Aeroplane updates heat up Airbus Boeing rivalry Sun, 08 Jul 2012

New engines and better wings help airliners cut fuel burn

Wolverine shares seen up after Collective buy: Barron's Sun, 08 Jul 2012

(Reuters) - U.S. footwear manufacturer Wolverine World Wide Inc shares could soar following its acquisition of parts of Collective Brands Inc , according to a report in Barron's. Charles Kantor, portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, said Wolverine's stock could approach $50 by the first anniversary of the deal's completion, the paper said. Wolverine shares closed at $38.37 on Friday. Wolverine in May teamed up with private equity partners to buy Collective Brands, the owner of footwear retailer Payless shoe stores for about $2 billion. ...

Joint Eurogroup presidency unlikely: French finance minister Sun, 08 Jul 2012

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici poured cold water on a media report on Sunday that France and Germany could split between them the presidency of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers. The mandate of the Eurogroup's current chairman, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, expires at the end of the month but officials signaled last month that his term could be extended. ...

Analysis: Investors brace for shaky U.S. earnings season Sun, 08 Jul 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Earnings season begins on Monday with U.S. companies facing a litany of issues that could make second-quarter reports look dismal. Corporate outlooks are at their most negative in nearly four years and companies that have already reported have shown lackluster growth. Nearly two dozen S&P firms have already cited Europe's woes - which seem to be worsening - as a concern. In addition, more than 85 members of the Standard & Poor's 500 lowered expectations in the last several weeks and the quarter's expected earnings growth of 5. ...

Sikorsky eyes foreign deals to offset U.S. drop Sun, 08 Jul 2012

FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - Sikorsky Aircraft, the helicopter maker owned by United Technologies Corp , on Sunday said it has a large backlog of international orders and sees good opportunities for growth in countries like Brazil, India, Turkey, China and Mexico. Mick Maurer, who took over as president of Sikorsky on July 1, said revenue would be flat for several years due to a decline in U.S. military spending and the fact that several larger foreign orders were not slated for delivery until 2014. ...

Canada's Bombardier gets $1 billion aircraft order Sun, 08 Jul 2012

(Reuters) - Canada's Bombardier Aerospace said Sunday a new customer, which has requested to remain unidentified, has placed a conditional order for five CS100 and 10 CS300 jetliners. Based on the list prices of CS100 and CS300 aircraft, the contract is valued at about U.S. $1.02 billion. Earlier Sunday, Bombardier said it was in talks with AirAsia about a more densely packed 160-seat version of its CSeries jet in a bid to loosen the stranglehold on Asia's largest low-cost carrier held by European giant Airbus . ...

Bombardier swoops on AirAsia at Silverstone summit Sun, 08 Jul 2012

SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Canada's Bombardier is in talks with AirAsia about a more densely packed 160-seat version of its CSeries jet, in a surprise bid to loosen the stranglehold on Asia's largest low-cost carrier held by European giant Airbus . AirAsia founder and Formula One boss Tony Fernandes discussed the proposal with Bombardier's chief executive Pierre Beaudoin during preparations for Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the two company leaders told Reuters on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow. "We've got Pierre Beaudoin as a guest of mine. ...

Dubai's duty-free company lines up $1.75B in loans Sun, 08 Jul 2012

Dubai's airport duty-free company says it has lined up $1.75 billion in loans to pay for the expansion of the city-state's main airport.

Deutsche Bank suspends two over Libor: report Sun, 08 Jul 2012

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two Deutsche Bank employees have been suspended after it used external auditors to examine whether staff were involved in manipulating interbank lending rates, German magazine Der Spiegel reported, citing no sources. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank on Sunday declined to comment on the article, referring to its quarterly report, which said it has received subpoenas and requests for information from U.S. and European authorities in connection with setting interbank rates. ...

Floodgates on U.S. derivative reforms set to open Sun, 08 Jul 2012

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. swaps regulator is set to finalize this week a critical reform that will trigger banks and traders having to comply with costly new derivatives rules. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will vote on Tuesday on a definition of a "swap," which will start a countdown on compliance dates for big swaps players to start registering with regulators and reporting their trades. Market watchers say this is a big step in regulators' efforts to bring the $650 trillion over-the-counter swaps market out of the shadows. ...

China premier vows to curb real estate speculation Sun, 08 Jul 2012

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has vowed that a recent interest rate cut aimed at stimulating economic growth will not ignite a new bout of real estate speculation that would push up housing costs, state media said Sunday.

