Business & Finance


Russia's Finance Ministry proposed increasing borrowing, crimping spending and forcing state firms to hand over a larger chunk of their profits in order to plug holes in the federal budget.

Cyprus's banking sector should brace for further turbulence as deposits continue to shrink and bad loans look set to multiply, the country's creditors warned.

India is set to start electricity exports to Bangladesh, despite its own chronic power shortages, in a project that could improve relations between the two South Asian countries.

BMW launched the first large-scale test of whether building cars out of carbon fiber and plastic can overcome the obstacles to adoption of electric cars.

Total is considering selling more assets to finance an aggressive investment push and meet its goal of significantly increasing hydrocarbon output.

Inditex said it has temporarily slowed the pace of store openings while it gives its flagship Zara stores a face-lift, a process that checked the company's sales and profit growth in the first half.

Tesco is preparing a foray into the tablet market, a move that could boost online sales and complement the British retailer's small but growing stable of online content.


Sharp plans to raise as much as $1.67 billion in new capital through a share issuance and investments from partners.

Air France said it would accelerate job cuts and shift some routes to a low-cost affiliate in a bid to return to profitability.

Some Danske Bank bondholders face losses as the Danish bank exercises an option to redeem $1 billion in hybrid bonds earlier than scheduled.

Currencies have been hit in emerging markets from the rupee to the real in the wake of recent expectations of the end of the Fed's era of easy money.

More Asian companies are turning to bonds denominated in euros to take advantage of lower borrowing costs and rising demand from European investors.

U.S. regulators proposed new rules that would require public companies to disclose the pay gap between chief executives and rank-and-file employees.



Germany's Green party says it broke with groups in favor of legalizing pedophilia in 1989, but the issue has resurfaced at the most inconvenient time possible: days before national elections.

Some of Croatia's EU funding is set to be frozen and the country more closely monitored over its decision to limit the application of EU arrest warrants.

U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel said the military missed warnings that might have prevented a Navy contractor from carrying out a shooting that left 12 dead.

Egypt's Islamist government, during its brief reign, couldn't satisfy demand for subsidized food and the military-backed leadership is now wrestling with the same challenge.

The latest Philippine corruption scandal could bolster Aquino's war against graft—and lead to further investor confidence in the country's economy.

There have been more than 60 cases of intimidation or violence against Afghan journalists this year, more than double the figure from a year earlier, said an organization that supports press freedom.

China should develop a "market mechanism" to reallocate farmland for urban use, the head of the World Bank's private-sector arm said.