Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA has expressed interest in buying AT&T Inc’s pay TV assets in Latin America, which could be valued at around $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. AT&T bought the Latin American assets as par... More »
MADRID Spanish telecoms group Telefonica said on Tuesday its pay TV division had reached a 2.4 billion-euro ($2.60 billion) deal with rival Mediapro that will allow it to offer clients more La Liga and Champions League soccer matches for several seasons. Telef... More »
LONDON World stocks fell to near 2-1/2 year lows on Monday as a fresh pounding for Chinese markets left Asia at a four-year trough and sent oil and commodity markets sprawling again. Europe’s main bourses saw a more steady start to the week but investors were ... More »
MADRID Spain’s Mediapro, which acquired a package of television rights to screen Spanish soccer league matches for the next three seasons in early December, is open to offers for those rights, a source said on Friday. Spain’s La Liga soccer league awarded TV p... More »
ATHENS Greece faces relatively low debt servicing needs in the coming years and further debt relief is not a matter of urgency, Greek financial daily Naftemporiki quoted European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann as saying on Thursday. “In 20... More »
WASHINGTON Along a lush river delta in what is now northeastern Spain, a herd of dinosaurs munched on ferns and conifers similar to modern-day cypresses 125 million years ago. These creatures stood out from the others in this Cretaceous Period landscape by vir... More »
WASHINGTON What does a strange giraffe-like animal with three horns atop its head and a set of fangs that roamed Europe about 15 million years ago have in common with a pretty young queen from the “Star Wars” movies? Plenty, according to the scientists who on ... More »
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES In recent days, the largest U.S. managers of private prescription drug benefits have cut off at least eight pharmacies that work closely with drugmakers, intensifying scrutiny of a system that helps inflate drug prices, officials at the be... More »
MADRIDCatalonia’s regional government on Monday voted in favor of a resolution to split from Spain, launching a so-called roadmap towards independence which the central government in Madrid has vowed to block. The declaration on secession, the first step which... More »
LONDONThe dollar took a breather on Monday having surged to a seven-month high, while emerging, commodity and bond markets had a nervy feel after strong U.S. jobs data boosted bets on a December Federal Reserve rate hike. European .FTEU3 and Asian .MIAPJ0000PU... More »
Honda hit back at Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi after he accused their Spanish rider Marc Marquez of behaving like a ‘bodyguard’ to ensure compatriot Jorge Lorenzo won the MotoGP world championship in Valencia on Sunday. Lorenzo, Rossi’s team mate, had been the onl... More »
LONDONEuro zone private business growth remained tepid last month but activity in China’s services industry expanded at its fastest pace in three months, easing concerns about persistent weakness in its economy, surveys showed on Wednesday. There was little si... More »
WASHINGTON The well-preserved partial skull and skeleton of a gibbon-like creature that lived 11.6 million years ago in Spain is shedding new light on the evolutionary history of modern apes. Scientists on Thursday announced the discovery in Catalonia of fossi... More »
WASHINGTON The tractor beam, a staple of science fiction including “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” that is employed to grab spaceships and other things remotely, is entering the realm of reality. Researchers on Tuesday said they have developed a tractor beam that ... More »
MADRID Amancio Ortega, who transformed clothing group Inditex from a tiny family dressmaker into Spain’s biggest company, briefly overtook Bill Gates on Friday to become the world’s richest man. Although a 10 percent surge in the share price of Microsoft later... More »
FRANKFURT Google says European media firms, often the search giant’s harshest industry critics, share a common threat because a surge in ad-blocking technology is a threat to all businesses dependent on advertising. Carlo d’Asaro Biondo, Google’s president for... More »
PARIS Vivendi raised its stakes in French video games makers Ubisoft and Gameloft and indicated that it may buy additional shares later and seek board seats. Vivendi sold off its video games business Activision Blizzard in 2013 in the opening salvo of an asset... More »
WASHINGTON Scurrying under the feet of dinosaurs in swampy terrain in Spain around 125 million years ago was a furry chipmunk-sized critter with tiny hedgehog-like spines, horny body armor and an unpleasant fungal hair infection. This intrepid little guy now i... More »
LONDON Spanish artist Francisco Goya, best known now for depicting the horrors of war, was celebrated in his own time as a great portrait painter for royalty and aristocrats, generals and despots, politicians and friends. An exhibition at London’s National Gal... More »
LUXEMBOURG Greece must complete the first review of agreed reforms, including the governance of its financial sector, before European creditors can pump in more money to recapitalize Greek banks, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said. Jeroen Dijssel... More »
