The latest Business news headlines from Yahoo! News UK. Find videos, pictures and in-depth Business coverage from the UK and around the world.
- China bans airlines from paying EU carbon charges
- 2012-02-06T02:15:38Z -
China said Monday it has banned its airlines from complying with an EU scheme to impose charges on carbon emissions opposed by more than two dozen countries including India, Russia and the United States.
- SS&C may scupper TPG's bid for GlobeOp
- 2012-02-06T01:13:15Z - (Reuters) - Financial software provider SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc is eyeing GlobeOp Financial Services SA and has urged the hedge fund administrator's shareholders not to accept a 508 million pound takeover by TPG Capital . GlobeOp's management said on Wednesday it would recommend TPG's cash offer to its shareholders, the first step in the U.S. buyout group's effort to build a presence in the business of servicing the $2 trillion hedge fund industry. ...
- Glencore offers 8 percent premium to Xstrata to seal merger - FT
- 2012-02-06T00:45:20Z -
(Reuters) - Shareholders in global miner Xstrata Plc are set to receive 2.8 shares in commodities trader Glencore International for each share held as the two firms try to seal an $88 billion (55 billion pounds) deal, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The terms of the all-share deal, likely to be unveiled on Tuesday, would represent an 8 percent premium to Xstrata's share price before news of the merger talks surfaced last week, the newspaper said in an unsourced report. The ratio was higher than had been expected by most analysts or investors, the paper said. ...
- France, German leaders meet amid euro, Syria crises
- 2012-02-06T00:43:45Z - PARIS (Reuters) - The French and German leaders meet on Monday in Paris for annual talks in which they will seek further economic coordination in the crisis-hit European Union and discuss the escalating violence in Syria. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is openly backing President Nicolas Sarkozy in April's presidential election, will also give a joint interview with Sarkozy to French and German television networks in the evening. "The meeting will be dedicated to deepening Franco-German cooperation in all fields ... and notably fiscal convergence," the French presidency said in a statement. ...
- Stocks rise as U.S. jobs gain outweighs fears
- 2012-02-06T00:30:11Z -
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Monday as surprisingly robust U.S. jobs data bolstered investor risk appetite, overshadowing worries about a lack of progress in Greek debt restructuring talks that are vital to containing the euro zone debt crisis. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent to its highest in more than five months, after the index recorded a fifth successive weekly gain last week. Japan's Nikkei average opened up 1.2 percent. Major stock indexes closed on Friday at multi-month highs, as sentiment was bolstered by U.S. ...
- Hiring by smaller banks spurs finance job market
- 2012-02-06T00:03:07Z - LONDON (Reuters) - Job vacancies in London's finance sector grew threefold in January compared to a dismal end to 2011, as small and medium sized banks and fund managers looked to pick up staff flooding out of investment banks in retreat, a report showed. The number of jobs on offer in the City of London rose to 4,050 in January, up from 1,490 in December, when major investment banks stepped up a wave of layoffs, recruiters Astbury Marsden said. The vacancies were still down by 25 percent on a year earlier, however. ...
- Premier Wen says China needs to help Europe - report
- 2012-02-05T23:41:01Z - SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that China needs to help Europe stabilise its markets due to strategic considerations in its relations with the region, the official China Securities Journal reported on Monday. China also needs to keep its policy on imports and exports stable via more encouragements rather than restrictions, the newspaper quoted Wen as saying during a visit to China's southern province of Guangdong earlier this month. "Europe is now in a debt crisis," Wen was quoted as saying. ...
- Greek parties face Monday EU bailout deadline
- 2012-02-05T23:40:06Z -
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's coalition parties must tell the European Union on Monday whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal as EU patience wears thin with political dithering in Athens over implementing reforms. Technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos put on a brave face as he tried to get leaders of the three parties in his government on Sunday to sign off on the terms of a 130 billion euro (107 billion pounds) rescue, which Greece needs soon to avoid a chaotic debt default. ...
- Euro zone insists no Greek rescue without reforms
- 2012-02-05T23:04:54Z -
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers told Greece it could not go ahead with an agreed deal to restructure privately held debt until it guaranteed to implement reforms to secure a second financing package from the euro zone and the IMF. Euro zone ministers had hoped to meet on Monday to finalise the second Greek bailout, which has to be in place by mid-March if Athens is to avoid a chaotic default, but the meeting was postponed because of Greek reluctance to commit to reforms. ...
