For a third consecutive day there was a drop in European stocks. This might have been due to the fact that earnings missed estimates from Clariant AC (CLN) (a Swiss chemical maker) to Merck KGA (MRK) (second largest drug manufacturer in Germany). The former plummeted 13 percent and the latter, 5.1 percent. Other dives were… Continue Reading
Libya’s Political Unrest A report from The Tripoli Post two days ago detailed the sorry situation in Libya as rebels attempt to get rid of the country’s leader, Muammar Al Qathafi. They are doing this following “a rule of 41 years.” The rebels have “appealed to Spanish corporates for financial aid to begin reconstruction of… Continue Reading
Whopping Welsh Investments Over the 2010-11 fiscal year, according to a news article in the Daily Post, Finance Wales (FW) “invested a record £39 million in Welsh businesses.” However, this led to the company again going over its annual investment budget, with 199 debt and equity investments, rendering the total to over 2,600.Š To date,… Continue Reading
In an almost eerie omen of what may come if the debt ceiling is not raised on US debt, the DOW Jones tumbled 1.2 percent in early morning trading. Whether or not stocks pare gains is not as important as the indicator that this reaction to both European debt troubles and stalled negotiations over the… Continue Reading
The second largest smartphone manufacturer in Asia, HTC Corp. (2498) is planning on purchasing up to 2.4 percent of its shares. According to a report in Bloomberg, this move follows a U.S. International Trade Commission rule “that it infringed two Apple Inc. (AAPL) patents.” In practice what does this mean? While 2.4 percent doesn’t seem… Continue Reading
Currently in the midst of negotiations for a $1bn deal is REDAN (Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria) and Shelter Afrique (a pan-African housing development finance organization). According to a news article on the subject, he deal – if it all goes through – will lead to the construction of 150,000 “low and medium housing… Continue Reading
The European Union has been heaping the criticism on Spain vis-à-vis the way it has been dealing with savings banks and tax policy. But Spain has not taken this lying down. Indeed, according to a Bloomberg article it has been “persuading the EU to water down judgments issued as part of a new economic-policing system.”… Continue Reading
The big wigs met yesterday in Paris with the goal of making peace with Euro authorities vis-à-vis how investors will participate in the Greek sovereign debt reconstruction. According to an article in The Financial Times, this is also meant to ease Greek’s burden as well as make the “banks’ original plan that would have seen… Continue Reading
Troubled Times for Greek Finance; Not Happy Swiss The Greek economy is up the creek without a paddle. As well, this is impacting the Swiss populace which is now sitting around watching this turmoil unfold. The Greek parliament has just said yes for increased austerity in an effort to meet EU-IMF bailout terms. This led… Continue Reading
According to a recent news article in The Irish Central (from newly-released figures from the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association [ISME]) it might not be such good news for the Irish government that the black economy is experiencing an intense revival. Indeed, figures showed that this success was actually causing the government “$7billion in… Continue Reading