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Profits decline at BHP BillitonFalling prices of iron ore and coal push down profits at the world's biggest mining company, BHP Billiton.
news.bbc.co.uk | 07-Feb-2012 23:55
BHP first-half profit down 5.5%
Global mining giant BHP Billiton said Wednesday its first-half profits fell 5.5 percent to US$9.94 billion, largely due to lower commodity prices and some production constraints.
The result in the six months to December 31 was nevertheless one of the largest in Australian corporate history, and compared to the record US$10.5 billion the company booked in the previous corresponding period.
Despite the drop-off in profit, which was slightly worse than analyst expectations, revenue increased 9.7 percent to US$37.48 billion from US$34.17 billion.
france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 23:25
Walmart to Add ‘Great For You’ Label to Healthy Foods
As part of a plan to improve the nutritional quality of the food it sells, Walmart said that it will begin placing a label with the words Great for You on its Great Value and Marketside food items.
International Herald Tribune | 07-Feb-2012 23:22
Yahoo board in another shake-up
Yahoo's chairman and three other board members step down as the tumult at the US web portal continues.
news.bbc.co.uk | 07-Feb-2012 23:11
US stocks claw out gains on Greece hopes
US stocks closed in positive territory Tuesday, clawing back from losses after reports that Greece was nearing a bailout deal to avoid defaulting on its debt.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33.07 points (0.26 percent) to finish the session at 12,878.20.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 2.72 points (0.20 percent) to 1,347.05 while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 2.09 points (0.07 percent) to 2,904.08.
Stocks started the session on a sour note but finished with gains after positive noises out of Europe.
france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 23:05
Tech-savvy Singapore sees spike in online scams
Internet scams have increased in Singapore as consumers in the tech-savvy city-state increasingly turn to online shopping, but the overall crime rate fell to a 20-year low, police said Tuesday.
The online scams mainly hit people who made purchases in response to advertisements offering discounts on services such as hotel accommodation, holiday packages and car rental, but did not receive what they paid for.
france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 22:45
Yahoo! chairman, three directors stepping down
Yahoo! chairman Roy Bostock announced Tuesday he was stepping down from the board of the struggling Internet company along with three other directors.
Bostock, in a letter to shareholders, also said Yahoo! was in "active discussions" with its partners in Asia on restructuring its holdings in the Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan.
Bostock said he had decided not to stand for re-election at Yahoo!'s next shareholders meeting, along with board members Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson.
france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 22:25
U.S. stocks close higher as dollar weakens
U.S. stocks nudged higher on Tuesday, with a gain in the Dow Jones of 33 points.
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 22:09
AVIATION: US Senate backs China on EU airlines carbon tax
The European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has infuriated the Chinese, which has banned its airlines from contributing, while a bill has been approved by the US Senate calling on the government to use “all tools” to keep US operators exempt.
france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 22:00
European Union Shows Flexibility on Airline Emissions Law
A European Union official said the bloc could suspend the requirement that non-E.U. airlines offset their emissions if progress were made toward establishing a global system.
International Herald Tribune | 07-Feb-2012 21:49
Britain to provide more funds to upgrade vocational programmes
LONDON - Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday unveiled plans to club apprenticeships with higher education to remove the poor class tag often attached to the vocational training programme.
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:47
Brazil's Itau has record profits
Itau Unibanco posts 14.6bn reais ($8.5bn, £5.3bn) of net profit in 2011, the highest ever for a bank from Brazil.
news.bbc.co.uk | 07-Feb-2012 21:41
Consumers Borrowed More In December
Americans accelerated their borrowing for the second straight month, running up more credit card debt and taking out loans to buy cars and attend school. Consumer borrowing rose by $19.3 billion in December after a $20.4 billion gain in November, the biggest monthly gains in a decade.
npr.org | 07-Feb-2012 21:31
RBS chief calls bonus row 'discomforting'
Stephen Hester, the chief executive of Britain's state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland, has said the row over his bonus had been "personalised" and "discomforting to say the least".
Hester made his first comments on the furore in a memo to RBS employees, having bowed to intense political pressure last month and waived his annual bonus of shares worth £963,000 ($1.5 million, 1.15 million euros) on top of his £1.2 million salary.
He said he did not know how much "damage" had been done to the bank, but added: "The best way to deal with it is to prove the critics wrong."
france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:25
Coca-Cola eyes cost savings as it posts 'solid' results
KO-N reported better-than-expected quarterly results and announced a new cost-savings program that it will use to boost its brands and mitigate higher commodity costs.Coke’s results on Tuesday ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:19
Troubling news for earnings
Enjoy the convenience of having The Globe and Mail delivered right to your door, your mobile phone and computer. From exclusive content and mobile apps to online tools and loyalty programs, The ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:18
Wal-Mart debuts ‘Great for You’ seal
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to help its customers figure that out by adding a new green icon that reads "Great for You" to packaging of some of its house-brand ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:17
Final products to hit Target stores in March
Michael Graves' curtain call with Target Corp. is set for this spring. The Minneapolis-based retailer said Tuesday that the final installment of Michael Graves-designed kitchen gadgets, ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:15
Job openings jump in December to nearly match 3-year high; hiring, quits decline
WASHINGTON - The number of available jobs in the United States jumped in December to near a three-year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring. Companies and ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:15
Documentary highlights innovative housing
Our friends over at Twin Cities Public Television have produced a new documentary about three innovative housing developments built for those Twin Citians living on limited incomes. "Homes ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:15
Stratasys reports strong 2011 sales
Stratasys Inc. finished last year on a high note, reporting Tuesday that fourth quarter revenue jumped nearly 30 percent. The Eden Prairie-based maker of 3D printers said sales during the final ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:15
Bernanke sticks with Fed plan to hold interest rates low until '14, despite strong jobs report
WASHINGTON - Ben Bernanke on Tuesday reiterated the Federal Reserve's plan to hold interest rates near record lows until at least late 2014. The Fed chairman stuck with the three-year time ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:15
ZARA store to open in San Diego
The fast-fashion retail powerhouse ZARA is opening its first San Diego store this fall in Fashion Valley Mall.With European style and accessible prices, ZARA carries clothing for women, men and ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:13
Calif. 'not there yet' in U.S. mortgage settlement
Kamala D. Harris - AP file photo California has not yet decided if it will take part in a proposed $25 billion mortgage settlement with the country's largest banks over foreclosure and ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:13
Newsstand magazine sales down 10 percent in US
NEW YORK -; U.S. magazine sales at newsstands and other retailers dropped 10 percent in the second half of 2011, a sign that Americans are still careful about discretionary spending and impulse ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:13
match made in S.D.