- Glencore, Xstrata hammering out final deal details
- 2012-02-05T23:03:50Z -
CAPE TOWN/LONDON (Reuters) - Top executives at trader Glencore and miner Xstrata are hammering out the final details of an $80 billion (50 billion pounds) tie-up to seal the industry's largest ever takeover, which could be announced as early as Tuesday. Xstrata, in which Glencore already has a 34 percent stake, announced last week it had been approached by the world's largest diversified commodities trader and was in discussions over an all-share "merger of equals," a deal that would be the largest in the sector since Rio Tinto's takeover of Alcan in 2007. ...
- Vodafone set to abandon Greek merger plans - FT
- 2012-02-05T23:02:46Z - LONDON (Reuters) - Telecoms giant Vodafone is set to abandon attempts to merge its Greek business with rival Wind Hellas over concerns that the deal would not meet EU regulations, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The likelihood of being able to agree a deal that was satisfactory for European regulators has diminished since the plans for a merger were first explored last August, according to one person with knowledge of the talks cited by the newspaper. ...
- Olympus ex-CEO Woodford sees more revelations
- 2012-02-05T22:56:19Z -
TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Official investigations into a massive fraud at Japan's Olympus Corp are highly likely to lead to further revelations on the scandal soon, according to the firm's former chief executive, Michael Woodford, who blew the whistle on the affair. The maker of cameras and medical equipment is trying to put the $1.7 billion (1.0 billion pounds) scandal behind it, having wrapped up its own third-party investigation late last year. It is seeking out investment partners and looking to vote in a new board in April. ...
- Analysis: India ruling to trigger telecoms industry shakeout
- 2012-02-05T22:44:24Z - MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Vodafone , for one, is wasting little time in capitalising on a blockbuster Indian court verdict that's likely to shake up the world's second-largest mobile phone market. Within hours of a Thursday ruling by India's highest court that all licences awarded in a scandal-tainted 2008 sale be revoked, jeopardising the operations of a handful of smaller carriers, the UK giant ran front-page newspaper ads inviting users of rival networks to sign up for its service without having to change their phone number. ...
- Merger fails, but D.Boerse CEO says allies a must
- 2012-02-05T22:34:06Z - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse does not believe it can survive in the long term without a new partner despite the collapse of its proposed $7.4 billion merger with NYSE Euronext , its chief executive told a German newspaper. "We need to fight even harder and pay attention to customers, innovation, market penetration and costs. And we will and must examine further alliances," CEO Reto Francioni told the Financial Times Deutschland in comments to be published in the Monday edition. ...
- Local firms vie for Yum's slice of the China market
- 2012-02-05T22:32:37Z - BEIJING (Reuters) - Four floors up overlooking the bustle of the cavernous Joy City Mall in Beijing, diners take a break from shopping to slurp noodles and nibble on dumplings at an Ajisen restaurant. It's an increasingly common sight: Chinese consumers turning to local fast-food alternatives to the long-dominant pair in China -- Yum Brands Inc's KFC and McDonalds Corp . Twenty-five years after Yum introduced China to American-style fast food with its first fried chicken store, the two U.S. ...
- Greek unions plan 24-hour strike against austerity
- 2012-02-05T21:14:15Z - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's two major labour unions plan a 24-hour strike on Tuesday against austerity measures and reforms demanded by international lenders in exchange for a new bailout package, union officials said on Sunday. "We are planning a one-day strike on Tuesday," Ilias Iliopoulos, secretary general of public sector union ADEDY, told Reuters. "Despite our sacrifices and despite admitting that the policy mix is wrong, they still ask for more austerity." ADEDY and its private sector sister union GSEE represent about 2 million workers or roughly half the country's workforce. ...
- Europe's shadow darkens outlook
- 2012-02-05T20:54:02Z -
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A renewed focus on Europe's banking and debt crisis may quickly sap the nascent optimism about global economic prospects that followed a remarkably solid U.S. January employment report. While the U.S. jobless rate fell to the lowest level in nearly three years, euro zone unemployment has climbed to 10.4 percent, its highest since before the adoption of the euro. China, another key engine of growth, is hitting its own speed bumps as it faces a rocky real estate market and high local debt levels. Curiously, the better U.S. ...
