Category: World

LONDON, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) – The European Commission will investigate the role played by credit rating agencies in the recent crisis over subprime US home loans, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. “If the rating agencies believe this is going to be business as usual, they are very wrong,” an unnamed Commission official told […]

RIYADH, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan housemaid in Saudi Arabia pleaded in a call to a newspaper to be rescued from her employer she says has kept her imprisoned for the past 10 years, the Saudi newspaper reported on Tuesday. The Arab News said it received the cry for help from Anista […]

YANGON, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) – Myanmar’s military government secretly doubled key fuel prices early Wednesday, stranding bus operators and commuters across the country’s economic hub Yangon as drivers struggled to tank up.Official media made no mention of the increase, the first in two years, and station operators were at a loss to explain the […]

TOKYO, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) – Most Asian stock markets suffered another mauling in early trade on Wednesday after an overnight slump on Wall Street dashed hopes of an end to recent turmoil sparked by US mortgage woes. The latest wave of selling came despite recent efforts by the world’s major central banks to restore […]

LONDON, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) – Europe’s main stock markets tumbled again on Wednesday as investors were gripped by concerns over a potential global credit crunch sparked by the troubled US home loan sector. The American markets turned lower in the wake of a media report about a troubled investment fund, Sentinel Management Group. Global […]

CHICAGO, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) – US researchers said Monday they have invented a lightweight paper battery that could serve as an enhanced power storage device for the next generation of consumer electronic devices.The battery produces electricity in the same way as the conventional lithium-ion batteries that power so many of today’s gadgets, but all […]

TOKYO, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) – The Bank of Japan said Tuesday it will withdraw 600 billion yen (5.0 billion dollars) from the short-term money market through sales of treasury notes, a move aimed at easing excessive liquidity.The step came after the central bank had injected 600 billion yen into the banking system on Monday […]

NEW YORK, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) – Goldman Sachs, considered one of Wall Street’s most prestigious investment banks, said Monday it had joined with other investors in a three-billion-dollar bailout of a hedge fund it manages. Goldman said it was pumping funds into the Global Equity Opportunities (GEO) hedge fund after recent financial market volatility […]

TOKYO, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) – The world’s oldest person Yone Minagawa, who has died at age 114, was as sprightly as ever until the moment she got into bed for her eternal rest, her caretaker said Tuesday.Minagawa, who enjoyed good food and a bit of alcohol, died Monday at a nursing home in Japan’s […]

SYDNEY, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) – Army chiefs from 19 countries, including the United States, Japan and India, met secretly in Sydney ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit in the city next month, the country’s army chief revealed Tuesday. The presence of the military leaders in Sydney, including US General George Casey, at the same time […]

TOKYO, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s central bank announced Monday it will inject 600 billion yen (5.0 billion dollars) into the banking system to avert liquidity shortages after recent turbulence on global financial markets. The Bank of Japan had already pumped one trillion yen into the money market on Friday as part of a […]

SYDNEY, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank Monday said it saw global growth as strong despite the uncertainty created by the crisis in the US home loan market. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said rising delinquency rates in the US sub-prime housing market had resulted in a marked increase in volatility in […]