Berlin: Germany has approved new measures to rein in high-risk financial business of banks and to decouple them from retail banking as part of a comprehensive reform to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis five years ago and to minimise the costs for taxpayers if banks were to be bailed out in the future.
The Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on Friday voted with the majority of the ruling conservative-liberal coalition a legislation, which will require banks with assets exceeding 100 billion euros (130 billion USD), or 20 per cent of their balance sheet, to separate their risky trading activities from the traditional client banking and to put them in independent subsidiaries until 2016.
The new rues, which are scheduled to come into force in early 2015, will bar direct lending and provision of guarantees to hedge funds and private equity funds by retail banks through the use of clients' capital deposits.
Banks will have to finance highly speculative businesses with their own resources and to transfer high frequency trading as well as lending to hedge funds and other holding companies to the proposed subsidiaries, the legislation said....
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07:40 AM, May 19, 2013
Mumbai: Tata Steel Ltd shares fell as much as 2.5 per cent on Tuesday morning after it said it will book a $1.6 billion impairment charge for the financial year ended March 31. The company said it is taking the charge due to weak economic and market conditions in Europe. Tata Steel shares were down more than 2 per cent as of 9:30 am. The steel maker made the announcement...
09:45 AM, May 14, 2013
Singapore: Gold neared its highest level in more than two weeks on Monday, but gains may be capped by a rally in equity markets and promising US jobs data that dampened speculation the Federal Reserve may boost monetary stimulus. Bullion has slipped almost 12 per cent so far in 2013, having posted annual gains in the past 12 consecutive years as easy monetary policy prompted investors to buy the precious...
10:11 AM, May 06, 2013
Dhaka: The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion a year industry, with 60 per cent of clothes going to Europe. Any action...
03:12 AM, May 02, 2013
London: Europe's Herschel space observatory - the largest infrared telescope ever launched - has stopped working after exhausting its supply of liquid helium coolant, ending more than three years of pioneering observations of the cool Universe. Instruments on The European Space Agency's (ESA) billion-euro flagship observatory have warmed to levels that mean it has closed its eyes on the Universe. The mission began with over 2300 litres of liquid helium,...
05:25 PM, Apr 30, 2013
London: Steel giant Tata Steel has reportedly warned the British government that it plans to shut down two research and development facilities in the country and shift them overseas including to India, resulting in 300-400 job cuts in the UK. In a move that will be seen as a major blow to Britain's already struggling industrial base, the company plans to close its technology centres on Teesside, in the north-east...
12:36 PM, Apr 29, 2013
Rome: Italian centre-left politician Enrico Letta named a coalition government on Saturday, making one of Silvio Berlusconi's closest allies deputy prime minister and ending two months of damaging political stalemate. Letta has said his priorities would be the economy, unemployment and restoring faith in Italy's discredited political institutions as well as trying to turn Europe away from austerity to focus more on growth and investment. An inconclusive general election in...
06:35 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Patna: The European Union On Tuesday praised the rapid development spree in Bihar within a short period of time. EU envoy Joao Cravinho met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his residence and attributed the turnaround to "dynamic leadership" of the Chief Minister. The EU envoy was accompanied by First Counsellor and head of its political affairs Anne Marchal. During the meeting, the EU representatives discussed about new initiatives taken by...
12:15 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Berlin: India on Wednesday sought a strong political thrust from Germany, a key member of the 27-nation European Union bloc, for inking of the long pending Free Trade Agreement with the grouping. This was conveyed by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid during his comprehensive talks with German counterpart Guido Westerwelle, during which various bilateral, regional and international issues including EU-India FTA, Iran's contentious nuclear programme, and North Korea were discussed....
09:00 AM, Apr 11, 2013
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron delivered an emotional tribute to Margaret Thatcher in parliament on Wednesday, but political opponents boycotted the debate on her legacy, underlining how divisive a figure she remains even in death. MPs were recalled from their holidays for the first time for the death of a public figure since Queen Elizabeth's mother died in 2002, reflecting the "Iron Lady's" place in history. Thatcher, who died...
04:47 AM, Apr 11, 2013
New Delhi: Prime minister Manmohan Singh has left for Berlin on Wednesday to participate in the second round of inter-governmental consultations with Germany. The two countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations and will address possible areas of cooperation. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and other important officials are going to be a part of the delegation on the bilateral visit. Dr Singh will arrive in Berlin on the...
09:05 AM, Apr 10, 2013
European regulators moved a step closer to penalising Google for the way it handles user data after the search engine refused to change its privacy policy. ...
10:06 AM, Apr 03, 2013
Major depositors in Cyprus's biggest bank will lose around 60 per cent of savings over 100,000 euros, its central bank confirmed on Saturday, sharpening the terms of a bailout that has shaken European banks but saved the island from bankruptcy. ...
04:08 AM, Mar 31, 2013
The governing body reminded referees that they had been authorisied 4 years ago to stop matches in case of racism incidents. ...
05:54 PM, Mar 28, 2013
Cabrera-Bello leads a host of top European names hoping to qualify for the first major of the year at the US Masters. ...
11:10 PM, Mar 27, 2013
Pakistan has been categorised among the "high priorities" for Britain's overseas counter-terrorism work as many Britons continue to travel to that country to join al-Qaeda and receive training, the government said on Tuesday. ...
07:58 PM, Mar 26, 2013
Cyprus's bid to avert financial collapse will go down to the wire after the island said it would hold a crucial sitting of parliament only after finance ministers of the 17-nation euro zone meet on Sunday. Cyprus faces a Monday deadline to clinch a 10 billion euro bailout from the European Union or the European Central Bank sauys it will cut off emergency funding to the country's stricken banks, spelling...
06:50 AM, Mar 24, 2013
Cyprus is expected to make a dramatic U-turn on Saturday to avert the imminent threat of financial meltdown, having signalled it is willing to tax big savers in its stricken banks to clinch a bailout from the European Union. The island's partners in the 17-nation euro zone scheduled a meeting for Sunday in Brussels, in a strong sign they believe a solution is near. ...
06:40 AM, Mar 23, 2013
The European Commission on Friday expressed relief over the end of a diplomatic stand-off between India and Italy over marines issue. The commission took note of the decision of the Italian authorities to send back to India the two marines, Massimilian Latorre and Salvatore Girone, but "we have no details of the arrangement", a spokesman said. ...
01:04 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Cyprus considered nationalising pension funds and ordered banks to stay shut till next week to avert financial chaos after it rejected the terms of a European Union bailout and turned to Russia for aid. ...
07:40 AM, Mar 21, 2013