- Greece forces overtime in critical debt talks
- 2012-02-05T20:53:00Z -
Greece on Sunday insisted on extending critical talks on a debt rescue into Monday, as the government's coalition backers denounced pressure from public creditors to pass harsher austerity measures.
- Greek political leaders agree on spending cuts - PM
- 2012-02-05T19:42:24Z - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek political leaders have agreed to spending cuts worth 1.5 percent of gross domestic product this year, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said in a statement on Sunday after talks with party chiefs in his coalition. That included measures to cut wages and non-labour costs to make the Greek economy more competitive, he said. He confirmed that the three party leaders will meet again on Monday to conclude negotiations on Greece's second financing package. Greece's lenders have demanded spending cuts worth about 1 percent of GDP -- or just above 2 billion euros -- this year. ...
- IMF, EU trim Romania's growth forecast
- 2012-02-05T19:36:02Z -
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union on Sunday said they had trimmed Romania's 2012 growth forecast to 1.5-2.0 percent, due to international economic turbulence.
- Greek parties must respond to Troika plan Monday - spokesman
- 2012-02-05T19:34:47Z - ATHENS (Reuters) - Leaders of the three parties in the Greek coalition government must respond to proposals made by the country's international lenders for a new bailout deal by noon (1000 GMT) on Monday, a spokesman for the PASOK socialist party said on Sunday. "Political leaders should give a response in principle tomorrow afternoon (to the European Union)," PASOK party spokesman Panos Beglitis told reporters. They would later discuss the plan by the "troika" of international lenders at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. ...
- Greek party talks on bailout to continue Monday
- 2012-02-05T18:53:15Z - ATHENS (Reuters) - Talks among Greek political leaders on reforms needed for a new IMF/EU bailout for the country will continue on Monday, far-right leader George Karatzaferis said on Sunday. Asked whether the leaders of the three coalition parties had reached an agreement, Karatzaferis told reporters: "We will continue tomorrow." His LAOS party is in the coalition of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, along with the conservative and socialist parties. "I won't contribute to the explosion of a revolution due to misery," Karatzaferis added. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Harry Papachristou)
- Swiss media blame banks for caving in to US pressure
- 2012-02-05T18:51:02Z -
Swiss banks came under fire in Sunday newspapers for giving in to US demands on banking secrecy.
- Wen says Europe stability in China's interests
- 2012-02-05T17:52:28Z -
China's Premier Wen Jiabao said a stable Europe was key to stability at home, in comments published Sunday, at the end of a week that saw Germany's chancellor visit Beijing.
- With job spurt, US economy races ahead of Europe
- 2012-02-05T17:51:09Z -
The latest surge in US job creation suggests the world's biggest economy is gathering momentum -- in contrast with the recession taking hold in parts of Europe.
- ET, the new alien scaring global markets
- 2012-02-05T15:31:47Z - (Reuters) - The United States is coming to be seen as a global threat, acting unilaterally with aggressive new market rules that critics say will hurt U.S. firms, foreign banks, and international markets in one swoop. The new buzzword in the financial world is "extraterritoriality", or ET. The idea that a government can exercise its authority beyond its borders. ...
- Cash-strapped Europe struggles to up military might
- 2012-02-05T14:34:13Z -
With little cash to spare for their armed forces, Europeans must deepen military cooperation after incessant US pressure urging old allies to start pulling their own weight.
- EU/IMF to let Ireland invest privatisation cash - PM
- 2012-02-05T13:52:52Z - DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's EU/IMF lenders have agreed to let it invest much of the cash it gets from privatisation rather than use it to pay down debts, if the proceeds are substantial, the Irish prime minister said on Sunday. Ireland's troika of lenders, the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, earlier indicated that privatisation proceeds should be used to cut the national debt. "The troika are agreed that depending on the scale of these sale of assets ... that a substantial amount of the assets received ... ...
