Russia’s Rosoboronexport military corporation and DCNS, the warships’ French maker, signed the contract on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum. French Foreign Trade Minister Pierre Lellouche, who was present along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, estimated the contract at 1.12 billion euros. A Mistral-class ship can carry up […]
By LARA JAKES | AP KARBALA, Iraq: At times, as he describes how he sleeps on the floor of the store where he works or misses the family he left in Nepal to find a job, Mohan Rai punctuates his gloomy tale with a laugh. He tries to make light […]
Wall Street plans to get smaller this summer. Faced with weak markets and uncertainty over regulations, many of the biggest firms are preparing for deep cuts in jobs and other costs. The cutback plans are emerging even as Wall Street firms have mostly recovered from the financial crisis and are […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes edged in higher Thursday morning as investors waded through data that offered a mixed picture of the economy. A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that manufacturing slowed in that region, one day after a similar report found that manufacturing was […]
A rare Sicilian “error of colour” issued in 1859 has become the world’s second most expensive stamp after selling for €1.8 million (SFr2.18) at auction in Basel. The stamp, which was printed erroneously in blue instead of orange, was the centre piece of the four-day auction by Galerie Dreyfus which […]
After numerous failed attempts to unionize Wal-Mart stores, the nation’s main union for retail workers has decided to try a different approach: it has helped create a new, nonunion group of Wal-Mart employees that intends to press for better pay, benefits and most of all, more respect at work. The […]
Canada Post has suspended urban operations nationwide, saying it had no other choice. Just before midnight Tuesday, Canada Post issued a release saying it has locked out employees after 12 days of “increasingly costly and damaging” rotating strikes by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). On Tuesday, about 15,000 […]
Opening a new line of inquiry into the problems that have beset the mortgage loan process, two state attorneys general are investigating Wall Street’s bundling of these loans into securities to determine whether they were properly documented and valid. The investigation is being led by Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney […]
Brazilian government officials said Wednesday that they would crack down on cattle ranchers in the Amazon after new data showed that deforestation there had increased by 26 percent in the nine months that ended in April, compared to with the same period a year before. The data showed to that […]
SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil’s environmental agency gave final approval on Wednesday for a giant hydroelectric power plant in the Amazon rain forest that has been at the center of a protracted battle between the government and environmentalists over the fate of indigenous people. After three decades of planning, the […]
URUAÇU, Brazil — When the Chinese came looking for more soybeans here last year, they inquired about buying land — lots of it.Even as Brazil, Argentina and other nations move to impose limits on farmland purchases by foreigners, the Chinese are seeking to more directly control production themselves, taking their […]
Hackers attempted to create a mysterious ‘insider presence’ at the organisation, which is investigating with the FBI. The International Monetary Fund’s computer system has been targeted in a cyber attack which sought to gain an ‘insider presence’ in the organisation’s network. An IMF spokesperson said on Saturday that the network […]
French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, said she felt “very positive” after talks with Chinese officials about her candidacy to head the IMF. The favored candidate didn’t get an official endorsement. But she assured the authorities she’s listening to what China, and other big emerging economies are demanding that is, a […]
Hedge fund managers have been called plenty of names. Now, they can add another: local banker. When Rentech, a clean energy business in Los Angeles, was rejected by its long-time banker last year, it asked a hedge fund for money instead. “You have to take what’s available at the time,” […]
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers are “playing with fire” by contemplating even a brief debt default as a means to force deeper government spending cuts, an adviser to China’s central bank said on Wednesday. The idea of a technical default — essentially delaying interest payments for a few days — […]
Reuters) – Lawyers for President Barack Obama will on Wednesday seek to stave off the biggest legal challenge yet to healthcare reform, his signature domestic policy achievement. The administration will present oral arguments as it appeals a ruling by a Florida judge who declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, backing […]
Nearly one year after Congress passed financial changes to rein in the banking sector, more than two dozen of the legislation’s rules are behind schedule, and no end to the wrangling over details is in sight. The delays come as regulators extend public comment periods on the rules, and as […]
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs returns on Monday to the stage at San Francisco’s Moscone center to take the wraps off what investors hope will be the next source of growth for the world’s most valuable technology company. Jobs, who has been on medical leave […]
By MUHAMMAD AL-SULAMI | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: The Social Development Forum, opened by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Saturday, discussed a number of new initiatives to boost social development. It also emphasized the need to promote education and volunteer services. There was a special session on the role of […]
By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is currently discussing a proposal to finance the construction of a new SR600 million parliament complex in Albania, a nation with a predominantly Muslim population in southeast Europe. The Kingdom, in a gesture of solidarity and support for Albania, is willing […]