January 5th, 2009
China last week approved long-awaited licenses for next generation (3G) mobile networks, whetting investor appetites with the promise of major new orders for equipment makers and revenue for network operators.
The new licenses will see dominant player China Mobile () forced to build and operate a 3G network based on a home-grown experimental technology, called […]
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December 31st, 2008
Global growth will be very weak next year, a senior European banker warned on Tuesday, and loans to companies and household in the euro zone stagnated, raising new concerns about the extent of the credit crunch.
Japan was reported to be considering a $110 billion scheme to buy bad loans from banks, the latest in […]
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December 11th, 2008
A dramatic fall in Chinese exports underlined the weakness of the global economy on Wednesday and miner Rio Tinto joined a growing list of companies cutting jobs in response to the sharp downturn.
Exports from China shrunk 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, the largest drop since 1999. Imports tumbled almost 18 percent, the biggest fall […]
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October 25th, 2008
Slashing government spending is certainly a phrase that plays well on the campaign trail.
But real spending cuts won’t mean fewer school administrators or less environmental red tape. Real cuts mean that you’ll have to live with a smaller military, put off your retirement and pay more for your health care - and that’s […]
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September 3rd, 2008
State regulators shuttered a Georgia bank late Friday, marking the tenth bank failure this year.
Integrity Bank, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was named receiver.
The bank had $1.1 billion in total assets and $974.0 million in total deposits as of […]
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August 25th, 2008
Thailand's economic growth slowed more than expected in the second quarter, increasing the likelihood the central bank will soon stop raising interest rates.
Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy expanded 5.3 percent in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier after a revised 6.1 percent gain in the first quarter, the government said […]
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August 13th, 2008
Indonesia's consumer confidence rose for the first time in eight months in July as households anticipated that inflation will slow and incomes will increase.
The measure rose to 82.1 last month from 79.1 in June, according to a Bank Indonesia survey released today. A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists.
A decline in […]
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August 2nd, 2008
Jobless claims rose to their highest level in five years last week, the latest evidence that Americans are still having a hard time finding a job.
The Department of Labor reported Thursday initial filings for state jobless benefits increased by a seasonally adjusted 44,000 to 448,000 in the week ended July 26.
Unemployment claims rose […]
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July 6th, 2008
Visa is rescinding a rule that requires merchants to treat Visa-branded PIN-debit cards differently than signature debit cards.
The rule is being rescinded as the result of a Department of Justice antitrust investigation into whether the rule hurt competition in the debit card industry by restricting certain PIN debit transactions payday loans.
The Justice Department has […]
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June 16th, 2008
The Dutch office supplies distributor Corporate Express NV said Wednesday it will recommend a $14.36 per share takeover bid by Staples Inc. to shareholders, reversing an earlier plan to merge with a French competitor.
The boards of Corporate Express said they decided to endorse the Staples (SPLS, Fortune 500) deal after the U.S. company raised […]
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