BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators have dropped charges against 13 banks including Citigroup and Deutsche Bank for blocking exchanges from derivatives markets, but will continue their case against data company Markit and trade body ISDA. The European Commission ... More »
BERLIN A Vega rocket bearing a European prototype satellite blasted into space early on Thursday on a mission to search for ripples in space and across time, a phenomenon predicted but never proven by physicist Albert Einstein 100 years ago. The launch lit up ... More »
LONDON A perceived lack of ambition in the European Central Bank’s latest stimulus efforts left financial markets with a niggling worry on Thursday that even ‘Super Mario’ Draghi might not be able to drag euro zone inflation back up to target. A bare minimum 0... More »
LONDON Refusal to pay the bills of one’s tailor was famously almost a point of honor among English gentlemen in past centuries and Winston Churchill was no exception, newly released archives show. Britain’s World War Two leader had racked up a bill of 197 poun... More »
FRANKFURT The European Central Bank looks set to continue to support the economy as the euro zone’s upswing broadens and strengthens, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Thursday. “The ECB has been accommodative … supportive for the economic recovery a... More »
PARIS France’s far-right National Front is set to score huge gains in regional elections on Sunday, redrawing the political landscape of the euro zone’s second-biggest economy as it gears up for the next presidential election in 2017. The anti-immigration, ant... More »
LAHORE, Pakistan A Pakistani attorney said on Thursday he has filed a court petition seeking the return of the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond Britain forced India to hand over in colonial times. Once the largest known diamond in the world, the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor i... More »
FRANKFURT European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called on Thursday for euro zone member states to do more to improve the economy. Saying that the ECB’s easy monetary policy has been “a success”, Draghi said there nonetheless needed to be more. “Actions ... More »
WASHINGTON In the ruins of a medieval convent in the French city of Rennes, archaeologists discovered five heart-shaped urns made of lead, each containing an embalmed human heart. Now, roughly four centuries after they were buried, researchers have used modern... More »
LONDON The U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are expected to deliver sharply contrasting policy decisions next month, reflecting how the world’s two largest economies have moved from the Great Recession to the Great Divide. The U.S. and euro zone ... More »
PARIS U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pledged on Monday to work together to drive forward a climate change agreement at international talks in Paris. Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi, Obama said the leadership of the two coun... More »
BANGUI Pope Francis ventured into one of the world’s most dangerous neighbourhoods on Monday to beg Christians and Muslims to end a spiral of hate, vendetta and bloodshed that has killed thousands over the past three years. Under intense security, Francis pass... More »
PARIS World leaders will launch an ambitious attempt on Monday to hold back the earth’s rising temperatures, urging each other to find common cause in two weeks of bargaining meant to steer the global economy away from dependence on fossil fuels. They arrive a... More »
SINGAPORE Oil dipped on Monday as traders remained cautious ahead of an OPEC meeting later this week and as a widely expected U.S. interest rate hike strengthened the dollar. Oil prices are heading for declines of as much as 10 percent this month, with a suppl... More »
TOKYO An extended selloff in Chinese stocks pulled down Asian markets on Monday, while the yuan bounced on suspected intervention by Beijing hours ahead of an IMF decision on whether to promote it to a basket of global reserve currencies. MSCI’s broadest index... More »
BERLIN Hamburg’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics collapsed on Sunday after the majority of the city’s residents voted against the multi-billion euro project in a referendum, killing off the candidacy and leaving officials in shock. Hamburg’s withdrawal reshuffle... More »
GUANGZHOU, China Automakers are betting that Chinese families will embrace the mini-van, hoping the larger, unsexy sibling of the bestselling SUV will become the next big thing just as Beijing relaxes the one-child policy. Mini-vans, or multi-purpose vehicles ... More »
NEW YORK British singer Adele’s new album sold a record 3.38 million U.S. copies in its first full week, Nielsen Music said, becoming the biggest-selling album of 2015 in an astonishing feat for an era when artists rarely top 1 million. In just seven days on s... More »
VIENNA Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding has dropped out of a high-profile project to develop an antibiotic for treating “superbug” infections, the company said on Sunday. Roche had agreed in 2013 to pay privately held partner Polyphor up to 500 million Swiss fran... More »