Dubai Duty Free wins expanded $1.75 billion loan Sun, 08 Jul 2012

DUBAI (Reuters) - Airport retailer Dubai Duty Free has secured a $1.75 billion loan facility that will be used to fund expansion of the emirate's international airport. The six-year senior, unsecured syndicated credit facility will comprise a conventional term loan facility and Islamic facilities, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The retailer had said in April that it mandated banks for a $1.1 billion financing facility to help fund the growth of Dubai's international airport. ...

China's Hebei Steel gets approval to invest in Canada iron ore miner Sun, 08 Jul 2012

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hebei Iron & Steel Group, China's largest steel producer, has been given the go-ahead to invest in Canadian iron ore developer Alderon Iron Ore Corp, the official Xinhua News agency quoted local authorities as saying on Sunday. Hebei Steel said in April that it would invest about C$194 million ($195 million) for a near 20-percent stake in Alderon and a 25-percent interest in Alderon's principal asset known as the Kami project, located in Canada's Labrador Trough. The deal would also give Hebei the right to buy 60 percent of annual iron ore produced from the Kami project. ...

North Korean economy posts rare growth in 2011 - Seoul Sat, 07 Jul 2012

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's moribund economy posted rare growth last year on robust harvests and a flurry of building activity in the capital Pyongyang, but it still remains one of the world's poorest and least developed states, an official report by the South shows. The reclusive state's economy expanded by a real 0.8 percent in 2011, estimates by South Korea's central bank showed on Sunday. It was only the second time in the past six years the closed economy has expanded. ...

VIDEO: Qatar's pressure to spend domestically Sat, 07 Jul 2012

With rising commodity prices and pressure to spend domestically, Qatar's looking at industries that will support growth on its own turf and one industry that's being targeted is financial services.

Con Edison, union resume talks Tuesday as NYC bakes Sat, 07 Jul 2012

(Reuters) - Contract talks between Consolidated Edison Inc and locked-out union workers ended on Saturday after a few hours with both sides agreeing to meet again on Tuesday as New York City baked in extreme heat. Con Ed spokesman Alfonso Quiroz confirmed negotiations between the company and the union had concluded and will resume Tuesday at noon. Saturday's negotiations started at about 10 a.m. EDT and went until around 1 p.m. EDT, he said. In a statement, the union said talks with Con Edison will continue on Tuesday at a New York area hotel. ...

Rangers vote unfair on SFL - Gray Sat, 07 Jul 2012

Hamilton's Les Gray says SFL clubs have been put in an unfair position over the upcoming vote on whether to accept Rangers.

ECB's Asmussen sees EU bank supervisor in place in 2013 Sat, 07 Jul 2012

MILAN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will be able to fully act as Europe's unified banking supervisor only from next year, a top ECB policymaker told an Italian daily on Saturday, adding it was important to keep the new role distinct from monetary policy. ECB Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen also told La Stampa daily that Italy had made great progress in terms of improving its public finances, but had now to address the problem posed by its near-zero potential growth. ...

Canada's unemployment rate falls Fri, 06 Jul 2012

In Canada, unemployment falls slightly from 7.3% to 7.2% in June as firms hired an extra 7,300 staff according to official data.

HTC smartphone profits fall 58% Fri, 06 Jul 2012

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has reported a 58% fall in net profit 7.4bn Taiwanese dollars (US$248m) in the three months ending in June.

VIDEO: Hurdles frustrate Libya investors Fri, 06 Jul 2012

The people of Libya go to the polls on Saturday in the country's first free national election for more than 40 years.

VIDEO: US jobless rate remains at 8.2% Fri, 06 Jul 2012

US shares have fallen after official data showed firms had created only 80,000 new jobs in June, leaving the jobless rate unchanged at 8.2%.

Facebook and Yahoo end patent row Fri, 06 Jul 2012

Facebook and Yahoo have dropped their patent lawsuits against each other without any exchange of cash.

Greek PM promises focus on growth Fri, 06 Jul 2012

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras promises to focus on reforms and measures to restore economic growth in Greece, in his first major speech to parliament.

US jobs data triggers share slip Fri, 06 Jul 2012

US shares fall after official employment figures show firms created only 80,000 new jobs in June, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8.2%.

SFO launches Libor investigation Fri, 06 Jul 2012

The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirms that it has formally launched a criminal investigation into the rigging of the inter-bank lending rate, Libor.

Farepak compensation from Lloyds Fri, 06 Jul 2012

Lloyds Banking Group has donated an extra £8m to the Farepak compensation fund after last month's criticism by a High Court judge.