Sun Microsystems cuts 6,000 jobs
California based Sun Microsystems yesterday announced that it was shedding 6,000 jobs, in a move that Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun, said was designed to "align Sun's business with global economic realities." »»
Nokia scales back prediction for global mobile phone sales
Mobile telephone company Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones, based in Finland, has today lowered its forecasts for the number of mobile handsets to be sold in 2008 by 1.5%, due to the current economic crisis. »»
Several businesses catch fire in Queens, New York
Sunday, a fire rushed through seven businesses at the Whitestone Shopping Center in Whitestone, Queens, New York, near the Cross Island Parkway in New York City. »»
US House of Representatives rejects bail out bill in vote
The US House of Representatives rejected a bill on the USD 700 billion bail out of US banks. The voting on the bill has completed. »»
Markets rally as world's central banks infuse cash
Stock indexes around the globe reacted favorably after several national banks announced a joint effort to pump more money into the markets. »»
UK house prices have fallen 10.5% this year, says Nationwide Building Society
After dropping 1.9% in July, house prices in the United Kingdom are now falling at the fastest rate since 1990, according to Nationwide Building Society. »»
World Bank says more people are poor, but fewer are in extreme poverty
According to a new study released by the World Bank, more people then thought are considered to be poor in the developing world but the percentage of people in extreme poverty have decreased. The study finds that as of 2005, there are 1.4 billion people who are living for less than US$1.25 per day. This is down from 1.9 billion in 1981, which equals half of the population in the developing world. However, the new numbers have vastly increased from previous estimates. According to last estimate based on data from 1994, it was believed that there was only 985 million people in poverty in 2004 and 1.5 billion in 1981. »»
Four British Airways executives charged with price fixing
Four current and former British Airways (BA) employees have been charged with price fixing by the United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading (OFT). They are the first employees of a major UK company to be prosecuted for this offense. »»
British Airways enters merger talks with Iberia
United Kingdom flag carrier British Airways (BA) has entered into merger talks with Spanish airline Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA. BA is already Europe's third-largest airline. »»
US Senate passes housing aid bill
A Saturday, July 26th, meeting of the United States Senate resulted in the passing of a $300 billion housing aid bill designed to help homeowners facing foreclosure by providing financial aid. In addition, the bill created a government emergency fund for mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The legislation is expected to benefit up to 400,000 homeowners. The Congressional Budget Office said that between now and December 31, 2009, that if any bailout for the companies was needed, they expected it to be less than $25 billion. »»
One-Two-Go Airlines cease operating over fuel costs as legal action begins over September air disaster
Thai low-cost air carrier One-Two-Go Airlines has announced that it will be grounding all 16 of its aircraft immediatly until September 15. The news comes as legal action against the airline and associated companies begins over the September crash of Flight 269, which killed 90 people, mostly foreigners. »»
Spain-based Santander agrees to purchase of UK bank Alliance & Leicester
Alliance & Leicester (A&L), a major UK bank, has agreed to a deal regarding its sale to Banco Santander, a banking company based in Spain. The deal, which is worth £1.2 billion, means that shareholders will receive one share in Santander for every three shares they hold in A&L. »»
Dow Chemical to buy Rohm and Haas
United States chemical giant Dow Chemical has announced that it is to buy Philadelphia-based rival Rohm and Haas. »»
USA: IndyMac Bank placed into conservatorship by US Government
In what regulators have described as the second-largest bank failure in the history of the United States, IndyMac Bank has been seized by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) due to plummeting shares and the start of a run on the bank. This is the fifth FDIC-insured failure of the year. »»
Hundreds of Air Canada flight attendants to lose jobs
632 Air Canada flight attendants will lose their jobs in November as the airline is eliminating flights and routes. »»
Forbes: Tiger Woods going to be the first billionaire from the world of sport
According to the U.S. magazine Forbes on Wednesday, the world N.1 golf player, Tiger Woods, would become by 2010 the first billionaire in dollars thanks to income earned through the sport. »»
Microsoft without Bill Gates at the helm
After 33 years of managing software giant Microsoft, founder Bill Gates will retire from day-to-day management today. »»
OPEC sees US$170 per barrel of oil
The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Chakib Khelil predicts that prices of world crude oil could reach the US$150 to $170 range per barrel before this year's summer ends. »»
Conrad Black loses appeal against fraud conviction
On Wednesday, a United States federal appeals court upheld convictions of fraud and obstruction of justice against media mogul Conrad Black, along with three other executives from his former press corporation, Hollinger International. »»
Sudan Airways grounded
Sudanese flag carrier Sudan Airways has been grounded by the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The airline's Air Operators Certificate will be revoked starting from Monday. »»
Imperial Tobacco to cut over 2000 jobs
