Economics,Politics
EU offers banks chance to cut fines in rate-fixing probe: sources
22.02.2013 14:23
(Reuters) - The European Commission wants to conclude its investigation into the fixing of lending benchmarks Euribor and Libor this year and has offered several banks under suspicion the possibility of a settlement to reduce hefty fines, sources said.
If the banks were to agree to such a...
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The loneliness of the short distance pope
22.02.2013 09:37
(Reuters) - In Havana last March, when Pope Benedict sat down with Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader jocularly asked his fellow octogenarian: "What does a pope do?"
Benedict proceeded to tell Castro, who had stepped down as president in 2008 for health reasons and had to be helped to...
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Fed minutes send warning on durability of bond buying
21.02.2013 13:55
(Reuters) - A number of Federal Reserve officials think the central bank might have to slow or stop buying bonds before seeing the pickup in hiring the program is designed to deliver, according to minutes of the central bank's policy meeting last month.
The Fed opted in January to keep...
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Spain sells $2 billion in dollar bonds
21.02.2013 13:54
(Reuters) - Spain sold $2 billion of dollar-denominated debt on Wednesday, its first offering in the U.S. currency since September 2009, taking advantage of benign markets to diversify its debt and reduce dependence on domestic investors.
Spain has one of the highest...
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Core problem for Europe as France, Germany drift apart
21.02.2013 13:52
LONDON (Reuters)- Even as the euro zone periphery starts to spy some glimmers of hope, concern is mounting that Germany is drifting apart from other countries at the core of the single currency bloc, notably France.
Economically, the worry is that insistence on fiscal austerity by an...
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Insight: Rome will burn, regardless of Italian election result
21.02.2013 13:52
(Reuters) - Regardless of who wins next weekend's parliamentary election, Italy's long economic decline is likely to continue because the next government won't be strong enough to pursue the tough reforms needed to make its economy competitive again.
Bankers, diplomats and industrialists in...
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Chasm opening between weak French and strong German economies
21.02.2013 13:51
(Reuters) - The schism dividing the euro zone's strong and weak economies deepened to include its core pairing in February as French firms suffered their worst month in four years in stark contrast to prospering Germany.
The gap between the two biggest economies in the euro...
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France Bankruptcy Comment, Labor Protests Put Sapin in Hot Seat
29.01.2013 14:17
Bloomberg: French Labor Minister Michel Sapin is finding himself in the hot seat.
Unions representing workers at companies including Arcelor Mittal, Credit Agricole SA, Faurecia SA, PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG), Sanofi, Valeo SA and several others are gathering in front of his ministry this...
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Bernanke Seen Buying $1.14 Trillion in Assets in 2014
29.01.2013 12:09
Bloomberg: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s latest round of bond buying will reach $1.14 trillion before he ends the program in the first quarter of 2014, according to median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Bernanke will push on with purchases of $40 billion a...
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Elections in Israel: Netanyahu Wins Election But Emerges Weaker
28.01.2013 12:09
DerSpiegel: The slogan of Benjamin Netanyahu's election campaign had been "a strong leader for a strong nation," but on Tuesday he suffered a major setback. With significant gains in the center-left, the incumbent right-wing Israeli leader could have trouble building a stable government.
The...
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