Barclays fights UK watchdog findings on Qatar deal
LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays is contesting allegations from Britain’s regulator over commercial agreements linked to its controversial fundraising with Qatari investors in 2008, which helped it avoid a government bail-out.
Abandoning sales tax hike not an option barring big shocks: Japan’s Amari
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Tuesday that abandoning a planned increase in the sales tax is not an option unless there are significant external shocks to the economy such as the Lehman financial crisis.
UBS draws line under 2008 bailout with fund buyback
ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS will buy back a fund set up to purge the Swiss bank of toxic assets, drawing a line under a humiliating state bailout in 2008 and raising the prospect of an early increase in dividends.
Exclusive: Petronas to delay $19 billion petrochemicals project to 2018
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – State oil firm Petronas will start up its $19 billion petrochemicals complex in Malaysia in 2018, the company told Reuters on Tuesday, signaling a further delay in the country’s largest-ever infrastructure project.
BP scraps sale of U.S. wind farm business
LONDON (Reuters) – British oil company BP has decided to keep its U.S. wind farm business, one of the largest in the country, after four months in which it failed to attract a bid the company could accept, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
South Korea court rules against Mitsubishi Heavy on forced labor
BUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) – A South Korean court ordered Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to pay a total of 400 million won ($360,200) in compensation to five South Koreans for forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule in the second such ruli…
Alcatel posts strong second-quarter, signs Qualcomm partnership
PARIS (Reuters) – Struggling telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent surfed on strong growth in its key U.S. market to beat analysts’ estimates and said mobile chip maker Qualcomm would buy a minority stake as part of a research partnership.
South Korea court rules against Mitsubishi Heavy on forced labour
BUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) – A South Korean court ordered Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to pay a total of 400 million won ($360,200) in compensation to five South Koreans for forced labour during Japan’s colonial rule in the second such rul…
Second-quarter U.S. GDP to slow sharply on tax burden
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Economic growth probably slowed sharply in the second quarter, but its pace is unlikely to change views that the Federal Reserve will start trimming bond purchases later this year.
BP’s spill compensation payouts leap in second-quarter
LONDON (Reuters) – BP Plc’s $20 billion Gulf of Mexico oil spill compensation fund has almost run out after provision for costs so far leaped by $1.4 billion in the second quarter.
