Current News Today
Spain beset by bank crisis, recession, bond pressure
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's borrowing costs shot up at a bond auction on Thursday, after economic data confirmed the country is back in recession and reports of an outflow of deposits from nationalized Bankia hammered its share price. The Spanish Treasury had to pay around 5 percent to attract buyers of three- and four-year bonds. The longer-dated paper sold with a yield of 5.106 percent, way above the 3.374 percent the last time it was auctioned. "This ... ...
2012-05-17T13:24:40Z
| Defiant Greek leftist refuses to back austerity
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's surging leftist leader predicted on Thursday his party would sweep next month's election and refused to stop demanding an end to "barbaric" austerity policies he said were bankrupting the nation. Increasingly worried about Greece's future in the euro zone, foreign lenders and mainstream parties have stepped up warnings that the country risks being cut off from aid if it fails to stick to spending cuts included in its latest bailout package. SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, the 37-year-old rising star of Greek politics, promised he would listen to neither group. ...
2012-05-17T14:08:06Z
| Europe's banks on the brink
LONDON, May 17 (IFR) - The euro zone crisis was in full swing when Jean-Claude Trichet took the podium in Berlin last October 6 for his final press conference as president of the European Central Bank. Having helped create one of the longest periods of price stability in the history of central banking, Trichet was closing out his eight-year reign under siege. Soaring oil prices had made a mockery of the bank's superlative record on inflation, while the worst recession on the continent since World War II had morphed into a full-scale sovereign debt crisis. ...
2012-05-17T12:54:23Z
| Turkey says Israeli plane violates N.Cyprus airspace
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey said on Thursday it had scrambled military jets to intercept an Israeli plane that violated northern Cypriot airspace this week, and demanded an explanation for the incursion. An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the accusation. But the incident marked a fresh source of tension between the former allies. Relations between Turkey and Israel fell apart after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with pro-Palestinian activists. ...
2012-05-17T14:29:37Z
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Current News Today
Wall Street falls on Europe woes, U.S. data
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock indexes fell on Thursday as weak economic data spooked investors already concerned about Spain's economy and banking system, and about developments in Greece. A gauge of future U.S. economic activity fell in April for the first time in seven months and the Philadelphia Fed business conditions index hit its lowest since September, compounding worries about a struggling economic recovery. "The market wasn't prepared for this; it was expecting risks from Europe," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist, Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto. ...
2012-05-17T14:34:47Z
| Jobless claims steady, mid-Atlantic factories sag
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for jobless benefits last week held at levels suggesting sluggish growth in hiring and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region contracted in May, worrisome signs for a still-fragile economic recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits held at 370,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was a little higher than analysts forecasted in a Reuters poll. "We are really not showing much momentum in the labor market at this time," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast in New York. ...
2012-05-17T15:01:59Z
| Wal-Mart posts strong profit as U.S. sales jump
(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as more people shopped its established U.S. discount stores and spent more money. The world's largest retailer, which was recently rocked by allegations of bribery in Mexico, earned $1.09 per share from continuing operations, compared with a profit of 98 cents a year earlier. An earlier Easter and warmer weather contributed to the gains, the company said. Wal-Mart had forecast earnings per share of $1.01 to $1.06. Analysts, on average, expected it to earn $1. ...
2012-05-17T13:13:10Z
| Analysis: Facebook can't take Asian growth for granted
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Even as Facebook fever grips investors ahead of the social networking giant's potential $100 billion-plus initial public offering, its breakneck growth in Asia may be slowing as it moves beyond desktop users to those who access the Internet largely or solely from a mobile phone. In March, Facebook revised its own SEC filings to scale back its scope for further growth in India - its third-biggest user base and the largest population it currently has access to - China remains off-limits to Facebook. ...
2012-05-17T11:27:28Z
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