December 7th, 2012 by admin
On Thursday, a politically charged deal between the French government and ArcelorMittal to preserve jobs at an ailing steelworks looked at risk of unraveling after the global steel giant ditched a bid to run an EU-funded project there.
ArcelorMittal withdrew an application for using the Florange site in northern France for an EU “green steel” pilot project that Paris had hoped could keep two idled blast furnaces going.
“I’ve seen the distress and anger and I know what’s caused it. But my responsibility is to make sure Florange has a future,” President Francois Hollande said and added that all promises made to save the Florange site would be kept.
ArcelorMittal said it could not currently pursue the ULCOS project for technical reasons; the company is already under fire for months in France over its plan to permanently shut the Florange furnaces on the grounds they are not economically viable.
Tags: ArcelorMittal, steel giant
April 3rd, 2012 by admin
On Tuesday, James Murdoch resigned as chairman of BSkyB for preventing his links to a tabloid phone-hacking scandal from undermining the pay TV group. The group has so far escaped the worst of the damage convulsing its controlling shareholder News Corp.
James said he would step down from the British pay-TV company. “I am aware that my role as Chairman could become a lightning rod for BSkyB and I believe that my resignation will help to ensure that there is no false conflation with events at a separate organization,” Murdoch said.
“As attention continues to be paid to past events at News International, I am determined that the interests of BSkyB should not be undermined by matters outside the scope of this company,” Murdoch wrote in a letter to the BSkyB board.
Tags: James Murdoch, News International, tabloid phone
March 14th, 2012 by admin
On Wednesday, the cabinet of Greece unanimously approved the terms of its international bailout. This was a few hours after euro zone countries formally approved the 130 billion euro ($169 billion) financial package that was required by Greece to stay afloat.
The deal will now be sent to the Parliament that is expected to vote on it by the end of the month.
“A lot remains to be done,” Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told the cabinet, according to a statement. “The cabinet and parliament must undertake a great effort to complete this legislation in the coming weeks,” he said. Papademos has said he would step down once the legislation is completed.
Tags: euro zone countries, international bailout
March 12th, 2012 by admin
On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan is expected to refrain from easing monetary policy further while stressing out its readiness to act again in the next few months, if required, and extending a cheap loan line supporting growth industries.
“Having just eased last month, it would be hard to justify moving again. We expect the BOJ to ease again when the U.S. Federal Reserve boosts monetary stimulus,” said Hiroshi Shiraishi, an economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo.
Sources familiar with the central bank’s thinking say said the Bank of Japan is of the view that it has done enough for now with the yen well off record highs, stocks up, and euro zone debt jitters receding.
Tags: Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve, growth industries, monetary policy
February 14th, 2012 by admin
On Tuesday, the Greece government rushed to find 325 million euros in budget cuts for satisfying finance ministers of the eurozone who are deciding whether to sign off on a rescue package to save the country from a chaotic default.
Political leaders of the country, squeezed between skeptical European capitals and deep anger, need to produce written commitments to stick to the terms of the 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout before the ministers meet on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank also said it may use profits from Greek bonds to help restructure the country’s debt.
“They could use it to contribute to the sustainability of Greek debt,” ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said in an interview with French daily Liberation.
Tags: bailout, budget cuts, rescue package
January 29th, 2012 by admin
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tarbucks Corp reported a quarterly profit that topped view of the Wall Street but it was not enough to save its shares that fell as investors in the world’s biggest coffee chain focused on softness in Europe rather than strength in the United States.
Shares of the company up roughly 45 percent from a year ago and hovering near all-time highs, were off 2.2 percent at $47.26 in extended trading after closing at $48.34.
Starbucks has been underperforming internal targets in Europe where high unemployment and debt worries weigh heavily on consumers and the company has taken steps for improving results there, Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead said on a webcast.
Tags: high unemployment, Starbucks, Wall Street
January 19th, 2012 by admin
Seven people have been charged by U.S. prosecutors with running a $62 million insider trading scheme. Making it one of the largest sweeps in the government’s investigation, the FBI in New York arrested four people and authorities announced previously secret charges against three others.
The prosecutors said the seven charged worked for five different hedge funds and investment firms and reaped nearly $62 million in illegal profits on trades in Dell Inc.
“It describes a circle of friends who essentially formed a criminal club, whose purpose was profit and whose members regularly bartered lucrative inside information,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a news conference.
Tags: hedge funds, insider trading scheme, investment firms
January 18th, 2012 by admin
Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple Inc, received a one-time stock award worth nearly $400 million, the largest given by a company in a decade.
Board of the company granted Cook 1 million restricted stock units (RSUs) to signal its confidence in Cook. The company said in a Monday proxy filing that the stock award was worth more than $376 million, based on the closing price of Apple’s shares on August 24, 2011.
“As far as a singular award, we haven’t seen anything this large in a long time,” said Aaron Boyd, head of research at Equilar, an executive compensation data firm.
“The Board views his retention as CEO as critical to the Company’s success and smooth leadership transition. The RSU award is intended as a long-term retention incentive,” Apple said in its statement.
Tags: Apple Inc, leadership transition, restricted stock units, stock award, Tim Cook
January 5th, 2012 by admin
In a deal that could be worth as much as $5 billion, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) is in talks to sell most of its 50 percent stake in TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK (5012.T) back to its Japanese refining partner and unload other assets in Japan.
The deal would mark a retreat from the third-largest economy of the world by the U.S. oil giant that is emphasizing on its resources globally on exploration and production and shifting away from so-called downstream assets such as those held in Japan.
“If this report is true, it could open the door for TonenGeneral to realign in alliance with another company. That may or may not include capital ties,” said Hidetoshi Shioda, senior analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities.
Tags: capital ties, exploration and production, Exxon Mobil
January 2nd, 2012 by admin
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Saturday in parts of Nigeria plagued by a violent Islamist insurgency. The President also ordered shutting down the borders with Cameroon, Chad, and Niger in the northeast.
Jonathan told state television the measures would aim to restore security in troubled parts of Nigeria’s north.
“The temporary closure of our borders in the affected areas is only an interim measure designed to address the current security challenges and will be resumed as soon as normalcy is restored,” he said.
“The crisis has assumed a terrorist dimension,” Jonathan said. “I therefore urge the political leadership (in northern local governments) to give maximum cooperation to ensure that the situation is brought under control.”
Tags: emergency, Islamist insurgency, security challenges