FRANKFURT Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) top executives knew a year ago that some of the company’s cars were markedly less fuel efficient than had been officially stated, Sunday paper Bild am Sonntag reported, without specifying its sources. VW in early November rev... More »
SHANGHAI China, already a global powerhouse in high-tech areas from solar panels to bullet trains, is turning its industrial might to the challenge of making more of its own drugs for a vast and aging population. Given the 10 years or more it typically takes t... More »
KRAKOW, Poland A Polish court’s decision to deny the extradition of film-maker Roman Polanski to the United States over a 1977 child sex conviction became legally binding on Friday after an appellate prosecutor’s office said it found no justification to appeal... More »
LONDON British singer Adele’s “25” notched up the most sales in its opening week of any UK album, beating a record set in 1997 by Oasis, the Official Charts Company said on Friday. The 27-year-old’s third studio album sold 800,307 copies – compared with Oasis’... More »
LONDON/NEW YORK/FRANKFURT Investment bank Lazard is working with Sanofi’s management to prepare a sale or listing of its Merial animal health unit, aiming to land the leading advisory job for the deal, which could value the business at up 12 billion euros ($12... More »
LONDON Debris from a U.S. rocket, most likely the doomed SpaceX Falcon 9, has been recovered near the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of southwest England, the UK coastguard has said on Friday. It was covered in barnacles and was initially mistaken for a dead w... More »
ROME Five frescoed stone slabs stolen from a tomb in the ancient city of Paestum and trafficked by a notorious artifact smuggler went on display in Italy on Thursday after a 10-year investigation. Police were led to the pieces, all dating from around 400 BC, a... More »
ROME Rome has banned centurion impersonators who charge to scowl in photos around the ancient Colosseum amphitheatre and frequently come under fire for their pushy tactics with tourists. The Italian capital is imposing extra security measures and sprucing up p... More »
MILAN The chief executive of Telecom Italia Marco Patuano has the full support of the board as well as that of the head of its main shareholder Vivendi, a Telecom Italia board member said on Wednesday. Vivendi, whose chairman and top investor is influential Fr... More »
LONDON British pop artist Allen Jones returns to the subject of supermodel Kate Moss in his latest exhibition in London, which once more puts the female form centre-stage in sculptures ranging from the hyper-realistic to the abstract. The 78-year-old artist ha... More »
BRUSSELS Soldiers patrolled the streets of Brussels on the third day of a security lockdown on Monday and the tenth day of a manhunt for the suspected mastermind of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. Belgian national Salah Abdeslam has not been found despite 19 rai... More »
VIENNA Austrian student Max Schrems’s attempt to bring a class-action lawsuit against Facebook (FB.O) over its privacy policies will head to Austria’s Supreme Court to determine whether such collective legal action is allowed, his group said on Monday. The law... More »
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) secured formal board approval on Sunday for its acquisition of Botox maker Allergan Plc (AGN.N) for more than $150 billion, a deal that will create the world’s biggest drug maker, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal, the l... More »
Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) looming deal to buy Botox maker Allergan Plc (AGN.N) for more than $150 billion will cap a record-breaking run for mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector, taking the cumulative value of deals in 2015 to more than $600 billion. H... More »
SEOUL Crude futures plunged on Monday, with U.S. oil dropping more than 3 percent on a firmer U.S. dollar and festering worries over a global supply surplus. The fall was part of a wider decline in commodities that has also been stoked by worries over falterin... More »
LOS ANGELES British boy band One Direction swept the top honors at Sunday’s American Music Awards, while a sorrowful tribute to the victims of the attacks in Paris lent a somber note to a night of otherwise vibrant performances. One Direction was named artist ... More »
SYDNEY The euro sagged to a seven-month trough on Monday as the prospect of more policy easing in Europe benefited the U.S. dollar, while activity in Asian shares was crimped by a holiday in Japan. The strength of the dollar also combined with worries about Ch... More »
LONDON Britain’s “woefully inadequate” anti-money laundering system has left the country wide open to corrupt money and terrorism funds and needs radical overhaul, a leading anti-corruption group said on Monday. Each year billions of pounds of dirty money flow... More »
LONDON Nicole Kidman won the best actress award for her performance as a DNA researcher in the play “Photograph 51” at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards on Sunday. James McAvoy won best actor for a revival of “The Ruling Class” while Imelda Staunton t... More »
