Credit Agricole, France’s third largest bank by market value, published in its 2Q11 net profit results on Thursday a 10.6 percent decrease at €339m compared to €379m in the same period last year. The decline was mainly attributed to a pre-tax impairment on its Greek bond exposure of €202m, the bank said in a statement. In Paris…
Asian highs were short-lived on Wednesday when regional markets failed to hold on to Tuesday’s gains after sentiment dampened following Moody’s decision to downgrade Japan’s credit rating to Aa3. The ratings agency said that the nuclear accident coupled with the earthquake disaster had aggravated its economy and deferred Japan’s recovery. The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng…
Asian markets rebounded on Tuesday following a series of losses last week after released data showed improved manufacturing activity in China and buoyancy that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may unveil steps to boost the US economy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.99 percent to 19,875, Japan’s Nikkey rose 1.2 percent to 8,733 while…
German chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday snubbed Eurobonds as a short-term answer to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis while four of Greece’s largest banks in Athens stepped in to rescue a smaller lender. Merkel continued to oppose a bond guaranteed by all of Europe’s member states, saying the eurozone would turn into an inflation community if…
At a first glance, there seems to be complexity surrounding Mexico real estate contracts, since there are no set rules for which ones are necessary and what should be included. However, with a brief introduction to each of the possible contracts, where there is flexibility, and where there is not, a buyer can be fairly confident…
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Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings said Thursday it has come to an agreement to buy New Zealand’s leading ready-to-drink cocktail company, Independent Liquor, for $1.31bn from Pacific Equity Partners and Unitas Capital Pte. The brewer hopes to grow a stronger position in New Zealand and Australia, and aims to increase its overseas sales between 20 percent…
Stocks in Europe fell on Wednesday after a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel late on Tuesday to discuss the area’s rescue fund and borrowing. The duo had been under pressure to re-establish market confidence after a bout of volatility and uncertainty. Tokyo’s Nikkei and S&P 500 were 0.6 percent and…
Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, saw a near stalling in 2Q11 as its GDP grew by just 0.1 percent between April and June, according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office. The figure, which was below market expectations of 0.5 percent, marks a substantial drop from the downwardly amended 1Q11 increase of 1.3 percent and raises concerns…
Japan’s economy contracted during 2Q11 at a slower than expected pace by an annualised rate of 0.3 percent in the three months to the end of June, the cabinet office said. Real GDP was down 1.3 percent and showed stronger signs of recovery thanks to consumer spending in the wake of the March earthquake and…
