlook for the euro-area debt crisis, which is impeding Britain’s economy. “If the rest of the world were growing normally, the rebalancing and recovery of our economy would be much easier,” King wrote in an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper. “But it isn’t. Even the rapidly expanding emerging-market economies are

Aug. 13, 2012

Sharp may sell plants to Hon Hai

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese electronics giant Sharp is considering selling overseas factories to Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision in a bid to turn around its ailing finances, reports said Saturday.The reports came as Hon Hai pushes to change the terms of its agreement to take a 10-percent stake in the cash-strapped firm, whose shares plunged this month after it announced a huge loss.The Nikkei business daily said Sharp was eyeing sales of its liquid crystal display module plants, adding that the firm may a

Aug. 12, 2012

OECD chief backs ECB’s bond-buying policy

The head of the OECD, Angel Gurria said he supports the European Central Bank’s plan to buy sovereign bonds of eurozone nations, in an interview published on Saturday.“The ECB president Mario Draghi has clearly stated how the ECB can help to reduce the EU debt crisis by buying bonds, and I support this policy,” the secretary general of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development said.“The signal to the markets was clear: speculators will lose their bets against the euro because the

Aug. 12, 2012

Greece aims to raise $3.8b in T-bills

ATHENS (AFP) ― Greece will try to raise 3.125 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in an auction of three-month treasury bills this week to try to avoid a looming cash crunch, a finance ministry official said on Friday.“This is to cover the country’s current needs and avoid finding ourselves in a dead-end,” the official said as the government finds itself in great need of cash to pay salaries and pensions and faces redeeming a 3.2-billion-euro bond held by the European Central Bank on Aug. 20.While Gree

Aug. 12, 2012

Toyota plans to invest $495m in Brazil

BRASILIA (AFP) ― Top Japanese automaker Toyota plans to invest $495 million dollars to build an engine plant in Brazil, the company’s president said Wednesday after meeting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.Akio Toyoda made the announcement a day before he was to attend the inauguration of Toyota’s third factory in Brazil, in Sorocaba, located 91 kilometers from Sao Paulo in the country’s southeast.The engine factory, to be located in Porto Feliz ― 20 miles from Sorocaba ― will be ready in 2015

Aug. 9, 2012

Eurozone financial markets fragmented, ECB says

FRANKFURT (AP) ― The European Central Bank warns that debt crisis hitting the 17 countries that use the euro is causing the region’s financial market to become increasingly fragmentedThe region’s central monetary authority highlighted the fall-off in money being lent across borders and the differences in money-market and bond interest rates between financially stronger and more troubled countries in the region as signs of the split.The bank’s statement Wednesday expanded on comments by bank head

Aug. 9, 2012

Juncker says Greek exit ‘manageable’

BERLIN (AFP) ― Eurozone finance ministers’ group chief Jean-Claude Juncker has said a Greek exit from the eurozone would be “manageable” but not “desirable,” according to an interview published Tuesday.“The way things look now, it would be a manageable process,” he told Germany’s WDR public broadcaster, according to a transcript on the government website of Luxembourg, where Juncker is prime minister.“That’s not to say it would be a desirable occurrence because it would be linked to considerable

Aug. 8, 2012

Lenovo introduces lighter, quicker ThinkPad laptop

BEIJING (AP) ― Lenovo unveiled a lighter, quicker ThinkPad notebook computer on Monday to appeal to customers who like the convenience of tablets and smartphones.The ThinkPad X1 Carbon will go on sale later this month, the Chinese computer maker said.Lenovo Group acquired the ThinkPad brand with IBM Corp.’s personal computer unit in 2005. Lenovo passed Dell Inc. last year to become the second-largest PC manufacturer after Hewlett-Packard Co.The latest ThinkPad has third-generation wireless conne

Aug. 7, 2012

Best Buy founder offers to buy out company

S&P cuts company’s credit rating from the lowest investment grade to junk-gradeNEW YORK (AP) ― Best Buy’s co-founder is looking to make a buy of his own, offering to take the electronics seller private only months after leaving as the company’s chairman.Best Buy Co. said it would consider the offer but called it “highly conditional.” And analysts are skeptical that former Chairman Richard Schulze’s opening offer of $24 to $26 per share would get a deal done and that it could be tricky to line up

Aug. 7, 2012

ECB holds back on bond purchases

FRANKFURT (AFP) ― The European Central Bank has again opted not to resume its program of buying up bonds of eurozone nations, data suggested Monday, as speculation mounted that the ECB might do so again soon.According to data published on the bank’s website, it did not buy any sovereign bonds last week for the 20th week in a row.The ECB launched its bond-buying blitz under the Securities Market Program in 2010 to help debt-wracked eurozone countries that were finding it difficult to drum up fina

Aug. 7, 2012

No need now for rescue aid: Italy bank chief

ROME (AP) ― Italy’s central bank chief says there’s no need “at the moment” to request help from European funds to fight soaring borrowing costs.Ignazio Visco says whether Italy needs to do so in the future depends on whether markets are convinced the country has turned the tide in its financial crisis, stays disciplined on public spending and removes obstacles to growth.Visco, in an interview in Sunday’s La Repubblica daily, predicted 2013 growth would be quite low.Separately, a top Cabinet off

Aug. 6, 2012

Official: IMF’s talks with Greece show progress

Greece and its international creditors agreed on the need to strengthen policy efforts to support the economy and comply with its bailout terms after more than a week of meetings in Athens. Representatives from the so-called troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund met with Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras in Athens Sunday at the conclusion of the meetings. The talks will determine whether Greece continues receiving funds from the country’s

Aug. 6, 2012

Monti: Crisis threatens EU as a whole

Italian P.M. says crisis causing ‘psychological dissolution’ in EuropeBERLIN (AP) ― Italy’s prime minister has warned that the eurozone’s sprawling debt crisis has created resentment amid the bloc’s nations, which could ultimately trigger a breakup of the wider European Union.Mario Monti told German news magazine Der Spiegel in an interview published Sunday that eurozone tensions over the past few years “bear the traits of a psychological dissolution of Europe,” adding that Europe “must work har

Aug. 6, 2012