AFP Britain’s state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to sell its asset management business Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Group to Aberdeen Asset Management for up to £660 million, it said on Monday. The sale, worth the equivalent of $1.…
Afghanistan’s finance minister on Monday rejected “doomsday” predictions that the impoverished country would plunge back into civil war when the bulk of US-led troops leave. Many international observers have voiced fears Afghanistan could descend into…
A Pakistani court on Monday adjourned a hearing into a travel ban against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, his lawyer said, a day after the government announced it would try him for treason. The former general applied last week to be removed…
Czech gold deposits are whetting the appetites of foreign prospectors hoping to see the new government lift a mining moratorium in the aftermath of snap elections. But rather than a dream come true, the prospect of a gold rush is a nightmare for environmentalists…
Dubai Airshow took off on Sunday with huge aircraft orders and commitments worth around $140 billion for Boeing and Airbus from Gulf carriers, with the US manufacturer well in the lead. The biennial show began brightly for Boeing’s 777X, a long-range…
A co-founder of China’s biggest Bitcoin exchange on Friday said there were “boundless opportunities” for the digital currency in the country because of the Chinese saving ethic. “The main reason why Bitcoin has become big in China is because Chinese…
A former JPMorgan bank trader arrested in Spain refused Friday to be extradited to the United States where he faces criminal charges in the massive “London Whale” fraud scandal. Spanish national Javier Martin-Artajo told Spain’s National Court that…
The global fight against tax evasion strengthened on Thursday with Liechtenstein agreeing to join international guidelines on discouraging tax cheats and France and the US agreeing cooperation. The US government shutdown last month delayed France joining…
The US market ICE said on Wednesday that it had completed the acquisition of US-European stock market operator NYSE Euronext for $11.0 billion (8.2 billion euros). The acquisition by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) creates a global giant among financial…
A codebreaker for the MI6 foreign intelligence agency, whose naked body was found padlocked in a holdall inside a bathtub three years ago, most likely killed himself by accident, police said Wednesday. A fresh review of the mysterious “spy in the bag…
Secretary of State John Kerry faces a potentially hostile reception Wednesday when he urges skeptical US lawmakers not to proceed with proposed new sanctions aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear drive. Senate Republicans and Democrats who are convinced that…
Debt-hit shipbuilding company OSX said Monday it had filed for bankruptcy protection in Rio de Janeiro, the second unit in Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista’s crumbling empire to do so. Earlier in the day trading of the OSX stock was suspended on the Sao…
US soft drinks giant PepsiCo announced Monday it would invest over $5 billion with its partners in India to raise production, saying it had only “scratched the surface” of the Asian giant’s potential. In further welcome news for India’s Congress government…
Gun violence is on the rise in US movies and has more than tripled since 1985 in those rated as acceptable for teenagers 13 and older, according to a study out Monday. The amount of such violence seen in modern movies rated PG-13 even exceeded that…
Romanian authorities have covered up crucial documents and sacked whistleblowing academics to please a Canadian company planning to open a huge gold mine in the heart of Transylvania, rights groups say. The company, Gabriel Resources, hopes to extract…