Archive for March 15th, 2008

Brazil’s retail sector registers record sales rise since 2001

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

The volume of sales registered in Brazil's retail sector in January increased by 11.8 percent year-on-year, Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE) said Friday. It is the best result for January since the IBGE started ca ...

OPEC to maintain world oil demand forecast unchanged

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

The world oil demand in 2008 was forecast to grow by 1.2 million barrels daily to an average of 87 million barrels per day, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a report Friday. This estimation is in line ...

EU leaders concerned about rising euro

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Leaders from the European Union (EU) member states on Friday expressed concerns about excessive exchange rate moves amid the relentless rise of the euro against the U.S. dollar. "In the present circumstances we are concerned about e ...

Swatch Group posts record net profit in 2007

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Switzerland's Swatch Group, the world's largest watchmaker, said on Friday its net profit in 2007 rose 22 percent to a record 1.02 billion Swiss francs (1.01 billion U.S. dollars). Turnover of the Swatch Group increased by nearly 18 ...

EU leaders poised to endorse measures to restore financial stability

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Leaders from the European Union (EU) member states were poised to endorse measures Friday to restore stability in the financial markets. "The current turmoil has highlighted the need for further strengthening of the financial stabil ...

EU leaders concerned about economic woes

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

European Union (EU) leaders are concerned about the deteriorating global economic situation and the financial turmoil caused by the U.S. credit squeeze. On the second day of their spring summit Friday, the leaders are expected to fo ...

Tumbling dollar, inflation and short supply behind gold rally

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

A tumbling U.S. dollar, inflation fears and supply shortfalls have driven up gold price, which briefly pushed past the psychologically important 1,000-dollar mark for an troy ounce on Thursday, analysts said. Gold price rose sharply ...

German inflation stays high at 2.8%

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Inflation in Germany stayed high at 2.8 percent in February, largely due to soaring energy costs, official statistics showed Friday. The Wiesbaden-based Federal Statistics Office said that the high year-on-year rate of price increas ...