ROME Italy will use a new system set up by its central bank to save four small savings banks from failure before stricter rules for winding down lenders come in next year, banking sources told Reuters. The rescue will be conducted by the Bank of Italy at a cos... More »
ZURICH The Swiss National Bank should make more efforts to protect Switzerland’s economy from the impact of an overvalued franc, economists told several Swiss newspapers. The SNB abandoned its cap on the franc in January and is instead using negative interest ... More »
LONDON “Hang loose! Hang loose!”, exhorts Brittany Howard as she warms up a tense crowd at Alabama Shakes’ sold-out two-night set at London’s Brixton Academy on Thursday, where extra security staff were on hand following terrorist attacks in Paris. Lead singer... More »
COGNAC, France France’s centuries-old cognac houses are raising their bets on the U.S. market with new products and campaigns to broaden the drink’s appeal beyond its African American stronghold. The big four producers — LVMH Moet Hennessy (LVMH.PA), Remy Coin... More »
The California rock band that was playing in Paris on the night of the Nov. 13 attacks survived the massacre at their concert, but others died seeking shelter in a dressing room, the group’s lead singer said in an interview with international news channel Vice... More »
BERLIN Germany withdrew its contender for next year’s Eurovision song contest on Saturday following a backlash from critics who accuse the R&B artist of using anti-Semitic and homophobic slurs in his songs. Xavier Naidoo, a singer of Indian and African heritag... More »
Novartis AG said on Friday it received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regular approval for a drug combination to treat an aggressive form of skin cancer. The FDA approved Tafinlar and Mekinist for treatment of metastatic melanoma based on two years ov... More »
FRANKFURT The European Central Bank is ready to act quickly to boost anemic inflation in the euro zone, its president said on Friday, offering the strongest hint yet that the bank will unveil fresh stimulus measures at its Dec. 3 meeting. Mario Draghi highligh... More »
LONDON A bumper North American railroad bid and three other big tie-ups announced this week have taken the number of takeover deals worth $5 billion or more to a record 128 this year, according to Thomson Reuters data. Pacific Railway’s bid for rival Norfolk S... More »
LONDON What do John Lennon, Margaret Thatcher, Henry VIII and West Indian immigrants in 1956 London have in common? They are all, according to British historian Simon Schama, part of “The Face of Britain”. Schama – known to worldwide audiences for his 15-part ... More »
PARIS/BRUSSELS French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday’s suicid... More »
BEIRUT Heavy air strikes believed to have been carried out by French jets hit two Islamic State training camps and a suspected arms depot in and around the jihadist-held city of Raqqa in Syria overnight, a group monitoring the war said on Monday. There were mo... More »
LONDON The euro hit its weakest in more than six months against the yen on Monday as investors sought safety in gold and low-risk government debt after Friday’s attacks in Paris. Oil prices edged up after France launched large-scale air strikes against Islamic... More »
LONDON The euro hit a 6 1/2-month low against the yen and was pinned down near 7-month troughs against the dollar on Monday after the deadly attacks in Paris led to a bout of global risk aversion and kept investors cautious on the common currency. The Swiss fr... More »
PARIS French police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country overnight in the aftermath of the Paris shootings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday as he warned of potential further attacks. Valls said that since this summe... More »
SINGAPORE Oil prices edged up on Monday as France launched large-scale air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, but analysts said commodities were expected to remain under pressure as oversupply weighs on prices. Crude benchmarks, which lost 8 percent last ... More »
BELEK, Turkey Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he wanted Britain to carry out air strikes against Islamic State militants (ISIL) in Syria but still needed to convince more lawmakers to back such action. “I have always said I think that it is sensibl... More »
NEW YORK For most of its 100-year history, when Boeing turned out more planes, employment soared and the Seattle-area economy prospered. When the rate of production fell, layoffs followed and the local economy crashed. The cycle was so predictable that Boeing ... More »
BRUSSELS “A breeding ground for violence” the mayor of Molenbeek called her borough on Sunday, speaking of unemployment and overcrowding among Arab immigrant families, of youthful despair finding refuge in radical Islam. But as the Brussels district on the wro... More »
KABUL Last year, Hamid Rostami, a 28-year-old from Wardak in western Afghanistan, was expelled from Denmark after years trying to stay in Europe. Jobless and cut off from his family, he now sits in wintry Kabul wondering how to go back. Jobless and unwilling t... More »
SYDNEY/TOKYO/PARIS/NEW YORK Stocks in major markets are set for a short-term sell-off on Monday after suspected Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed more than 130 people, but few strategists expect a prolonged economic impac... More »
