Nokia to offer free maps app and service for rival handsets
| 30/11/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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(Source: BBC News) Nokia has unveiled plans to offer a free maps app on rivals’ devices. Here Maps will initially be released on Apple iOS devices offering downloadable street plans for offline use, and audio-based directions for pedestrians. Nokia is also developing a version for Mozilla’s forthcoming Firefox operating system, and will release software tools to…
Eurozone rescue fund launched
| 09/10/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets |
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(Source: BBC News) The eurozone’s new permanent fund to bail out struggling economies and banks has been formally launched at a meeting of finance ministers in Luxembourg. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will have a full lending capacity of 500bn euros (£400bn; $650bn) by 2014. It will initially run alongside, and then eventually replace, the…
Bill Gates tops Forbes rich list for 19th year
| 25/09/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Money markets, Science and Education |
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Source: BBC News Technology titan Bill Gates has been listed by Forbes magazine as the wealthiest American for the 19th year in a row, with a fortune of $66bn (£41bn), up $7bn from last year. There was no change in the order of the top five richest from a year earlier. The total wealth of…
China signs investment pacts with Canada, Chile
| 10/09/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Global energy, oil and gas |
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Source: Reuters China and Canada signed an investment pact which will help build a strategic partnership between the two nations, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday. The treaty, inked after 18 years of negotiations, contains the widest range of investment agreements China has ever signed with any country, the ministry said, without giving…
China’s Alibaba to pass Amazon, eBay in transaction value: executive
| 09/09/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: Reuters, By Melanie Lee and John Ruwitch China’s largest e-commerce firm, Alibaba Group, expects to sell merchandise this year worth more than that sold by Amazon Inc and eBay combined, Alibaba’s chief strategy officer said on Saturday. The company is aiming for 3 trillion yuan ($473 billion) in annual transaction value from its Taobao…
US economy creates 96,000 jobs but figure disappoints
| 08/09/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news |
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Source: BBC News The US economy created 96,000 jobs in August, according to official figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the figure was lower than expected and revisions to June and July data mean that 41,000 fewer jobs were created than previously reported. Analysts had expected non-farm payrolls to grow by 125,000 last…
Google Buys VirusTotal
| 07/09/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: Forbes, By Eric Savitz The anti-malware startup VirusTotal disclosed in a blog post today that it has been acquired by Google. VirusTotal says on its website that it “offers a free online service that analyzes files and URLs enabling the identification of viruses, worms, trojans and other kinds of malicious content detected by antivirus…
ECB holds rates as inflation eclipses growth risks
| 07/09/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets |
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Source: Reuters, By Paul Carrel The European Central Bank held its main interest rate at a record low of 0.75 percent on Thursday, holding fire after a pick-up in inflation last month offset pressure to breathe life into the flagging euro zone economy by easing borrowing costs. Annual euro zone inflation accelerated to 2.6 percent in…
Home-loan payments at 15-year low
| 27/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets, Real Estate |
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Source: BBC News Mortgage payments for qualifying borrowers are more affordable than at any time in the past 15 years, a report has suggested. The Halifax says new homeowners need just over a quarter of take-home pay to cover loans, the lowest proportion of their disposable earnings since 1997. Halifax attributed the drop to record low…
UBS says Nasdaq’s Facebook compensation plan inadequate
| 24/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets, Technology |
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Source: Reuters, By John McCrank The $62 million compensation plan proposed by Nasdaq OMX Group for fallout from Facebook’s botched IPO is “inadequate to address the magnitude of Nasdaq’s unprecedented failures”, UBS Securities LLC said in a letter to U.S. regulators. UBS Securities, an arm of Swiss bank UBS AG, said it lost over $350…
Nikon releases Android-powered compact camera
| 23/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: BBC News The first mainstream digital camera to be powered by Google’s Android system has been released by Nikon. The Japanese company’s point-and-shoot Coolpix S800c model is being marketed as a “social imaging device”. Demand for compact cameras has suffered because of the rise of smartphones. However, Nikon says its latest model offers superior…
PayPal eyes 7 million retail locations in Discover deal
| 23/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets, Technology |
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Source: Reuters, By Alistair Barr Online payments provider PayPal will gain access to millions of physical stores in the United States under an agreement with Discover Financial Services (DFS.N). Under the deal, unveiled on Wednesday, PayPal will issue payment cards to its more than 50 million active users in the United States next year. The cards…
President Obama, Mitt Romney Address College Financial Aid, Student Loans On Campaign Trail
| 23/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Science and Education |
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Source: The Huffington Post, By Tyler Kingkade During a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H. on Monday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was asked by a college student what he would do if elected to address the student debt crisis. Romney responded that voters shouldn’t expect him to boost Pell grant awards or help pay…
EBay bans sale of spells and hexes