FRANKFURT The falling cost of intelligent robots may help repatriate some car manufacturing work away from low-cost locations like China back to factories in Germany and North America, Donald Walker, Chief Executive of auto supplier Magna told Reuters. Rising ... More »
Companies and organizations are pledging to provide funds, goods and services to help thousands of migrants arriving in Europe from war-torn and impoverished countries. Companies are helping through both corporate and employee schemes. Following are some examp... More »
MOBILE, Ala. Airbus Group (AIR.PA) said on Sunday that its first U.S. factory, due to formally open on Monday, will be the most efficient in the world and will focus on building the largest version of the company’s single-aisle aircraft. The elegant, skylit fa... More »
BRUSSELS Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (0001.HK) on Friday sought EU approval for its 10.25-billion-pound ($15.82 billion) bid for Telefonica’s (TEF.MC) British mobile unit O2, the same day regulators unveiled a tougher approach towards mergers in the sector. The Euro... More »
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the euro zone economy was in better shape than a year ago and said reform efforts by countries like Spain and Ireland had paid off. “If we look at the euro zone as a whole, we can say that there is ... More »
NEW YORK Top seed Novak Djokovic was made to work hard by Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut before he posted a 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3 win at the U.S. Open on Sunday, moving him into his 26th consecutive grand slam quarter-final. After Djokovic won an opening-set groundst... More »
BRUSSELS Deep divisions over how to cope with a flood of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia pose a threat to the European Union’s values and global standing and may diminish its ability to act jointly to reform the euro zone and ease Greece’s debt.... More »
CERNOBBIO, Italy A common euro zone budget should initially be funded through joint debt issuance and taxpayers’ money should only be used at a later stage, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday. France wants the euro zone to have its own jo... More »
BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday that Spain’s economic development showed that the euro zone was tackling its crisis well. “Spain is the best example that we’ve done a lot of things quite right in Europe,” Schaeuble said at a b... More »
LONDON, Euro zone manufacturing growth eased last month, despite factories barely raising prices, adding to the European Central Bank’s woes as it battles to spur expansion and inflation, a survey showed. Tuesday’s disappointing readings come almost half a yea... More »
NEW YORK Serena Williams is on the brink of the grandest achievement in tennis, the single season Grand Slam, and even the leading men at the U.S. Open championships starting on Monday are cheering her on. The 33-year-old American, with the 2015 Australian Ope... More »
, Brussels – The European Commission will launch a study in September of the ride-hailing app Uber in an effort to settle legal disputes that have pitched the U.S. start-up against conventional taxis across Europe, three people familiar with the matter said on... More »
BENICASSIM, Spain An American Jewish musician who was controversially barred from a reggae festival in Spain before being invited back to play performed to catcalls from some pro-Palestinian protesters on Sunday, though the concert passed off peacefully after ... More »
MEXICO CITY Archeologists have discovered a massive ceremonial skull rack from the heyday of the Aztec empire in the heart of Mexico City, a find that could shed new light on how its rulers projected power by human sacrifice, the team said on Thursday. The sku... More »
Here is a list of euro zone parliaments that must approve the new 86 billion euro ($96 billion) Greek bailout this week. Here is a list: TUESDAY, AUG. 18 AUSTRIA – Parliament subcommittee to meet on the bailout. ESTONIA – Parliament holds extraordinary session... More »
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. Forensic archaeologists on Friday began excavating a highway embankment in eastern Pennsylvania, looking for more bones believed to be from impoverished victims of the worldwide Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. The state highway department, ... More »
BERLIN/FRANKFURT European scientists have revised their plans for the comet lander Philae and are now focusing on getting images and drill samples if communications are restored. After coming to rest in the shadows when it landed on a comet in November, Philae... More »
LONDON/SYDNEY Economic headwinds facing Chinese manufacturers intensified last month, with conditions deteriorating to their weakest level in two years, while euro zone factories largely shrugged off Greece’s brush with bankruptcy. July was a fraught month for... More »
KUALA LUMPUR The head of world athletics vigorously defended the IAAF’s anti-doping record on Monday, as global sporting bodies called for a thorough probe of the latest allegations to plunge international sport into crisis. Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper an... More »
