Alcoa, Hewlett-Packard and Bank of America are losing their official blue-chip status: all three are being dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the index owner announced Tuesday. Their status as leaders of their respective industries diminished…
Economics
Consumer Staples Lead Store Sales Higher
U.S. store sales surged higher in the week ending September 7 with consumer staples leading the way. Grocery stores, drug … Read more
Armenia and Kenya Plan to Issue Debt as EM Crisis Eases
In what amounted to the largest single day sale of emerging market bonds this year, Russia raised $7 billion yesterday … Read more
Glencore Xstrata says merger to produce $2bn in savings
Newly-merged mining giant Glencore Xstrata announced Tuesday that its fusion will create synergies allowing it to save at least $2.0 billion (1.5 billion euros) next year. “We have successfully and rapidly completed the integration of Xstrata, identifying…
Bill and Melinda Gates win Lasker Award for public service
Bill and Melinda Gates were among the winners of the prestigious Lasker Awards Monday, bestowed each year for advances in medicine. The philanthropic couple were honored for “leading a historic transformation in the way we view the globe’s most pressing…
Important gas finds in Algeria this year
Algeria’s state-run energy giant Sonatrach has made some “very important” natural gas discoveries this year, Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi said Monday, as the country battles dwindling exports from its vital hydrocarbons sector. Yousfi gave few details…
Credit Expends but Credit Card Usage Slips
Total consumer credit outstanding increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.5% in July, the U.S. Federal Reserve reports. Revolving … Read more
Koch Industries to buy Molex for $7.2 billion
Koch Industries, the sprawling US global industrial conglomerate, announced Monday it was buying Molex, a manufacturer of electrical and electronic components, for $7.2 billion. Owned by the billionaire Koch brothers, David and Charles, known for their…
High radiation detected at Fukushima monitoring well: reports
The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant on Monday said that groundwater from an observation well near the site of a leaky storage tank showed high levels of radiation, according to reports. The finding means that it “now seems more…
State-rescued Lloyds bank relaunches TSB
Britain’s part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group on Monday relaunched TSB as a standalone lender, under plans to meet EU competition criteria and prepare for LBG’s return to the private sector. LBG rebranded 631 of its British branches, calling them…
Japan GDP Sees Huge Upward Revisions
Last night it was announced that the Japanese economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.8% from April to June … Read more
Icahn admits defeat in battle for Dell
Corporate raider Carl Icahn acknowledged defeat Monday in his effort to block a private equity buyout of US computer giant Dell, but still argued the plan “greatly undervalues” the company. In a letter to Dell shareholders, Icahn said a change in the…
5 Years Post Lehamn: 5 Reasons Why The Banks Failed
Examining the 34 main banks that failed during the recent financial crisis, the Financial Times has concluded the reasons for … Read more
China among world’s top three investors in 2012
China became one of the world’s top three investors for the first time last year as its foreign investment soared to a new record, the government said Monday. The Asian giant’s overseas direct investment rose 17.6 percent last year from 2011 to $87.…
Japan’s Suntory to buy GSK drink brands for $2.1 bn
Japanese drinks giant Suntory said Monday it would buy the top-selling Lucozade and Ribena brands from British drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for $2.1 billion. The deal, part of Suntory’s bid to expand overseas to counter a shrinking domestic market…