BERLIN (AP) ― Germany’s finance minister on Saturday added to a chorus of calls for France’s Christine Lagarde to become a new leader of the International Monetary Fund.Lagarde has emerged as a front-runner to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, also of France, who resigned this week to face charges in New York that he tried to rape a hotel maid. He denies the charges. French Finance minister Christin

Industry May 22, 2011

Ministers sign off on $110b in rescue loans, continue to wrestle over GreeceBRUSSELS (AP) ― European governments insisted on handing out bailouts to fight the debt crisis on Monday, when they signed off on 78 billion euros ($110 billion) in loans to Portugal and debated giving Greece a second rescue package to avoid a disastrous default.Most of the terms for Portugal’s package had emerged over the

Industry May 17, 2011

U.S. plans steps to speed up oil production but moves won’t calm gas prices any time soonWASHINGTON (AP) ― Amid growing public unhappiness over gas prices, President Barack Obama is directing his administration to ramp up U.S. oil production by extending existing leases in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska’s coast and holding more frequent lease sales in a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska. But

Industry May 15, 2011

China may limit interest-rate increases over the rest of the year, focusing on other tools for combating inflation as the government seeks to cool prices without choking off growth. The central bank Thursday raised banks’ reserve requirements for the fifth time this year. The half-point increase takes effect May 18 and will boost levels for the nation’s biggest lenders to a record 21 percent.  The

Industry May 13, 2011

ROME (AFP) ― Roger Federer’s French Open problems piled up on Thursday when he was dumped out of the Rome Masters by Richard Gasquet but world number one Rafael Nadal shook off a fever to make the quarterfinals.World number three Federer went down 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) in the third round to Frenchman Gasquet, a worrying setback less just 10 days before the start of Roland Garros, the second Gr

More Sports May 13, 2011

U.N. Climate change panel says 80% of energy needs could be met by renewables by 2050ABU DHABI (AFP) ― Renewable energy could meet nearly 80 percent of the world’s energy needs by mid-century and play a crucial role in fighting global warming, the U.N.’s climate scientists said Monday in a major report. The 194-nation Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change said renewable sources had grown rapi

Industry May 10, 2011

EU officials say Greece may need more help with debt as S&P downgrades Greek bondsLONDON (AP) ― Two major credit agencies signaled their concern about Greece’s massive debt on Monday, lending new credence to the view that European authorities must do more to help the country a year after it barely avoided bankruptcy with a bailout.Experts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund

Industry May 10, 2011

Louis Vuitton, the French maker of laminated canvas handbags, is the world’s most valuable luxury brand for the sixth consecutive year, a research group said. The brand, owned by Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, has a value of $24.3 billion, an increase of 23 percent from 2010, according to Millward Brown Optimor’s 2011 BrandZ study published Monday. That’s almost as much as the co

Industry May 9, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Smartphones powered by Google software widened their lead on BlackBerry handsets in the U.S. market during the first three months of the year, industry tracker comScore reported on Friday.Android smartphones dethroned BlackBerry in January by capturing 31.2 percent of the U.S. market and that share grew to 34.7 percent by the end of March, according to comScore. A Samsung Ele

Industry May 8, 2011

South Korean high schooler Kim So-hui won the country’s first gold medal at the ongoing World Taekwondo Championships on Thursday.In the final of the women’s 46-kilogram division here, about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Kim defeated Li Zhaoyi of China 13-6. Kim, a six-time national champion, is the first South Korean high school student to win a world title in six years.Kim So-hui (Yonhap Ne

More Sports May 5, 2011