| 19/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: CNN Money, By Erin Kim NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Sorry, love spell vendors: eBay is cracking down on the sale of magical wares. Beginning in September, the site is banning the sale of “advice, spells, curses, hexing, conjuring, magic, prayers, blessing services, magic potions, [and] healing sessions,” according to a policy update. The company…
Eurozone trade surplus rises to record high in June
| 18/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets |
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Source: BBC News The eurozone’s trade surplus hit 14.9bn euros ($18.3bn; £11.7bn) in June up from 200m euros a year ago. The surplus was the highest since the European Union’s statistics agency began collecting data in 1999. Germany, the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland recorded the biggest surplus among the 17-member euro area and the…
Goldman executives win dismissal of mortgage, TARP lawsuit
| 15/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets |
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Source: Reuters, By Jonathan Stempel Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other officials won the dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit accusing them of tolerating poor mortgage practices and quitting a federal bailout program early to boost executive pay. U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan said the shareholders failed to show there were…
Google scoops up travel brand Frommer’s to add to Zagat acquisition
| 14/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology, Tourism and Hotels |
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Source: The Guardian, By Josh Halliday Google is to buy the travel guidebooks brand Frommer’s as the internet company ramps up its bid to become the premier destination for local reviews and listings online. Google will pay an undisclosed sum for the Frommer’s brand, which launched in 1957 when Arthur Frommer published his ‘Europe on…
Is There Such A Thing As Tax-Free?
| 13/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news |
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Source: Forbes, By Richard Grant You don’t have to pay federal income tax. There are several ways legally to avoid paying, but the catch is that they all entail doing things differently than you would have in the absence of such a tax. When, during an election campaign, a candidate is accused of not having…
Yahoo may alter cashback plans under new boss Mayer
| 12/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: BBC News Technology firm Yahoo has signalled it may alter plans to return money to shareholders under new chief executive Marissa Mayer. Ms Mayer is currently engaging in a strategic review of the company’s business. The firm said this review “may lead to a re-evaluation of, or changes to, our current plans, including our…
Gold Bulls Strengthen on Outlook for Additional Stimulus
| 11/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Gold prices, Money markets |
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Source: The BusinessWeek (Bloomberg), By Nicholas Larkin Gold traders are the most bullish in five weeks as investors expanded their bullion holdings near a record on mounting speculation that central banks will have to do more to bolster economic growth. Fifteen of 30 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said they expect prices to rise next week…
Facebook turns its users into anti-phishing detectives
| 10/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: CNN Money, By David Goldman NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — With nearly 1 billion users, Facebook is a prime target for cyberattackers looking to steal usernames and passwords. Simple attacks known as “phishing” are surprisingly effective at fooling users into handing over their login credentials. By creating malicious Facebook messages or emails made to look like…
Bank of England cuts growth forecast close to zero
| 09/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets |
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Source: BBC News The Bank of England has cut its growth forecast to close to zero from about 0.8% predicted in May, as the double-dip recession intensifies. The quarterly inflation report indicated no growth for 2012, compared with 2% predicted a year ago. The data had fuelled anticipation for an interest rate cut, but Governor…
MIDEAST STOCKS-Real estate continues to drive UAE positivity
| 06/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets, Real Estate |
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Source: Reuters, By Nadia Saleem and Tom Pfeiffer Markets in the United Arab Emirates gained on Sunday on positive sentiment towards the country’s property sector, as encouraging second-quarter numbers fuel buying, with Dubai’s index rising for a fifth straight session to a fresh 13-week high. Dubai’s index rose 1.6 percent to its highest close since…
Oil jumps on U.S. jobs rise, Brent hits 10-week high
| 04/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Global energy, oil and gas, Money markets |
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Source: Reuters, By Robert Gibbons Oil prices rose sharply on Friday, with Brent crude futures hitting a 10-week high, after a U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed employers added more jobs than expected in July. U.S. crude jumped nearly 5 percent as the better-than expected jump in jobs additions, even with a small rise in the…
Google tackles rogue Android app problem with new rules
| 03/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Global economy and business news, Technology |
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Source: BBC News Google is attempting to crack down on rogue mobile apps on its Android platform with stricter guidelines for developers. The measures include a ban on using icons that are “confusingly similar” to that of existing products. The search giant also issued rules on how advertising should appear in apps. Since its launch,…
Eurozone crisis: ECB’s Draghi disappoints markets
| 03/08/2012 | Posted by admin under Banks, Loans, Mortgages, Global economy and business news, Money markets |
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Source: BBC News European markets have fallen after the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the bank would come up with ways to assist struggling eurozone countries “over the coming weeks”. Analysts had been hoping for more details and immediate action. Help from the ECB would also only be given if the governments themselves…
