Craving for a chocolate fix? Prepare to pay more
SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chocoholics may have to dig deeper to pay for their favorite treat this festive season as sweet makers face sky-high prices for cocoa butter, the special ingredient that gives chocolate its melt-in-the-mouth texture.
VW group sales almost flat in August as Europe shrinks
BERLIN (Reuters) – Sales of Germany’s Volkswagen group were almost flat in August as Europe’s largest automaker conceded “difficult conditions” in shrinking core markets.
Spain’s debt hits 92.2 percent of GDP at end-June: central bank
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s debt rose to 92.2 percent of gross domestic product between April and June, above the government’s year-end target of 91.4 percent of GDP, the Bank of Spain said on Friday.
Spain house prices fall at slowest pace since end-2010 in Q2
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish house prices fell 0.8 percent in the second quarter from a quarter earlier, official data showed on Friday, the smallest drop since the fourth quarter of 2010 and a sign the five-year property bust may be turning a corner.
Sales tax hike will add $61 billion to household burden: Japan government panel
TOKYO (Reuters) – Raising Japan’s sales tax next year will saddle households with an additional burden of about 6 trillion yen ($61 billion), private-sector members of a key government panel said on Friday.
Chinese authorities probing German drugmaker Bayer
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese authorities visited a local office of German drugmaker Bayer AG in late August to investigate a potential case of unfair competition, the company said on Friday.
KKR mulls teaming with Japan state fund on Panasonic unit stake: media
TOKYO (Reuters) – KKR & Co LP is considering teaming up with a state-backed Japanese investment fund to secure a stake in Panasonic Corp’s healthcare business, media reported, although people familiar with the matter said the U.S. firm has not approached the fund yet.
Japan ministers disagree on sales tax offset package
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s top two financial ministers openly disagreed on whether a corporate tax cut was needed to cushion any pain from an increase in the sales tax, as the government upgraded its view of the economy on Friday for the seventh time th…
Portugal should stick to agreed deficit reduction goals: Eurogroup head
VILNIUS (Reuters) – Portugal should stick to the budget deficit reduction targets agreed with international lenders, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday after Lisbon said a softer goal for next year would be bette…
Ex-RBS trader in Hong Kong sentenced to 50 months in jail
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A former Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc trader was sentenced to 50 months in jail on Friday after pleading guilty to fraud in a case that dates back to 2010, according to a person at the bank with direct knowledge of the case.
