Archives
China and UK establish direct currency trades
June 19th, 2014
China and the UK have started the direct trading of the yuan against the pound, in a move that will help reduce currency conversion costs. Both sides are hopeful the direct yuan-sterling trade will help facilitate two-way investment and ...
US central bank cuts growth forecast for 2014
June 19th, 2014
The US Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for 2014 because of the harsh winter weather. The central bank is now predicting growth of between 2.1% and 2.3% for this year, down from its March forecast of 2.8% ...
China signs £14bn trade deals with UK amid Premier’s visit
June 18th, 2014
China says it wants to back major UK infrastructure projects and has signed £14bn in trade deals. The news comes on the first full day of a visit by its leader. The BBC understands the projects the state-owned China ...
Brent holds above $113 amid Iraq violence
June 18th, 2014
Brent crude held above $113 per barrel on Wednesday as heavy fighting in Iraq shut the country’s biggest refinery and led to the withdrawal of staff by foreign oil firms, stoking worries about exports from the key oil producer. ...
Bank of England ‘puzzled’ by productivity gap
June 16th, 2014
The Bank of England says productivity is 16% below its pre-crisis trend – but says it is at a loss to understand why. Its latest quarterly bulletin says that since the onset of the 2007-08 financial crisis, labour productivity ...
Medtronic to buy Covidien for $42.9 billion, rebase in Ireland
June 16th, 2014
U.S. medical device maker Medtronic Inc said on Sunday it had agreed to buy Covidien Plc for $42.9 billion in cash and stock and move its executive base to Ireland in the latest transaction aiming for lower corporate tax rates abroad. ...
Ukraine crisis: Kiev faces halt to gas supply
June 16th, 2014
Gazprom has reaffirmed its Monday deadline for Ukraine to pay its debts after talks between Moscow and Kiev ended without agreement. The Russian gas giant said it will cut Ukraine’s supply if Kiev fails to pay $1.95bn (£1.15bn) by ...
Wall St. slides on concerns about Iraq
June 13th, 2014
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as concerns escalated about Iraq and after disappointing economic data on retail sales and jobless claims. The three major U.S. stock indexes ended off their session lows. With the day’s decline, though, the S&P ...
Expedia to accept Bitcoin payments for hotel bookings
June 12th, 2014
One of the world’s largest online travel agencies, Expedia, has become the latest company to accept Bitcoin transactions as a form of payment. The firm will initially accept the virtual currency for hotel bookings only, and is currently restricting ...
US stocks retreat; Dow record winning streak ends
June 12th, 2014
The Dow Wednesday snapped a four-day streak of record highs in a US equity retreat attributed in part to a shock Republican primary election and profit taking. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 99.73 points ...
