Industry

HSBC says Swiss scandal has brought 'shame' on bank

HSBC (HSBA.L) reported a 17 percent fall in annual pretax profit and cut its profitability target, saying allegations its Swiss business had helped customers to dodge taxes had brought shame on the bank.


Rent walkouts point to strains in U.S. farm economy

Across the U.S. Midwest, the plunge in grain prices to near four-year lows is pitting landowners determined to sustain rental incomes against farmer tenants worried about making rent payments because their revenues are squeezed.

Apple to spend $1.9 billion on new European data centers

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said it would spend 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) to build two data centers in Europe that would be entirely powered by renewable energy and create hundreds of jobs.

Global dairy crisis simmers as supply overwhelms

The weak global diary market, hit by oversupply and a tail-off in Chinese demand that has driven international milk prices down by around 50 percent, is unlikely to pick up anytime soon, analysts say.


Latest News

China has agreed to lift its ban on Irish beef, Ireland's Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Friday, making it the only European country to be allowed to export beef to both the United States and China.
A group of shipping companies and a powerful dockworkers union clinched a tentative labor deal on Friday after nine months of negotiations, settling a dispute that disrupted the flow of cargo through 29 U.S. West Coast ports and snarled trans-Pacific maritime trade with Asia.
U.S. consumers are shifting away from weight-management foods, forcing companies ranging from Kellogg Co to Nestle SA to change ingredients and focus their marketing on different health benefits as sales slip.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, offering fresh evidence that the labor market was gathering steam.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) said it would raise entry-level wages to $9 an hour, a 24 percent increase from the U.S. minimum wage that some employees now earn, succumbing to longstanding pressure to pay its workforce more.
The dollar was on the defensive against the yen and euro on Thursday, paring gains after minutes of January's Federal Reserve policy meeting showed officials were concerned about hiking interest rates too soon.
U.S. producer prices recorded their biggest drop in more than five years in January as the cost of energy and a range of other goods tumbled, hinting at a disinflationary trend that could argue against the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
Bitcoin was founded on the precept that peer-to-peer transactions should be made easy and cheap. However, terrorists organizations gave allegedly exploited the alternative payment method.
American companies tired of seeing their earnings badly hurt by Venezuela’s crumbling bolivar currency system, can - with the stroke of a pen - get rid of much of the problem.
Diamond company De Beers, once a niche business for global miner Anglo American, is rapidly rising to become the jewel in its crown - with a brighter outlook than many of its metals.