Imperial Tobacco, a United Kingdom-based tobacco company, has announced that it will cut 2,440 jobs as part of a restructuring plan. This move comes after the Imperial's takeover of Spain-based Altadis. »»
West Australian Premier addresses gas crisis in televised broadcast
Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter made a two-minute broadcast on all televisions and radio stations over the gas crisis. The crisis began after a major fire at the Vanarus Island refinery operated by Apache Corporation reduced the available natural gas by 30%. »»
Australian growth forcast reduced by 2.7%
Australian economic growth forecast for 2008/09 have been reduced by 2.75% as the impact of the gas crisis ripples through the economy. »»
eBay Australia's PayPal only policy blocked
eBay's PayPal and cash on delivery policy was blocked on Friday by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after it released a draft ruling citing that it was an "anti-competitive effect" and calling on eBay to postpone its policy which is due to take effect next week. »»
Australian airline to increase airfares
Australian airline Virgin Blue follows rival Qantas Airways Ltd., US Airways Group Inc. and other carriers in cutting capacity as airlines struggle with fuel prices that have doubled in a year. »»
Indonesian police hand over Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 report to prosecutors
Police in Indonesia have forwarded a 200-page brief concerning the Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 disaster to prosecutors. The move comes as an indication that the trial of pilot-in-command Captain Marwoto Komar is set to commence within weeks. »»
Founder of UK sports car manufacturer TVR dies in Spain
Trevor Wilkinson, who founded the UK performance car manufacturer TVR has died at his home in Minorca, Spain. He was 85. »»
Dow plunges as oil prices break records
The Dow Jones industrials lost more than 400 points on the day today after news of record high oil prices and an increase in unemployment. »»
Silverjet ceases operations and enters administration
British all-business class airline Silverjet has ceased operations and entered administration. The airline operated out of Luton Airport running services to New York and Dubai. »»
Sarkozy ends French job ban for Eastern Europeans
During a one-day visit to Warsaw on Tuesday French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that his country would lift job restrictions on the citizens of some of the European Union's former communist states. He also promised a deal aimed at bringing Ukraine closer to the bloc but seemed to play down its chances of membership. »»
Boeing push back 737 replacement development
United States airframer Boeing has announced that development of a replacement for their 737 narrow body airliner, begun two years ago, has been pushed back several years, Boeing saying that further advancement of technology is required. »»
The oil exceeds for the first time the $ 135
The barrel of Brent reached $ 135.14 Thursday morning in London, a new record, surpassing the price of light sweet crude in New York, boosted by fears about supply and a wave of speculative purchases. »»
HP to aquire EDS for 13.9B
Hewlett-Packard (HP), a global technology leader with major businesses operations in computer hardware, software, printing and services announced today that they will acquire Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for US$13.9 billion in an all cash deal. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the deal has been in various stages of development since October 2007 when the CEO of EDS, Ron Rittenmeyer, approached HP CEO Mark Hurd with a proposition to join forces. »»
Ex-head of Qantas freight operations in US jailed for price fixing
Bruce McCaffrey, who was formerly the vice-president in charge of freight operations in the United States for Australian flag carrier Qantas, has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment and fined US$21,000 by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for his involvement in a major air cargo price fixing cartel. »»
Price of crude oil reaches new record high
The price of oil per barrel has risen to a new all time high. During trading in Asia and in London, England the price of NYMEX Crude oil futures, per barrel, was at US$124.34 (22:07 eastern time) setting a new record high. Brent Crude oil also hit a new record high of US$122.84, but soon retreated to $121.79. »»
Microsoft withdraws offer to acquire Yahoo
The software giant Microsoft announced Saturday it was withdrawing its 46 billion offer to purchase internet group Yahoo, after three months of efforts and negotiations, which didn't lead to any agreement on the price. »»
Cuba announces shift of farm management to local level
In an effort to boost its troubled agricultural sector, Cuba announced a major shift in the management of the country's farms, which are to be placed under the control of over 150 local delegations rather than the national government. The move was announced in Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party. »»
Japan Airlines fined US$110 million for price fixing
After admiting to price fixing on cargo services between Japan and the United States, Japan Airlines (JAL) has been fined US$110 million by the United States Department of Justice. »»
Indonesia angered as nation's airlines all remain banned in EU airspace
Indonesia has been angered by a decision the the European Union to leave all 51 of the nation's air carriers on the list of air carriers banned in the EU. State-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia had hoped to begin flights to Europe imminently and has ordered ten new jetliners to serve routes there and to the United States. »»
US airlines Delta and Northwest Delta and Northwest merge to create the largest commercial airline in the world.