KUALA LUMPUR The head of world athletics said on Monday that any suggestion his organization had been negligent in drug testing of athletes was “laughable”. “There are allegations made, no evidence,” IAAF president Lamine Diack told Reuters in the Malaysian ca... More »
BERLIN/FRANKFURT The comet lander Philae may be uncommunicative at the moment, but the pictures and measurements it took after it touched down on a comet in November have shown scientists that the comet is covered with coarse material, rather than dust, and is... More »
LONDON European pay-TV group Sky said on Wednesday it expects to perform strongly in its new financial year after better-than-expected 2014/15 profits prompted investors to rethink their growth forecasts for the newly-enlarged group. Sky, formed from the combi... More »
LONDON European shares retreated on Tuesday from their six-week high in the previous session, with the healthcare leading the market lower after Novartis (NOVN.VX) reported quarterly incomes below analysts’ expectations. The STOXX Europe 600 Healthcare Index .... More »
BERLIN German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel criticized Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in a television interview to be broadcast later on Sunday for suggesting that Greece could quit the euro zone temporarily. Schaeuble has said that Greece could take a ... More »
BRUSSELS The latest paroxysm of Greece’s debt crisis has exposed growing rifts in the euro zone which, unless addressed soon, could lead to the break-up of European monetary union, the EU’s most ambitious project. The most worrying sign for European leaders is... More »
PARIS An attempt by Airbus to make history by crossing the English Channel in an electric plane ended in wounded pride on Friday after a French pilot claimed to have beaten it by hours. In a further twist, a Slovenian businessman said he might have beaten both... More »
LONDON It was a case of 7-7-7 for Roger Federer at Wimbledon on Monday as he fired down seven aces, won seven games on the trot and sat through a seven-minute injury timeout in an otherwise serene 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard became... More »
MEXICO CITY It could have been the height of diplomatic embarrassment for Mexico’s president. When Enrique Pena Nieto hosted towering King Felipe of Spain this week, it was a tongue-in-cheek paint ad ridiculing his 10- inch height deficit that grabbed the head... More »
BRUSSELS The European Union reached a preliminary deal on Tuesday to scrap mobile roaming charges across the 28-country bloc by June 2017 as part of an overhaul of the continent’s telecoms market to boost growth and innovation. “Under the agreement, roaming su... More »
PARIS Chris Froome struggled for form, then crashed but the Briton looks ready just in time to compete for a second Tour de France title although micro managers Team Sky will struggle to control the race like they usually do. Froome, who claimed the 2013 Tour ... More »
PARIS Hot prospects Warren Barguil and Simon Yates have been tipped to win the Tour de France one day, yet neither is riding for a team from their home country as they learn the ropes abroad. France’s Barguil, 23, is with Dutch team Giant-Alpecin while Briton ... More »
ATHENS Tens of thousands of Greeks rallied on Monday to back their leftwing government’s rejection of a tough international bailout after a clash with foreign lenders pushed Greece close to financial chaos and forced a shutdown of its banking system. With a po... More »
LONDON Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams made strong cases for the less is more approach to Wimbledon build-ups with resounding victories at a sunny All England Club on Monday. Defending men’s champion Djokovic, who has been training in the south of France ra... More »
LOS ANGELES British rockers Muse stormed to the top of the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, the band’s first time to notch the coveted No. 1 spot. “Drones,” the seventh album from Muse, sold 79,000 albums, 26,000 songs and was streamed 3.3 m... More »
BERLIN Germany would support Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos to succeed the Netherlands’ Jeroen Dijsselbloem as chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance minister, a spokesman for Germany’s Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. “We have indicated o... More »
MADRID Britain’s Virgin Group is looking to potentially buy Spanish budget mobile operator Yoigo from Sweden’s TeliaSonera (TLSN.ST), El Economista newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the situation. Virgin, run by billionaire entrepr... More »
MADRID Spain’s King Felipe VI has stripped the title of duchess from his sister, the palace said, heaping pressure on Cristina de Borbon to give up her succession rights as she prepares to stand trial on tax fraud charges. The bold move by the 47-year-old king... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived back in the United States on Monday aboard a special military flight from Europe after breaking his leg in a cycling accident. After landing at Boston’s Logan airport at 8:50 p.m. EDT, Kerry headed to Massa... More »
