World stock markets rose on Wednesday as investors tracked developments surrounding Dubai's debt crisis, while mining shares were supported by yet another record high for gold prices. Shortly after the start of European trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 was up 0.12 percent at 5,318.99 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.22 percent to 5,789.23 and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.29 percent to 3,786.40. "The mining sector is keeping the FTSE clinging to positive territory after... a big gain in... Read Full Story
Japan's prime minister and central bank chief were due to meet Wednesday to discuss ways to revive the flagging economy, a day after the bank offered billions of dollars in new credit to markets. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has warned of the risk of a double-dip recession in the world's number two economy, where a gradual recovery from the worst post-war downturn is threatened by deflation and a surging yen. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has said it would pump 10 trillion yen (115 billion... Read Full Story
Cathay Pacific has placed warning signs inside lavatories on its Airbus fleet to prevent passengers from clogging toilets with bulky items, an airline spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday. The move comes after a spate of mysterious blockages on Cathay planes, including one last month that forced a Riyadh-Hong Kong flight to make an unscheduled landing in Mumbai, causing an 18-hour delay. Two other Airbus flights -- one from Rome on November 9 and another from Dubai on November 19 -- had to... Read Full Story
The global financial crisis has caused Cambodia to push back its plans to open a national stock exchange this year, officials said Wednesday. Cambodia signed an agreement last year with representatives from South Korea's stock exchange, the Korea Exchange (KRX), Asia's fourth-largest bourse operator, to establish a stock market in 2009. However government officials said Wednesday that the Southeast Asian nation was not ready to go ahead with the plans due to the world financial slowdown. "We... Read Full Story
Britain's finance minister warned Wednesday the EU's new financial overseer against meddling with London's banking hub, saying mis-calculated reforms could drive financial services out of Europe. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said although financial reform was imperative in the wake of the global credit crisis, "nothing could be more self-defeating" than getting it wrong. "Get it wrong and we risk losing business to less regulated jurisdictions," Darling said, writing in the... Read Full Story
The price of gold struck a record high level above 1,215 dollars an ounce in trading here on Wednesday. Gold hit 1,215.85 dollars on the London Bullion Market one day after breaking through the 1,200-dollar barrier for the first time. After reaching a new high on Wednesday, gold pulled back slightly to trade at 1,210.50 dollars at about 0740 GMT. Gold has smashed record after record over recent days and weeks on the back of inflationary fears and increasing moves by central banks to... Read Full Story
The price of gold reached above 1,200 dollars an ounce for the first time on Tuesday as a weak US currency pushed up demand for the precious metal viewed as a safe-haven investment, analysts said. Gold struck a record high 1,201.63 dollars an ounce on the London Bullion Market at 1639 GMT. Gold has struck historic peaks over recent days and weeks as the dollar drops against major rivals the euro and yen. "As ever, another painful week for the US currency saw new highs for gold," VTB Capital... Read Full Story
French nuclear giant Areva has decided to sell its power transmission and distribution network to French firms Alstom and Schneider Electric, rejecting Japanese and US bids. The sale estimated at 4.09 billion euros (6.13 billion dollars) was announced after a meeting of Areva's supervisory board late on Monday. Alstom and Schneider Electric were favourites to take over the Transmission and Distribution unit despite union concerns that the sale would lead to job losses. President Nicolas... Read Full Story
The euro jumped against the dollar on Tuesday after the release of encouraging economic data for the eurozone and as Dubai's debt crisis shows signs of easing, traders said. Gold prices meanwhile soared to a record pinnacle close to 1,200 dollars an ounce with demand for the precious metal boosted by the weak US currency, they added. In late morning trading here, the European single currency rose to 1.5076 dollars from 1.5005 late in New York on Monday. Against the Japanese currency, the... Read Full Story
The Frankfurt airport, Europe's third biggest hub after London Heathrow and Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, wants to raise its rates by 12.5 percent by October 2011, it said on Tuesday. The measure would cover landing fees, charges for noise, engine emissions and parking, passenger fees and security charges, a statement issued by airport owner and operator Fraport said. A four-stage increase would only take effect however if Fraport and its partners also agree quickly on fee increases for the... Read Full Story
