Weak December sales show shoppers under pressure

(Reuters) – Some major U.S. retailers had a tough December, with chains like Target and Family Dollar feeling the pinch as consumers were cautious in their holiday spending.The economy took a toll on shoppers in the most important quarter of the year for retailers. The holiday season was never expected to be stellar, but even the single-digit growth anticipated by chains and analysts came under pressure...

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UK assumes presidency of G8 group

31 December 2012 Last updated at 22:18 ETThe UK is assuming its year-long presidency of the G8 group of nations.The presidency – which rotates through the G8 members – means it will host the annual leaders’ summit and choose the global priorities that are discussed.June’s summit is to be held at Lough Erne, in County Fermanagh, while topics discussed will include tax havens.The G8 is made up countries...

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Commissions banned on new sales

31 December 2012 Last updated at 07:37 ETFinancial advisers and sales staff can no longer be paid commissions by the firms whose policies they are selling.New rules, aimed at eradicating the long-standing practice, are being imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) from now.The aim is to stop policies – such as private pensions and investments – being mis-sold by sales staff, motivated by...

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We’re Paying Off Our Debts, At Least At Home

Had it with the so-called fiscal cliff? Wondering what comes next now that Republicans pulled the plug on House Speaker John Boehner’s Plan B? Take a break from the frenzy in Washington and ignore for the moment the federal government’s red ink. Focus instead on another balance sheet that isn’t getting enough attention: The household balance sheet. Over the past five turbulent years, despite high...

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‘Boxing Day record’ for web retail

27 December 2012 Last updated at 07:44 ETBy Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC NewsRecord numbers visited UK retail websites on Boxing Day, with analysts suggesting shoppers are also using the internet to identify bargains.Information service Experian said UK consumers made 113 million visits to retailers’ websites during 26 December.High Streets are expected to be busy again for the post-Christmas...

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Tube drivers in Boxing Day strike

26 December 2012 Last updated at 07:01 ETPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. BBC News spoke to commuters at Edgware Road station in London, some branding the strike “really inconvenient”A number of London Underground drivers have gone on strike in a long-running row over bank holiday pay.Transport for London (TfL) says there is likely to be “significant disruption” to Tube...

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Monti ‘available to lead Italy’

23 December 2012 Last updated at 08:29 ETItalian Prime Minister Mario Monti says he is not siding for now with any party in upcoming elections, but remains available to head a future government.Mr Monti said he was ready to lead any coalition committed to his reforms.The caretaker prime minister said he was unable to accept an offer from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to lead a centrist coalition.Elections...

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Markets steady amid Xmas exodus, US budget doubts

LONDON (AP) — Financial markets were largely steady in holiday-thinned trading Monday though concerns remain over the progress of U.S. budget discussions and the future of the economic reform program in Italy.For weeks, the discussions between the White House and Congress over a budget deal have been the main driver in markets. If a deal isn’t agreed to by the start of 2013, automatic spending cuts...

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China and India: The $10 Trillion Engine of Future U.S. Growth

My friend and colleague Michael J. Silverstein, writing in this space in late October, mentioned that the most dangerous thing about China is America’s misguided attitude toward the country. In short, we appear to be afraid of China’s success.The U.S. has never before run from a challenge. This is the wrong time to start.As Silverstein and his co-authors—Carol Liao, David Michael, and Abheek Singhi—point...

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He’s 28, and Here to Take Over Your Company

Ryan Morris spent a week steeling himself for the showdown. Then 27 years old, he was in his first campaign as an activist investor, trying to wrest control of a small company named InfuSystem (INFU), which provides and services pumps used in chemotherapy. In the meeting, Morris would confront InfuSystem’s chairman and vice chairman, two men in their 40s, and tell them that as a shareholder, he thought...

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Wall Street ticks lower on “fiscal cliff” stalemate

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks edged slightly lower on Thursday as investors fretted that a deal on the U.S. budget wouldn’t come as soon as they had hoped after President Barack Obama threatened to veto a controversial Republican plan.The market barely reacted to a round of strong data, including on gross domestic product growth and housing, suggesting talks to avert the “fiscal cliff,” steep tax hikes...

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UBS in $1.5bn Libor rigging fine

19 December 2012 Last updated at 06:43 ETSwiss banking giant UBS has agreed to pay $ 1.5bn (£940m) to US, UK and Swiss regulators for attempting to manipulate the Libor inter-bank lending rate.It becomes the second major bank to be fined over Libor after Barclays was ordered to pay $ 450m to UK and US authorities in the summer.Regulators worldwide are investigating a number of banks for rigging Libor.Libor...

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Newtown Fallout: Cerberus Retreats From Guns

While President Barack Obama and other Democratic politicians clear their throats about proposing new gun control laws sometime next year, the marketplace is responding swiftly to the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre.Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of the largest retailers in its industry, said Tuesday it is suspending the sale of certain military-style semiautomatic rifles similar to the one...

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Japan’s Nikkei outperforms as opposition wins big

LONDON (AP) — Japanese shares outperformed all others Monday amid hopes that the new government will enact fresh stimulus measures to boost the world’s third-largest economy.Signs that U.S. politicians are inching toward a budget deal helped Wall Street open stronger than earlier predicted and shored up European markets after a bad morning.The standout index was Japan‘s Nikkei 225, which closed up...

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Cinnabon in Tripoli: Libya Opens Up to Foreign Business

After 42 years, the country formerly known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is getting its first taste of consumer capitalism in an unlikely form: sweet, sticky cinnamon rolls. Cinnabon, the Atlanta-based bakery chain, is at the vanguard of a potential business boom in the North African country, which deposed dictator Muammar Qaddafi last year in a bloody civil war. In July the...

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UBS faces $1.6 billion fine over Libor rigging: paper

ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS faces a fine of 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.63 billion) to settle interest rate rigging charges, a Swiss newspaper reported on Saturday.Citing unnamed sources, Tages-Anzeiger daily said the bank would admit 36 traders around the globe manipulated yen Libor between 2005 and 2010. A UBS spokesman declined to comment.People familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday UBS...

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