Nov. 24, 2010 at 8:54 a.m.
Filed under:
International
By Associated Press
Ireland unveiled the harshest budget measures in its history Wednesday, a four-year plan to claw back $20 billion using spending cuts and extra taxes. Some 24,000 state employees could lose their jobs and the sales tax could soar to 23 percent.
The plan seeks to cut $13.3 billion from spending and raise $6.7 billion in extra taxes from 2011 to 2014 to combat Europe’s worst deficit.
The government’s long-awaited austerity plan is a prerequisite for Ireland to get an international loan estimated to total $115 billion. The bailout is still being negotiated with experts from the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank in Dublin. Get the full story »
Nov. 24, 2010 at 6:00 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
International
By Dow Jones Newswires
U.S. construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. plans to issue a 1 billion yuan, or $150 million, two-year bond issue in Hong Kong, people familiar with the situation said Wednesday, becoming the second non-financial multinational company to tap the city’s growing yuan-denominated bond market. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 5:59 a.m.
Filed under:
International
By Associated Press
Lawmakers in Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s own party mounted a rebellion Tuesday to try to oust him, an effort that could trigger a snap election and delay a massive EU-IMF bailout of Ireland. Cowen’s Cabinet colleagues in the Fianna Fail party said they were confident, however, that the rebels don’t have enough votes to pursue a no-confidence motion against Cowen.
The Cabinet gathered at Cowen’s office to complete its four-year plan for unprecedented budget cuts tied to Ireland’s international bailout. The plan, which proposes to slash $20 billion from the country’s 2011-14 budget deficits, is to be published Wednesday. Get the full story »
Nov. 22, 2010 at 11:26 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
International,
Stock activity
By CNN
Stocks were lower Monday at the start a holiday-shortened week, as news of progress on Ireland’s rescue package underscored concerns about other troubled European economies.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 76 points, or 0.7 percent, about 2-1/2 hours into trade. The S&P 500 lost 7 points, or 0.6 percent, and the Nasdaq ticked down 1 point, or less than 0.1 percent. Get the full story »
Nov. 19, 2010 at 8:04 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Government,
International
By Reuters
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hit back on Friday at critics of the U.S. central bank’s bond-buying program and issued a thinly veiled attack on China’s policy of keeping its currency on a leash.
Bernanke, facing a chorus of protests about the asset-buying spree from within and outside the central bank, said a more vigorous U.S. economy was essential to fuel the global recovery and dismissed charges he was debasing the dollar. Get the full story »
Nov. 18, 2010 at 7:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
International
By Reuters
Ireland’s central bank chief said on Thursday he expected Dublin to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European partners and the IMF to shore up its shattered banks though the government said it had made no request yet. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 11:50 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International,
Restaurants
By Reuters
A woman walks out of a McDonald's outlet in Beijing Nov. 17, 2010. (Christina Hu/Reuters)
McDonald’s has raised menu prices in mainland China by 0.5 yuan to 1 yuan per item with immediate effect because of rising materials costs as the country grapples with accelerating food inflation.
McDonald’s, which has more than 1,000 outlets in China, was raising prices for the first time this year, while Yum! Brands, parent of KFC and Pizza Hut chains, had so far kept prices unchanged, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
“Because some materials prices have increased, we have adjusted menu prices accordingly,” a McDonald’s (China) Co. Ltd spokeswoman said. Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 8:16 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
International
By Bruce Japsen
The Cork Medical Centre. (Handout)
A Chicago-area family has opened a third hospital in Ireland, bringing the first new private inpatient health facility to the town of Cork in 90 years.
A spokesman for Sheehan Medical, which has offices in Dublin and Winfield, a western suburb of Chicago, said the facility includes 75 private rooms and will employ 525 people. It cost more than 90 million euros. The group is run by James Sheehan and his father, Loyola University orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Sheehan. Sheehan Medical already owns hospitals in Blackrock and Galway, Ireland. Get the full story »
Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld. (Tribune)
From the Financial Times | Kraft Foods Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld appeared fourth on the Financial Times’ 2010 Women at the Top ranking of the world’s most influential female business leaders. Get the full story>>
Nov. 17, 2010 at 7:28 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Food,
International,
Restaurants
By Dow Jones Newswires
McDonald’s Corp. said it raised prices of some food items sold at its China outlets 7 to 15 cents per item effective Wednesday because of higher costs, which come amid growing concerns about spiralling inflation.
The increase “is because of higher raw material prices and we’ve adjusted our prices accordingly,” said Sophia Luan, vice president of corporate affairs and communications at McDonald’s China. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
Commodity prices are sinking amid concerns about inflation in China and European talks about bailing out Ireland.
Some of the steepest declines came Tuesday in agriculture products and industrial metals. Traders are concerned that demand may diminish because of the developments in other countries.
Nov. 15, 2010 at 11:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
International,
M&A,
Updated
By Reuters
Potash Corp. said it was vindicated in its decision to reject BHP Billiton’s offer of $130 a share as too cheap and was in a strong position to grow on its own.
Shares of Potash Corp. have traded consistently above the bid price, closing at $139.91 on Friday.
BHP Billiton scrapped its $39 billion bid for Canada’s Potash Corp. on Sunday and bowed to calls from investors to return cash, a move that came days after regulators blocked the year’s biggest takeover deal. Get the full story »
Nov. 14, 2010 at 11:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
China,
IPOs,
International
By Reuters
China’s SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd has agreed to take a stake in General Motors Co if Chinese regulators approve a deal to deepen an existing alliance between the two automakers, four people familiar with the matter said.
The potential investment from SAIC is part of a surge in investor interest in GM that is expected to push the pricing of its shares to $29 or above in the the U.S. automaker’s initial public offering, one of the sources said. Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 1:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
International
By Reuters
Ireland is in talks to receive emergency funding from the European Union and is likely to become the second euro zone country after Greece to obtain an international rescue, official sources said on Friday.
Irish borrowing costs have shot to record highs this week because of concern about the country’s ability to reduce a public debt burden swollen by bank bailouts, and worries that private bond holders could be forced to shoulder part of the costs of any bailout by taking “haircuts” on their holdings. Get the full story »
Nov. 11, 2010 at 11:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
International,
Policy,
Politics,
Trade
By Associated Press
A strong sense of pessimism shrouded the start of an economic summit of rich and emerging economies Thursday, with President Barack Obama and fellow world leaders arriving in Seoul sharply divided over currency and trade policies.