Following the increase in the price of kerosene, Delta AirLines, the third airline of the United States of America will finally, after months of procrastination, absorb Northwest Airlines, the fifth American airline , to create the largest worldwide airline in number of passengers. »»
Group of Seven concludes Washington meeting
The Group of Seven (G7), which is comprised of the economic policy makers from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, held its annual meeting over the weekend. Also, attending the meeting were officials from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). »»
Alitalia risks licence suspension in 2-3 weeks
The Italian authority of aviation (Enac) might have to suspend the licence of Alitalia and replace it with a temporary license if the Italian airline can not explain within three weeks how it intends to finance its operations on the next twelve months, warned the president of the Enac in an interview published this weekend. »»
Microsoft gives a three week deadline to Yahoo
Microsoft gave Yahoo three weeks to accept the offer of 31 dollars per share in cash and securities before making direct contact with shareholders, said Sunday the Director General of the World leading software publisher. »»
Microsoft ordered to pay $ 367 million to Lucent Alcatel
A jury in San Diego (California) condemned Friday the American company Microsoft to pay 367.4 million dollars to the telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent, giving partly due to Franco-American group in a procedure for patent infringement. »»
New legal British tender revealed
For the first time in 40 years, the Royal Mint has chosen a new set of designs for the reverse of the coins, first introduced in the Coin Design Competition 2005. The designer, Matthew Dent of Bangor, North Wales, was paid £35,000 (GBP) for his designs, which depict the Shield of the Royal Arms spread over the 6 lower denominations of the £1 coin, with the entire shield embossed on the £1 coin. »»
Ryanair executives pay frozen over increased fuel prices
Thirty-eight members of the senior management of Irish airline Ryanair, including chief executive Michael O'Leary, have seen their pay frozen in light of the increasing price of fuel, driven by rising oil prices. »»
Airbus parent EADS wins £13 billion UK RAF airtanker contract
European Aeronautic Defence & Space NV (EADS), the parent company of European airframer Airbus, has won a £13 billion contract to supply the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF) with aerial refueling tankers to replace the nation's current ageing fleet. »»
eBay to make PayPal mandatory for UK sellers
According to an announcement on Monday by United States-based on-line auction website eBay, the option to accept payments via PayPal service will be mandatory for United Kingdom sellers beginning in April 2008, with the exception of auctions relating directly to the sale of motor vehicles. »»
Adam Air hits severe financial problems; may be shut down in three weeks
Indonesian budjet airline Adam Air has been given a three-week ultimatum by the authorities to prove its economic stability or its liscence will be revoked, said Transportation Minister Jusman Djamal. This is because major financial difficulties have become apparant today, with two major shareholders pulling out of the company. »»
Italian state-owned flag carrier Alitalia's board has conditionally accepted a low-value takeover bid by Air France-KLM, a compa
Italian state-owned flag carrier Alitalia's board has conditionally accepted a low-value takeover bid by Air France-KLM, a company formed by the merger of Air France and KLM. »»