Switzerland draws up eurozone collapse action plan

GENEVA (AFP) ― Switzerland does not foresee a break-up of the eurozone but is nonetheless drawing up an action plan in the event of its collapse, the country’s central bank chief said on Sunday.Thomas Jordan, who became chairman of the Swiss National Bank last month, told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper that a working group was discussing measures to combat any strengthening of the safe haven Swiss currency.The bank intervened in September to stem the rise of the Swiss franc which had soared as in

May 28, 2012

Greek exit poses limited risk for Asia: Mahathir

Greece leaving the euro would have limited effect on Asia and the Mediterranean country should study such an exit as a way to restore competitiveness, Malaysia’s leader during the 1998 Asian financial crisis said. “I think if it’s just Greece alone it will not affect the Asian market that much,” former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Tokyo May 26. “With Greece it will still be possible to confine the effect more to Europe than to the rest of

May 28, 2012

Greece may run out of cash by June

Available funds will fall from $4.5 billion on May 11 to $900 million on June 18ATHENS (AFP) ― Former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos warned Greece may run out of money by the end of June if international bailout funds are cut off following next month’s election, a newspaper reported Sunday.“From late June onwards, the ability of the government to fund its obligations fully depends on the approval of the subsequent installments of loans from the EFSF and the IMF,” To Vima newspaper quoted P

May 28, 2012

U.S. consumer sentiment hits highest since 2007

Consumer confidence rose in May to the highest level since October 2007 as Americans became more upbeat about the prospects for employment. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of sentiment climbed to 79.3, the ninth straight increase, from 76.4 the prior month. The gauge was projected to hold at the preliminary reading of 77.8, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. A record number of households said they’d heard better news on the jobs outl

May 27, 2012

Chipmaker Renesas may slash 14,000 jobs

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics Corp. is considering cutting up to 14,000 jobs or 30 percent of its workforce as part of a major restructuring plan, according to news reports.The company is also considering selling a major factory to a Taiwanese firm, while closing or scaling down other plants, said the Nikkei and the Asahi Shimbun newspapers as well as Kyodo News.Renesas, which lost 62.6 billion yen ($785 million) in the year to March, also plans to raise 100 bill

May 27, 2012

Moody’s affirms top rating on France

PARIS (AFP) ― International ratings agency Moody’s affirmed its top “Aaa” rating on France Thursday but said it would watch closely the policies of new President Francois Hollande who favors growth above austerity.Moody’s said it maintained France’s top rating but kept the outlook at “Negative,” noting that while Hollande insists growth must come first, he has not made clear how he will implement his campaign pledges at a time of great eurozone strains.The agency, one of the top three world cred

May 25, 2012

Lawsuits mount over Facebook IPO debacle

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Trial lawyers smelled blood Wednesday as furious investors began filing suits over losses on Facebook’s disastrous $16 billion IPO, with billions of dollars possibly at stake in coming litigation.More than a half-dozen law firms specializing in investor complaints said they were launching class action suits against the social networking giant and its underwriters.The suits alleged that Facebook, and Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and other big Wall Street banks that distributed

May 24, 2012

Slim family sees crisis as good time to invest

Carlos Slim sees Europe’s debt crisis as a “good moment” to apply his strategy of investing in times of turmoil, said the billionaire’s son, America Movil SAB Co-Chairman Carlos Slim Domit. America Movil, controlled by the elder Slim, announced a $3.4 billion bid to increase its stake in former Dutch phone monopoly Royal KPN NV earlier this month. While the acquisition would be Slim’s first major European foray, it follows a longstanding pattern, his son said. America Movil tries to stay as effi

May 24, 2012

Tim Cook top-paid U.S. CEO

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Apple chief executive Tim Cook topped the list of the best-paid CEOs in the U.S. in 2011 thanks to stock options that put him more than $300 million above his next rival, a Wall Street Journal survey showed Monday.Cook, who took the helm of the iPhone and iPad maker in August last year, two months before the death of founder Steve Jobs, clocked in total compensation of $378 million.Cook earned $900,000 for his annual salary and $900,000 for his annual incentives.But he scooped u

May 22, 2012

Spain bank losses could hit $332b

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Spanish bank loan losses could hit $260 billion euros ($332 billion), with the industry likely to need some 60 billion euros in outside help to stay afloat, the International Institute of Finance said Monday.Taking guidelines from how badly Ireland’s banks were hit in its financial crisis, economists at the global banking institute said they expect the losses to be in the range of 216-260 billion euros.“A number of factors suggest that the losses could be nearer the upper end

May 22, 2012

Gucci-crazy Chinese fuel soaring shop rents in Hong Kong

Soundwill Holdings Ltd. was forced to sell many of its properties as it battled to survive Hong Kong’s real estate crash in the late 1990s. Even after its stock plunged 99 percent and debt obligations loomed, it held on to a 40-story tower on a tucked-away street that today is the second- most expensive retail strip in the world. Russell Street in the Causeway Bay district trails only New York’s F

May 22, 2012