AFP Business

Chinese inflation rose more than expected to hit a 10-month high in February, official data showed, as holiday season spending and rapid credit growth accelerated price rises.Inflation is a key issue for the ruling Communist Party as it brings with it the risk of popular discontent over rising prices and the threat of social unrest.The consumer price index -- a main gauge of inflation -- rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.It was a...Read Full Story

Commerzbank, Germany's second-biggest bank, said Wednesday that it will undertake a 2.5-billion-euro ($3.3-billion) capital hike to repay further chunks of a state bailout it received during the 2008-2009 financial crisis."Commerzbank is planning an early repayment in full" of about 1.6 billion euros in so-called "silent participations" from the German bank bailout fund SoFFin and a further 750 million euros from insurance giant Allianz, the bank said in a statement.Silent participations are...Read Full Story

World oil prices rebounded Tuesday, lifted by equities rallies and bargain hunting after crude oil hit multi-week lows the previous day.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for April delivery, settled at $90.82 a barrel, up 70 cents from Monday's closing level.In London trade, Brent North Sea crude for April surged $1.52 higher to close at $111.61.On Monday WTI dropped below $90 for the first time in two months and Brent fell to its lowest level since mid-January.The New York...Read Full Story

A large majority of Swiss voted Sunday to rein in executive pay and force business leaders to give up golden parachutes, according to early results and projections.Official first results of the popular vote showed that in Geneva, where polling ended at noon (1100 GMT), 67.7 percent voted in favour of the initiative, with similar numbers in the canton of Vaud and Fribourg.And projections from Switzerland's financial capital Zurich, where voting will continue until 6:30 pm, showed 71 percent of...Read Full Story

Global crude oil prices turned lower on Thursday as traders banked profits despite strong Chinese manufacturing data.Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May fell 35 cents to $108.37 a barrel in London midday deals.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for May, dropped 31 cents to $93.19 a barrel.Prices had rallied in New York on Wednesday after the US Department of Energy reported an unexpected decline of 1.3 million barrels in oil stocks in the week ending March 15. Analysts had...Read Full Story