HAVANA Brazilian football great Pele said he was pleased Tuesday’s friendly between the Cuban national team and his former club the New York Cosmos might help foster better relations between the United States and Cuba, which have embarked on detente. The Cosmo... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s ability to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran is unlikely to be affected by the broken leg he has suffered, but one medical expert said possible surgical complications might affect his ability to fly. Kerry, 71, ... More »
BRUSSELS Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Some euro zone countries are accusing the European Commission of giving Greece false hope of new loans for less reform effort, but they still want Brussels to find a way to keep a defiant Athens in the euro. Afte... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – There weren’t as many fireworks at the Memorial Day weekend box office this year as newcomer “Tomorrowland” disappointed with a $32.2 million debut. The science-fiction adventure stars George Clooney and was directed by Brad Bird of... More »
ROME Novak Djokovic had to fight back from a set down to beat Thomaz Bellucci and reach the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday while Rafa Nadal produced an “almost perfect” display to despatch John Isner. World number one Djokovic won 5-7 6-2 6-3 but was ... More »
PARIS European media company Vivendi (VIV.PA) posted a rise in first-quarter profit and said it planned to buy the rest of pay-TV operator Canal Plus’ SECP unit for about 500 million euros ($560.90 million) as it looks to put its cash pile to work. The group, ... More »
MADRID Spain’s Defence Minister Pedro Morenes said on Tuesday that flight permission for Airbus (AIR.PA) A-400M planes currently in production in Spain has been temporarily withdrawn until the reasons for Saturday’s fatal crash were determined. “It’s obvious t... More »
ATHENS Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis acknowledged that a deal to ease Greece’s cash crunch was not likely at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later on Monday despite progress in talks with lenders on some issues. Greece is under growing pressure to... More »
VIENNA Any solution to Greece’s financial woes is more of a political than an economic question, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said on Monday, as euro zone finance ministers meet to continue Greek debt talks. Top officials have voiced little ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – If fear of Europe-wide financial wildfire was Athens’ trump card in its standoff with euro zone creditors – then the card has now turned up a dud. The merits of ruling socialist party Syriza’s demands aside, its brinkmanship in renegotiating... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Even if it survives the next three months teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Greece may have blown its best chance of a long-term debt deal by alienating its euro zone partners when it most needed their support. Prime Minister Alexis Ts... More »
HELSINKI (Reuters) – The poll favorite to be Finland’s next premier says he is open to taking eurosceptic populists into any new governing coalition but expects they could cause difficulty with demands like an end to bailouts and kicking Greece out of the euro... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Price discounting drove growth in all of the euro zone’s major economies in March, helping business activity increase at its fastest rate for nearly a year, a survey showed on Tuesday. New orders came in at their fastest rate since May 2011 ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An 18th century painting long considered lost has been found in the home of a California lawyer whose family had held the piece for generations but was unaware of its origins, a Los Angeles museum official said on Wednesday. The paintin... More »
SEYNE-LES-ALPES, France (Reuters) – French investigators on Wednesday searched for the reason why a German Airbus plowed into an Alpine mountainside, killing all 150 on board including 16 teenagers returning from a school trip to Spain. Helicopters flew over t... More »
MADRID/ATHENS (Reuters) – Euro zone countries are discussing a third bailout for Greece worth 30 billion to 50 billion euros, Spain’s economy minister said on Monday, but EU officials said there were no such talks. Speaking at an event in Pamplona, northern Sp... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A fight between an upstart Spanish language TV network and Comcast Corp has provided more ammunition for critics who fear Comcast would gain too much market power if its buyout of Time Warner Cable Inc goes ahead, antitrust attorneys sai... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will tell France, Italy and Belgium on Friday that their 2015 budgets risk breaking EU rules, but it but will defer decisions on any action until early March. Draft documents seen by Reuters show the three countries... More »
