Reuters: Business News

Darling urges divided G20 to reach climate finance deal

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:24:39 GMT

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Chancellor Alistair Darling urged his G20 counterparts on Saturday to work towards a $100 billion (60 billion pound) deal on tackling climate change as developing nations held firm they did not want to talk about it.

Brown - G20 should consider bank tax

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:10:32 GMT

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - A tax on financial transactions to fund future bank bailouts should be considered with urgency, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, a significant departure from London's line to date.

Berkshire Hathaway's net income triples

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:49:06 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said quarterly earnings tripled, as rising stock markets boosted its investment holdings and a quiet hurricane season contributed to higher insurance profit.

Stocks shrug off U.S. jobs data

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:30:00 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets ended the week with gains on Friday, shrugging off initial shock at U.S. jobs data, but oil prices never fully recovered.

U.S. jobless highest in more than 26 years

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:47:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

Opel chief leaves following failed deal

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:29:22 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Friday the head of its European operations, Carl-Peter Forster, is leaving, three days after the automaker's decision to scrap a planned sale of its Opel unit.

IMF warns G20 off cutting support too fast

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:12 GMT

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund warned global financial leaders on Friday not to repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression and choke off emergency support for their economies too quickly.

Kraft in waiting game as Cadbury deadline nears

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:26:42 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Kraft Foods is persisting in its waiting game as a deadline for its acquisition of confectioner Cadbury nears, and many see a formal bid coming in close to its tight first offer.

FTSE up on third day of gains

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:30:59 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The leading share index rose for the third day in a row on Friday, reversing earlier losses after the release of bearish U.S. jobs data, on a belief the sell-off had been overdone.

Lottery firm Camelot for sale - bankers

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:50:35 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - National lottery operator Camelot's five shareholders have asked bidders to submit offers in around two weeks in a sale that could fetch more than 500 million pounds, two bankers said on Friday.

FSA makes arrest in "boiler rooms" probe

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:46:22 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The financial services watchdog arrested one person and searched three premises on Thursday as part of clampdown on share fraud.

IMF warns G20 on cutting support too fast

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:39 GMT

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - The global economic recovery is uneven and the timing of any exit strategies should err towards supporting demand, according to an International Monetary Fund paper prepared for the G20 and seen by Reuters.

RBS cuts losses, investment bank slumps

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:43:24 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Losses at part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland more than halved in the third quarter with a sharp reduction in bad debt writeoffs, despite a slump in profits at its beleaguered investment bank.

Gold surges to record after U.S. jobs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:35:21 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold surged to a record high above $1,100 per ounce on Friday as investors pounced on the metal in volatile trade after data showed U.S. employers cut a bigger-than-expected 190,000 jobs in October.

BA hints worst over for business travel

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:59:19 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways signalled business is stabilising, eclipsing news of a worse than expected first half loss and a prediction that revenue would slump by 1 billion pounds this year.

EU finmins to firm up pledge for 2011 fiscal exit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:53:23 GMT

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will affirm next week a pledge to slash budget deficits from 2011 at the latest after forecasts showed economic recovery would continue over the next two years, sources said.

PwC readies Lehman assets return plan

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:47:08 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - The administrator of Lehman Brothers' European arm will proceed with a revised plan to return billions of hedge fund assets after a London appeal court on Friday rejected earlier proposals.

RBS cuts losses, investment bank slumps

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:17:43 GMT

U.S. October jobless rate 10.2 percent

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:03:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 190,000 jobs in October, government data showed on Friday, driving the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the highest in 26-1/2 years.

Pound falls vs dollar after U.S. data

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:49:55 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling fell more than half a cent against the dollar on Friday after a bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. employment raised concerns about the extent of the recovery in the world's largest economy.

Sainsbury H1 profit seen up 16 percent

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:43:51 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - J Sainsbury , Britain's third-biggest grocer, is expected to post a 16 percent rise in first-half profit on Wednesday and flag a tougher second half amid falling food price inflation and stiff competition.

Producer input price inflation jumps

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:37:41 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Firms' raw materials costs posted their first annual rise in 8 months in October, propelled by rising oil prices and the weak pound which made imported goods dearer, official data showed on Friday.

Oil slips back under $80 a barrel

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:31:53 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slipped below $80 a barrel on Friday, in line with timid gains across financial markets as dealers awaited monthly U.S. jobless data, expected to show a slow-down in rising unemployment in the world's biggest economy.

Company liquidations up 14.6 percent

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:26:56 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - A record number of people in England and Wales succumbed to bad debts in the third quarter of this year but the pace at which companies went bust slowed, official figures showed on Friday.

AIG posts another quarterly profit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:23:36 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc , the insurer bailed out by the U.S. government, posted its second-straight quarterly profit on Friday, helped by recovery in the value of its investments.