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. From Seattle to New York, the National Football League stepped up security inside and outside of stadiums on Sunday as America’s most popular sports league responded to a series of coordinated attacks across Paris that left at least 129 d... More »
SYDNEY The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) could face recommendations that include suspension from the Olympics when the second part of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) report is released, according to one of the doping body’s in... More »
LONDON Swiss maestro Roger Federer will have an early chance to disprove the notion that Novak Djokovic is untouchable when they meet in their second round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday. Federer outclassed Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-2 to kicksta... More »
BRUSSELS Greece and its euro zone creditors have reached a deal on many, but not all, issues in the program that Athens is implementing in return for loans, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Sunday. Greece needs the euro zone ... More »
All the musicians performing with the California-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal emerged unharmed from the lethal terror attack inside a Paris concert hall, but a member of their entourage was killed in the violence, relatives said on Saturday. The band’... More »
WASHINGTON/DES MOINES, Iowa The lethal attacks in Paris have the potential to reshape the U.S. presidential race, placing a new emphasis on issues of national security, border control, and counterterrorism, while perhaps bolstering candidates who talk toughest... More »
WASHINGTON The United States needs to increase its efforts in Syria and Iraq “directly” and expand its support to other nations where Islamic State militants operate, U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement on Saturday responding to the Pa... More »
WASHINGTON The Obama administration should reconsider plans to bring thousands of Syrian refugees into the Unites States after at least 127 people died in Paris in gun and bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State, two Republican candidates said on Saturday. “Pres... More »
LOS ANGELES The California-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal was in the midst of a European tour, promoting its fourth album release, when the musicians found themselves caught up in a terror attack at the Paris concert hall where they had begun to perform... More »
BRUSSELS European regulators on Friday said they had approved U.S data center operator Equinix’s $3.7 billion purchase of Telecity Group on condition it sold off data centers in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London. “With the ever growing economic importance of ‘cl... More »
MOSCOW Russia’s biggest search site Yandex said on Friday it had asked the European Commission to investigate Google’s practices in relation to its Android mobile operating system in the European Union. The new complaint could strengthen the case against Googl... More »
LONDON Online retailer Amazon has stepped up the pressure on Britain’s traditional supermarkets with the nationwide launch on Friday of a packaged groceries offer for Amazon Prime members. The move is the ecommerce giant’s most ambitious foray into Britain’s g... More »
LONDON British pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies face a major skills shortage which threatens future investment and the long-term success of the life sciences sector, according to a new industry report. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical In... More »
NEW YORK A Modigliani nude painting was sold to an unnamed Chinese buyer at Christie’s on Monday for $170.4 million, the second-highest price ever for a work of art at auction, as deep-pocketed collectors continue to pay, and pay big, for some rare masterpiece... More »
FLORENCE, Italy Pope Francis called on Tuesday for a Catholic Church that is not cosseted, self-centered and obsessed with power and money, as he faces new challenges to his financial reforms at the Vatican. The Argentine pope, who made his comments during a d... More »
GAZA Nafez Abed’s cramped workroom is filled with sculptures and mosaics with patterns from the Byzantine, Greek and Roman periods. It is an emporium of Middle Eastern antiquity tucked away in Gaza. And none of it is real. Abed, 55, is a self-taught archaeolog... More »
PARIS After three years of renovation, Paris’ Musee Rodin reopens its doors this week, with new displays of the French sculptor’s works. Right in the middle of the French capital, the Hotel Biron and its garden were used by Auguste Rodin in the years leading u... More »
LISBON Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, whose government faces a vote that may topple it in the opposition-dominated parliament, warned on Monday that leaving the path of reforms and meeting euro zone commitments would be ruinous for Portugal. “The choice w... 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 »
BERLINGerman Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere retains the confidence of Chancellor Angela Merkel, a government spokesman said on Monday, after a spat within her cabinet over whether to limit the asylum rights of refugees from Syria. The government was forc... More »