bbry@blackbirdv.com . Your place or mine. It wasn't a bar or a club; it was Biocom's second annual Global Life Science Partnering Conference last week at the Lodge at Torrey Pines. It was ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:13
Lloyds Banking Group to shed 900 jobs
London - Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group Tuesday announced plans to cut 900 jobs as part of wider plans unveiled last year to cull 15,000 posts across the company.
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:13
Canada stocks set to extend loss to second session
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Canadian equities inched lower Tuesday, looking set to extend losses from the previous session with the diversified metals and mining sector posting the largest ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:02
U.S. stocks gain on hopes for Greece
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks erased losses and turned higher Tuesday, with the Dow industrials at a multi-year high, as Greece reportedly neared accord on budget cuts and U.S. job openings ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:02
Oil gains 1.6% as Greece nears deal
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures shook off initial weakness to trade 1.6% higher on Tuesday, gaining as Greece reportedly neared a deal that could avoid a messy default and drag the ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:01
Money-market-fund report hits Federated, Schwab
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. financial firms with a big business in money-market funds fell Tuesday after a report said that the Securities and Exchange Commission is close to proposing new ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:01
Anadarko up, BP down; energy stocks mixed
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp. led gains among big oil producers on Tuesday, but shares of natural gas and oil service specialists fell ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:01
Coinstar surges on Redbox sales and deals
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Coinstar Inc. saw its shares climb more than 18% Tuesday on upbeat reaction to a trifecta of announcements, including strong quarterly results and new shots at Netflix ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:01
Updates, advisories and surprises
+0.42% reports its fiscal first-quarter earnings following the market's close on Tuesday, investors should focus on fees paid by cable operators to the company's ESPN and other cable ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:01
As Growth Slows, India Awakens to Need for Foreign Investment
India’s central bank and economic analysts predict that growth will fall sharply to 7 percent this fiscal year and remain sluggish.
International Herald Tribune | 07-Feb-2012 21:00
Coinstars 4Q earnings soar on strong Redbox
Technology News: BELLEVUE, With the company's Redbox kiosks for renting DVDs picked up customers who stopped getting their discs through Netflix's rival service, Coinstar's ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:59
Sensient 4Q earnings up 11%
Sensient Technologies Inc. reported Tuesday a nearly 11% increase in fourth-quarter earnings on flat revenue growth. The Milwaukee-based manufacturer of colors, flavors and fragrances said net ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:57
US stocks open in the red
US stocks opened lower Tuesday as traders awaited fresh testimony from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke to Congress on the economy and watched fraught efforts to resolve the Greek debt ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:56
Coca-Cola Records $8.6 Billion Profits for 2011
A worldwide sales increase of 5 per cent saw US giant Coca-Cola record profits of 8.6 billion dollars for 2011, the company reported Tuesday. However, that meant profits were 27 per cent lower ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:54
Occupy Wall Street protester vows to fight subpoena over Twitter account
Occupy Wall Street activist whose tweets have become the subject of a subpoena by a New York prosecutor is seeking to quash the order in court.A lawyer for Malcolm Harris, 23, who was arrested along ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:53
Xstrata's rebels are right
Glencore are miserable. As matters stand, Sir John Bond and Mick Davis, chairman and chief executive of Xstrata, have granted Glencore's Ivan Glasenberg greatest wish and extracted too little ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:52
Dow committed to providing London 2012 stadium wrap despite criticism
Demonstrators in Bhopal urge the organisers of the London Olympics to stop Dow Chemical's involvement in the 2012 Games. Photograph: Sanjeev ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:52
BP chief defends high executive pay and bonuses
BP chief executive Bob Dudley says that his work keeps him too busy to think about his 1m pay package or has the time to spend it. Photograph Toby ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:52
Inmarsat takes off on bid talk but FTSE dips as Greek drama continues
has taken off on talk of a possible bid for the satellite operator.Its shares have jumped 15.2p to 437.2p - a 3.6% rise - on suggestions of a 700p offer, with US giant GE and private equity both ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:52
Glencore was the World Food Programme's most viable option | Felicity Lawrence
The World Food Programme has been criticised for buying wheat from Glencore during last year's famine in the Horn of Africa. Photograph: Tariq Mahmood/AFP/Getty ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:52
Capita dips on concerns it could miss out on Army recruitment contract
has fallen back on concerns it could miss out on a lucrative Army contract.The company has already had a disappointing start to 2012, says Espirito Santo, missing out on a couple of prospects in ...
venezuelastar.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:52