(Reuters) – The European Parliament is preparing a non-binding resolution that proposes splitting Google Inc’s (GOOGL.O ) search engine operations in Europe from the rest of its business as one possible option to rein in the Internet company’s dominance in the... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s 18th Duchess of Alba, who died on Thursday aged 88, was one of Europe’s wealthiest and most titled aristocrats, the owner of fabulous palaces and priceless works of art. She died after a short illness, surrounded by family in the 14t... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – After putting the euro zone’s top 130 banks through their paces, the European Central Bank will face a test of its own on Sunday – will its landmark health check succeed in convincing investors the region’s lenders are safe? The ECB will ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar hit its highest in almost two years against the euro, with German inflation data expected to keep pressure on the ECB to ease monetary policy. Unrest in Hong Kong hurt Asian-exposed European shares. The dollar was broadly stronger... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Emilio Botin, one of Spain’s most powerful men who transformed Santander (SAN.MC ) from a small domestic lender into the euro zone’s biggest bank, has died of a heart attack, aged 79. The bank said on Wednesday it would hold a board meeting ... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Barclays is selling its Spanish retail and corporate banking operations to Caixabank, the two companies said on Sunday, as the British bank starts shrinking its struggling European divisions as part of a major overhaul. Caixabank, Spain’s th... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos has the support of some euro zone countries to replace Jeroen Dijsselbloem as the head of euro zone finance ministers when Dijsselbloem’s term ends in the middle of 2015, the president of the Europe... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca (AZN.L ) took a major step to build up its respiratory medicine business on Wednesday by striking a deal worth up to $2.1 billion for the rights to Spanish group Almirall’s (ALM.MC ) lung drugs. The British drugmaker, which resis... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone received no relief from tough market conditions in the first quarter, with a slowdown in Spain and South Africa resulting in another heavy drop in its key revenue measure. The world’s second-biggest mobile operator said the pace of ... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Socialist opposition leader Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said on Monday he was stepping down after the party had its worst-ever election result on Sunday with an upstart rival leftist group grabbing 8 percent of the vote. Recession-weary ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Net immigration to Germany leapt by over 18 percent to a 20-year high in 2013, fuelled largely by migrants from euro zone debt-crisis states Italy and Spain as well as a continued influx of Poles, data from the Statistics Office showed on Th... More »
The logo of Spanish bank Santander is seen outside a building in Madrid October 27, 2011. REUTERS/Andrea Comas Across Spain, the message is hard to miss in office windows showcasing offers: banks want to lend to small companies again. More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Across Spain, the message is hard to miss in office windows showcasing offers: banks want to lend to small companies again. After gorging on property lending in the run-up to a financial crisis, banks are looking to revive high-margin loans ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro and benchmark German bond yields slid to three-week lows on Friday as a surprise fall in Spanish inflation bolstered investors’ bets the European Central Bank will ease policy next week to ward off the threat of deflation. Equity ma... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone Group Plc has agreed to buy Spain’s largest cable operator Ono for 7.2 billion euros ($10 billion), in the latest move by the British group to rebuild its European operations with a broadband offering. Vodafone said on Monday the de... More »
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE ) is close to deciding on whether to produce a new sport-utility vehicle (SUV) for its mass-market brands Skoda and Seat at a plant in the Czech Republic or Spain, a Skoda union leader said on Tuesday. Czech newspaper M... More »
DUBLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – Two of Bank of Ireland’s (BKIR.I ) largest shareholders, who helped keep it out of state hands at the height of the euro zone debt crisis in 2011, stand to more than triple their money when they sell back a part of their stake on Tues... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Hedge fund managers George Soros and John Paulson have both taken a 92 million euro ($127 million) stake in a new Spanish property investment vehicle called Hispania, the Financial Times reported on Saturday citing sources close to the deal.... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The head of the euro zone’s bailout funds, Klaus Regling, said that he believes banks in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland are in good shape and that there will not be any surprises in European Central Bank stress tests due later i... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Local lawmakers in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia voted to seek a referendum on breaking away from Spain on Thursday, setting themselves up for a battle with an implacably opposed central government in Madrid. The Catalan Parli... More »