LONDONBritain’s security agencies will receive a significant boost to staff numbers as part of a multi-pronged effort to stave off threats from terrorist plotters, finance minister George Osborne said on Monday. “I can confirm that over the next five years we ... More »
PARISGlobal trade flows have fallen dangerously close to levels usually associated with a global recession, although actions taken by China and others should ensure a pick-up in 2016, the OECD said in a report on Monday. The Paris-based Organisation for Econom... More »
LONDONThe European Union needs to be more flexible if it is to persuade the British people to vote to stay in the bloc at a referendum due by the end of 2017, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday. Cameron wants to reform Britain’s EU ties and is due to ... 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 »
STOCKHOLMas long as they can win over some of the most demanding consumers: video gamers. Since John Elvesjo noticed a sensor tracking his eye movements in a lab experiment, the technology he developed with Henrik Eskilsson and Marten Skogo has helped disabled... More »
BANGKOKA Thai fortune teller arrested as part of a high-profile royal insult investigation has died, the government said on Monday, the second suspect in as many weeks to die in police custody. Suriyan Sucharitpolwong, a well-known soothsayer and former aide t... More »
LONDONOil futures rose above $47.50 a barrel on Monday as OPEC said it expected global demand to remain strong next year, while weak Chinese trade data and concerns over rising supplies weighed. A weaker dollar further supported oil, with Brent crude for Decem... More »
LONDONThe dollar edged away from a 6-1/2-month high against the euro on Monday, as investors took profits on the greenback’s surge after bumper U.S. jobs data bolstered bets on the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates in December. The only major currenc... More »
BERLINGerman exports and imports bounced back in September after plunging in the prior month but failed to allay concerns that a slowdown in emerging markets will leave its mark on Europe’s largest economy. The Federal Statistics Office reported on Monday that... More »
LONDONBritish finance minister George Osborne will spell out on Monday the first set of spending cuts to be imposed on government departments as part of an overall 37 billion-pound ($56 billion) austerity plan to turn Britain’s deficit into a surplus by 2020. ... More »
LONDONA report by the World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday is set to deepen an athletics scandal that, according to one of the document’s authors, eclipses even the alleged corruption at soccer’s governing body FIFA. According to leaks to a French investigative ... 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 »
LONDONArsenal’s hopes of leapfrogging Premier League leaders Manchester City were frustrated when they drew 1-1 with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday after City’s surprising 0-0 draw with bottom club Aston Villa. Tottenham, who moved up to fifth, had ... More »
PARISNovak Djokovic’s already brilliant season took on another dimension on Sunday when the world number one became the first man to win six Masters titles in a calendar year by dismissing Andy Murray 6-2 6-4 in Paris. The Serbian won three of the four grand s... More »
CHICAGO/MEXICO CITYMonsanto Co on Friday denied that plantings of its genetically modified soybeans have impacted bees, led to deforestation or caused damage to the honey production industry in two Mexican states. Mexico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked a ... More »
DUBLINIrish women are tweeting details of their periods to Prime Minister Enda Kenny to help publicise a campaign to repeal restrictive abortion laws. Abortion is a divisive issue in Ireland where, after large street protests from both sides of the debate, a c... More »
LONDON“If I Can Dream,” a collection of Elvis classics featuring orchestral reworkings by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This means Elvis now has more Number 1 albums in the UK than any other male solo artist, and puts him level with Madonna in second place... More »
LONDONThe man who will become the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station said on Friday he hoped his mission would inspire young Britons to one day journey to Mars. Tim Peake, 43, a former army major, will blast off on a six-month mis... More »
LONDONBanks struggled again to make money trading bonds, currencies and commodities in the third quarter, as regulatory changes squeezed liquidity and intensified the pressure to cut costs, staff and activity. Revenue and profit fell for most of the world’s ma... More »
ATHENSGreece’s parliament approved early Friday a bill with reforms prescribed by the country’s international lenders, ahead of a euro zone finance ministers meeting in three days which will decide if Athens qualifies for fresh bailout funds. Greece needs to l... More »
BRUSSELSThe euro zone may need to spend only 10 billion euros or less to help recapitalize Greek banks, a senior EU official said, after an ECB test showed the sector would need an extra 14.4 billion euros of capital if major risks materialized. Euro zone cred... More »
