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    US wants help with Sudan oil deal

    After agreeing a deal between Sudan and South Sudan that aims to open up the oil production of the two countries, the US is hoping that China and Middle Eastern states will help invest up to $3bn to get oil flowing. The deal between the two neighbouring countries will see South Sudan pay a fee of $9.48 for every barrel transported through a pipeline in Sudan, as well as paying over $3bn to Khartoum as a result of the separation of the two countries. However, Sudan also requires an additional $3bn to fill the funding gap created by the separation. South Sudan is relatively oil rich compared to its neighbour, and upon secession took much of the...
    On August 8, 2012 / By
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    Greek bank chief sends savings overseas

    With the financial crisis engulfing the Greek economy, the leaders of the country’s state owned financial institutions might be expected to show solidarity with struggling citizens by keeping their money in the country. However, it has been revealed that the former chief of struggling ATEbank has been transferring his personal savings abroad. Theodore Pantalakis admitted this weekend that he had sent as much as €8m abroad in order to purchase London property, just a few months before ATEbank was declared non-viable. The bank was split up last month, with many of its assets being taken over by Greece’s fourth largest lender, Piraeus Bank...
    On August 6, 2012 / By
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    Burma to borrow from World Bank after 25 years

    The World Bank is about to resume lending to Burma for the first time since 1987. Together with its investment branch the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank has opened its first offices in the former capital, Rangoon (now Yangon). The ADB has also set up shop in the capital Naypyidaw, becoming the first international financial institution to do so. All lending was suspended almost 25 years ago when Burma stopped its repayments. Burma’s return to the borrowing market is reinforced by Japan’s plan to extend around $900m in bridging loans to the embattled South East Asia nation. Tokyo also announ...
    On August 3, 2012 / By
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    Zuckerberg no longer amongst tech top 10 as Facebook drops

    As Facebook shares dropped around four percent to a record low on Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune took a $423m hit. The 28-year-old is now worth only about $10.2bn, over $400m behind James Goodnight, co-founder of the SAS Institute, and tech’s tenth wealthiest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This Thursday Facebook shares were 47 percent lower than their initial public offering price of $38. Zuckerberg’s personal fortune comes from his 503.6 million Facebook shares, including 60 million options that currently have an exercise price of 6 cents a share. He also has over $150m in cash and other liquid assets. The ...
    On August 3, 2012 / By
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    Rise in grain prices leads to fear for food

    A sharp rise in grain prices is reverberating around the world as nations face food inflation. There has been a 30-50 percent gain in the benchmark price of corn, wheat and soyabeans, are echoing the 2007/8 food crisis. Countries likely to face the biggest repercussions are those dependant on agricultural imports. The Indonesian tofu industry is threatening to strike over the rise in soyabean prices and consumers in Iran took to the streets to protest the high cost of chicken. “For sure there is growing concern across the world from developing countries about what this may mean for them,” says Marc Sadler, head of agricultural risk manage...
    On August 1, 2012 / By
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    Taiwanese economy shrinks

    Taiwan’s economy has contracted in the second quarter by 0.16 percent, according to official data. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected it to grow by as much as 0.5 percent. “With deteriorating of European debt crisis and slowdown in major economies, the global demand is expected to decelerate and the outlook of world trade in 2012 is fragile,” according to a statement by the Taiwan statistics and budget authority. The growth prospect for 2012 has been brought down to 2.1 percent from a previous estimate of three percent. In the first quarter the Taiwanese economy grew 0.4 percent. The central bank is taking measures to encourage...
    On July 31, 2012 / By
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    German banks’ lending to periphery lowest in 7 years

    Lending by German banks to weaker parts of the eurozone has dropped to nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the year and is currently at its lowest level since 2005, according to central bank data. A total of €55bn less in net loans were granted to Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain by  German banks between January and late May this year, according to Morgan Stanley’s analysis of Bundesbank figures. Only €241bn of loans were granted. There has been a trend for German and French banks to retrench their cross-border exposure since mid-2010, but the new figures suggest that the process of domestic market bias has sped up. The ...
    On July 30, 2012 / By
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    Record high for Spanish unemployment

    Spain’s unemployment rate has risen once again to 24.6 percent in the three months to June, despite a small decline at the beginning of the summer attributed to temporary positions linked to the holiday trade, according to the National Statistic Institute. Half of those under the age of 26 and available for work are unemployed, according to Eurostat. It is the highest figure since records began in 1976. Businesses have been cutting more staff amid fears of an enduring recession and a crisis of confidence amongst consumers. The Spanish economy has been stagnated or in recession since 2008, when the property sector deteriorated when a surge o...
    On July 27, 2012 / By
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    Weak ore prices hit Vale profit

    Brazilian iron ore giant Vale has reported a quarterly drop in net income of 59 percent as slow growth in China has affected iron ore prices. Further foreign exchange losses were triggered by a weak Brazilian real. The world’s largest iron ore miner has recorded a second quarter net income of $2.66bn, equivalent to 52 cents a shares, down from $6.45bn, or $1.22. Results were lower than the market analyst forecast 73 cents per-share profits. The drop in profit is being attributed to China’s growth of 7.6 percent in the three months, the slowest in three years. It accounts for around a third of Vale’s sales, and now the miner is counting ...
    On July 26, 2012 / By
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    Apple’s weak quarter dampened by iPhone 5 rumours

    Apple, currently the most valuable public company in the world, has missed growth forecasts in the third quarter of the fiscal year as the public held out for the release of their new iPhone. After selling 26 million iPhones in the three months to June 30, Apple recorded a 28 percent increase on the same period last year. It is a notable slowdown in the growth rate over recent quarters, which has sent its shares plummeting under $600 in after hours trading. “iPhone sales continue to be impacted by rumour and speculation around new products,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer. Apple gossip website MacRumors, current...
    On July 25, 2012 / By