- Deutsche Boerse board member wants CEO out - paper
- 2012-02-05T12:35:59Z -
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse's chief executive Reto Francioni should step down following the collapse of its $7.4 billion plan to merge with NYSE Euronext , a member of the German exchange operator's supervisory board told a newspaper. "The question needs to be asked whether there have to be consequences (for management)," Johannes Witt, a board member representing the interests of labour, told German weekly Euro am Sonntag in comments published on Saturday. ...
- Slowing growth weighs on Mideast M&A values - report
- 2012-02-05T12:26:43Z - ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and North Africa rose slightly in 2011, but the combined value of deals fell by more than a quarter as slower economic growth weighed on prices, Ernst & Young said on Sunday. Deal values fell to $31.7 billion in 2011 compared to $44.1 billion a year earlier, but the number of deals rose 4 percent to 416 from 401 over the same period, a statement said. The United Arab Emirates took the lead with 49 deals followed by Saudi Arabia's 44. ...
- Spanish economy 'to shrink 1.5% in 2012'
- 2012-02-05T12:12:03Z -
The Spanish economy will shrink by around 1.5 percent this year as a contraction that began last quarter deepens, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said in an interview published Sunday.
- EU Central Bank 'to hold rates steady this week'
- 2012-02-05T12:02:22Z -
The European Central Bank, after two rate cuts and a series of unprecedented liquidity measures, will hold its fire this month, as it assesses the impact of those previous measures, analysts say.
- Most Germans want Greece to quit euro - poll
- 2012-02-05T11:37:10Z -
BERLIN (Reuters) - The majority of Germans feel the euro currency bloc would be better off if debt-crippled Greece left it, a poll published in mass-selling newspaper Bild am Sonntag showed on Sunday. The Emnid poll said 53 percent of Germans surveyed thought Greece should return to its former currency, the drachma, while only 34 percent felt it should keep the euro. ...
- Wen says China has stake in helping Europe
- 2012-02-05T11:24:44Z -
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has a stake in helping euro zone countries get through their debt crisis, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in comments published on Sunday, pointing to Europe's importance as a market and hinting at more possible support for beleaguered exporters. Wen's remarks, reported by the official Xinhua news agency, built on comments he made during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to China, when he said Beijing was considering increasing its participation in rescue funds to address the European debt crisis. ...
- Petroplus Coryton plant to receive crude tanker
- 2012-02-05T11:10:28Z -
GENEVA (Reuters) - Petroplus's UK administrator said on Sunday that it had bought a cargo of crude oil for processing at its Coryton plant as it seeks to conclude negotiations with interested parties to save the plant. Switzerland's Petroplus, the owner of the 175,000 barrel per day plant near London, has filed for insolvency, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has maintained operations at Coryton since January 24. "An oil tanker is now heading towards Coryton and will replenish crude stocks refined over the last 11 days. ...
- France says Greek PSI talks going "relatively well"
- 2012-02-05T11:07:18Z - PARIS (Reuters) - France's finance minister said on Sunday talks were moving "relatively well" on the private sector portion of a Greek bailout, but discussions designed to bring its debt down to 120 pct of GDP level by 2020 were difficult. Euro zone finance ministers told Greece on Saturday it could not go ahead with an agreed deal to restructure privately held debt until it guaranteed it would implement reforms needed to secure a second financing package from the euro zone and the IMF. ...
- China water project to 'begin operating in 2013'
- 2012-02-05T07:17:52Z -
A massive project to divert water from China's south to its drought-prone north -- which has seen hundreds of thousands of people relocated -- will become partly operational next year, state media reported.
- Flagship EU gas pipeline project 'near collapse'
- 2012-02-05T07:13:43Z -
Europe's flagship project to bolster its energy security by building a major gas pipeline to the Caspian that skirts Russia is near collapse, analysts say, with a newly confident Turkey playing a key role.
- Germany wages war against 'burnout'
- 2012-02-05T06:48:34Z -
Germany, holding up better than its eurozone partners in the current debt crisis, is battling the increasingly widespread phenomenon of "burnout" which it says is costing its economy billions of euros (dollars) each year.
- British firms warned of Olympics Internet gaps
- 2012-02-05T05:35:19Z -
British businesses are being warned of possible Internet breakdowns, data caps and "unavoidable" mobile phone problems during the London 2012 Olympics, in official advice from the Games organisers.
