CHINA - AFRICA SUMMIT
Beijing pledges $10 billion in aid
China pledged 10 billion dollars in concessional loans to African countries and promised to cancel all debts at the start of the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Egypt.
G20
Finance officials pledge to maintain stimulus measures
Top finance officials from rich and developing countries meeting in Scotland Saturday agreed that it was too early to lift emergency stimulus measures and new frameworks were needed to coordinate economic decision-making.
ECONOMIC CRISIS
US unemployment rate jumps to over 10% in October
The unemployment rate in the United States for October rose to 10.2 %, its highest level in 25 year according to the Department of Labor. The monthly data was worse than expectations, with forecasters expecting a 10% jobless rate.
AFP
Japan pledges $5.5 bln for SEAsia's Mekong region
Japan on Friday pledged 5.5 billion dollars in aid over three years for Southeast Asia's five Mekong River nations, seeking to deepen ties with the region amid growing influence from China.Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who has pushed the concept of
AFP
GM Europe head quits following Opel U-turn: source
General Motors Europe head Carl-Peter Forster is quitting in disgust at GM's decision to hang on to its European unit Opel/Vauxhall, a well-informed source told AFP on Friday.The source confirmed a report in the Spiegel magazine, saying: "I expect a
AFP
French budget deficit sinks deeper into the red
France's central government budget deficit more than doubled over the first nine months of this year to reach 125.8 billion euros (187.5 billion dollars) due to shrinking tax revenues, the budget ministry said Friday.The deficit totalled 56.6 ...
AFP
Gold price tops $1,100 for first time
The price of gold hit a record high above 1,100 dollars an ounce in trading here on Friday following a report that Sri Lanka had joined India in purchasing the precious metal in favour of the US currency."The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has announced ...
AFP
British Airways to axe 1,200 more jobs
British Airways revealed a quadrupling of net losses in its first half on Friday, and axed an extra 1,200 jobs in an "essential" cost-reduction programme.BA posted a loss after tax of 217 million pounds (242 million euros, 361 million dollars) ...
AFP
Dollar falls before US jobs data
The dollar fell against the euro and yen on Friday as market players grew cautious ahead of US jobs data and as ministers began gathering for a Group of 20 finance meeting, traders said.In London morning trade, the euro rose to 1.4897 dollars from ...
MONETARY POLICY
ECB and BoE leave interest rates on hold at record low levels
The European Central Bank has decided to leave interest rates at the historical low level of 1%. The Bank of England has mirrored this move and has also decided to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5%.
AFP
Bank of England to assess extra recession aid
The Bank of England will on Thursday decide whether to inject billions of extra pounds into the economy to help get it out of its longest recession on record.While analysts widely expect the BoE to leave its key interest rate at the record-low level
AFP
Exxon follows China lead in clinching Iraq oil deal
US major Exxon Mobil has won a contract to develop West Qurna 1 field, the oil ministry said on Thursday, as the foreign role in Iraq's oil industry widens with China leading the way."Today we will sign with the consortium of Exxon Mobil and Shell ...
AFP
Rage against GM over 10,000 planned job cuts at Opel
Angry German workers planned protests Thursday after General Motors said it would cut some 10,000 jobs at its European unit Opel in a move slammed as a slap in the face for Chancellor Angela Merkel.GM wants to slash costs by 30 percent at Opel, ...
AVIATION
South Africa cancels deal for eight Airbus planes
South Africa has cancelled a $5.2 billion contract to buy eight Airbus A400M military transport aircraft due to escalating costs and delivery delays, cabinet spokesman Themba Maseko said on Thursday.
AFP
BNP Paribas reports 44.8% quarterly profit leap
BNP Paribas bank reported a 44.8-percent rise in net quarterly profits on Thursday, beating expectations with strong investment banking and markets performance.The retail banking division, however, continued to suffer from a rise in bad loan ...
AFP
Microsoft cuts 800 more jobs
US computer software giant Microsoft said Wednesday that it is cutting 800 more jobs in addition to the 5,000 layoffs announced previously."Earlier this year, we announced that in order to reduce costs, increase efficiency and prioritize our focus ...
AFP
Toyota posts surprise profit, upgrades outlook
Toyota Motor, the world's largest automaker, announced Thursday a surprise return to profit and narrowed its loss forecast for the full year, helped by demand for fuel-efficient cars.It was the company's first quarter in the black in a year.
AFP
Anglo Irish Bank to cut 230 jobs
Ireland's third biggest bank, Anglo Irish Bank, said Wednesday it was seeking to make 230 job cuts in the first phase of a redundancy programme that is expected to see about 450 leave the troubled bank.Anglo, which was nationalised in January, has ...
TECHNOLOGY
New York goes after Intel for illegal conduct
New York's attorney general has filed an antitrust lawsuit against top world computer chip maker Intel for using "bribery and coercion" to dominate the market. The US giant was already hit with a record fine by EU authorities in May.
AFP
Fed holds rates, says economy picking up
The US Federal Reserve held its near-zero interest rate policy Wednesday and said the ailing economy had "continued to pick up" since September.The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), headed by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, said after ...
AFP
Time Warner net profit down but raises outlook
US media and entertainment giant Time Warner posted a 38 percent decline in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, dragged down by weak results in its publishing division and at Internet unit AOL.Time Warner said net profit fell to 661 million dollars, ...
AFP
Total reports 54 percent profit plunge
French oil giant Total on Wednesday reported a third quarter net profit plunge of 54 percent on a year earlier to 1.87 billion euros (2.76 billion dollars) because of the slump in oil prices.The result was slightly better than the 1.84 billion euro ...
AFP
Nissan Motor interim net profit down 92.9 pct
Japan's Nissan Motor said Wednesday its first-half net profit plunged 92.9 percent from a year earlier due to weak sales, but it narrowed its full-year loss forecast.Japan's number three automaker, in which France's Renault has a 44-percent stake, ...
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Dalai Lama visits monastery despite China protest - AFP
11:06
Mickelson holds off Els to win HSBC golf Champions - AFP
11:01
Japanese protest US base before Obama visit - AFP
10:43
Korea's Song wins Mizuno Classic - AFP
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STOCK MARKETS - FRIDAY AT 10 PM GMT

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was up at the end of the day despite disapointing US labor market report. The Dow Jones gained 0.18 percent while the Nasdaq was also up 0.33 percent.

The Paris CAC 40 was essentially flat at closing, dipping 0.04 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index of top shares had gained 0.33 percent to 5,142.72 points at the end of trading on Friday. In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 aslo ended up, gaining 0.13 percent to 5,488.55 points.

At the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), Japan's Nikkei share average closed up 0.7 percent on Friday, led by technology and retail stocks.

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THE BUSINESS INTERVIEW
Jean-Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft International
TECHNOLOGY
After Windows 7 euphoria, Microsoft reports profit slump
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Nokia sues Apple over patent infrigement
FACE-OFF
Microsoft VS Apple : a new war ?
ENVIRONMENT
Google joins space agencies in forest monitoring
TECHNOLOGY
Installation 'parties' herald launch of Windows 7
TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft unveils new Windows phones
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