Centrica withdraws nuclear plans

4 February 2013 Last updated at 07:23 ETCentrica has withdrawn from the UK’s nuclear re-building programme because of increasing costs and delays.The move further reduces the involvement of UK companies in the massive nuclear project.Centrica, which owns British Gas, had the option of taking a 20% stake in four new reactors in a partnership with EDF, the French state-owned utility.Centrica said “the...

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Ofgem wants ‘rogue’ broker powers

3 February 2013 Last updated at 07:49 ETEnergy regulator Ofgem is urging the government to give it the power to protect firms from what it calls rogue brokers, mis-selling energy deals.Its research found that between 14% and 17% of businesses which had used brokers were not satisfied with them.They were concerned about cold calling, high-pressure sales tactics and unprofessional behaviour from brokers.Citizens...

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Video: Incubator for the Next Generation of Game Design

FacebookLinkedInGoogle PlusEmailPrintPlay Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) — Carol Massar explores the world of video games. She speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg)FacebookLinkedInGoogle PlusEmailPrintBusinessweek.com — Top NewsTitle Post: Video: Incubator for the Next Generation of Game DesignUrl Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/video-incubator-for-the-next-generation-of-game-design/Link...

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Canadian dollar declines ahead of U.S. jobs data

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar weakened on Friday, ahead of a U.S. jobs report which will be closely scrutinized for clues on the economic health of Canada’s main trading partner and for what it means for U.S. monetary policy.The U.S. non-farm payrolls report is expected to show modest growth in January, supporting a view that the U.S. economy continues to recover despite a surprise contraction...

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TSX may open lower on global growth fears

(Reuters) – Canada‘s main stock index looked set to open lower on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve said in its latest statement that economic growth had stalled and as weak German retail sales data hurt investor sentiment.TOP STORIES* The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left in place its monthly $ 85 billion bond-buying stimulus plan, arguing the support was needed to lower unemployment even as it...

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Mortgage approvals pick up again

30 January 2013 Last updated at 06:45 ETThe number of mortgages agreed by lenders for home buyers has risen for the fifth month in a row, figures from the Bank of England show.In December, 55,785 mortgages were approved for home buyers, the most since January 2012 and, before that, the highest since December 2009.The figures suggest that house sales will rise in the coming months.Lenders have attributed...

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Soon You Can Flee Your Underwater Home. But It Will Cost You

For some homeowners, March 1 will be Liberation Day. That’s when Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) will start allowing some homeowners who have been stuck in their homes—unable to move because they owe more than the property is worth—to relinquish the houses and cancel their debt.The new rules (PDF) for deed-in-lieu transactions apply to people who are current or less than 90 days late on their...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Bears hibernate as stocks near record highs

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks have been on a tear in January, moving major indexes within striking distance of all-time highs. The bearish case is a difficult one to make right now.Earnings have exceeded expectations, the housing and labor markets have strengthened, lawmakers in Washington no longer seem to be the roadblock that they were for most of 2012, and money has returned to stock funds again.The...

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World Bank approves $500 million loan for Tunisia

Tunis (Reuters) – The World Bank has approved a $ 500 million loan to Tunisia to support its 2013 budget and help its economy after the first Arab Spring uprising that toppled its former ruler, a minister said on Thursday.Two years after the revolution that ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, increasing numbers of Tunisians are staging street protests to demand jobs and economic development.The...

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Stock futures flat, but techs rally in premarket

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures were flat on Wednesday, with investors reluctant to make big bets following a five-day rally that took major averages to levels not seen since December 2007.Tech shares will be in focus with earnings due from tech heavyweight Apple and following strong results from both IBM and Google, which rallied in premarket trading and continued the string of major companies...

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The Market’s Unrelenting Cheer Makes Some Nervous

The late economist Hyman Minsky posited that a long stretch of calm on Wall Street and in the broader markets sows the seeds of its own demise. His 1960s-era “financial-instability hypothesis” didn’t get much love in the mostly deregulated half-century that followed—until so much financial laxity crashed and burned into 2008 and 2009. (Witness how blind the Federal Reserve was in the run-up...

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Gift cards to be accepted at HMV

21 January 2013 Last updated at 08:03 ETThe administrators of HMV have said that the music and DVD retailer will start accepting gift vouchers in stores from Tuesday.Deloitte had previously said that gift cards could not be redeemed in stores, leading to anger among many customers.Deloitte said it was able to honour the vouchers after assessing HMV’s financial position.Meanwhile restructuring specialist...

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Dotcom starts new file-sharing site

19 January 2013 Last updated at 20:58 ETMegaupload boss Kim Dotcom has set up a new cloud storage and file-sharing site.Mega, a web-based service that lets people upload and store files of any kind, is a sequel to the Megaupload system that was shut down last January.Police raids on the offices and home of Kim Dotcom led to the closure of Megaupload.The Mega site went online at dawn on Sunday, with...

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Caterpillar writes off most of China deal after fraud

(Reuters) – Caterpillar Inc uncovered “deliberate, multi-year, coordinated accounting misconduct” at a subsidiary of a Chinese company it acquired last summer, leading it to write off most of the value of the deal and wiping out more than half its expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012.Shares of Caterpillar fell 1.5 percent in afterhours trading following news of the fraud, which was discovered...

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Oil falls as traders weigh China data, 2013 demand

The price of oil slipped to near $ 95 a barrel Friday but remained near four-month highs after new data showed China‘s economy rebounded in the final quarter of last year, suggesting an increase in energy demand.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for February delivery was down 26 cents to $ 95.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $ 1.25...

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Mauritius expected to welcome 1 million tourists this year

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) – Tourist arrivals in Mauritius are expected to rise to the one million mark this year after numbers barely changed in 2012, largely due to sluggish growth in the island’s key European market, data showed on Thursday.Arrivals are seen increasing by 3.5 percent this year from the 965,441 registered in 2012, when they rose just 0.1 percent, the country’s statistics agency said.Finance...

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Iran president: Sanctions fight requires oil shift

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president says the country must move away from dependence on oil revenue to overcome Western sanctions that have slowed the economy and disrupted foreign trade.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that “structural changes” are needed in Iran’s economy to counter sanctions that have targeted crude oil exports. Iran has long depended on oil revenue for about 80 percent of its foreign...

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Oil slips below $94 on lower growth in Germany

The price of oil slipped below $ 94 a barrel Tuesday due to concerns about weakening economic growth in Germany and expectations of a rise in U.S. crude stockpiles.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was down 31 cents to $ 93.83 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 58 cents to finish at $ 94.15 per barrel in New York...

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City sackings ‘at five-year high’

14 January 2013 Last updated at 07:35 ETDismissals and suspensions in the UK financial services sector hit a five-year high in 2012, according to data from the Financial Services Authority.Some 1,373 workers were sacked for disciplinary reasons, up 76% from 2011.The total number of job losses in the sector – including redundancies, resignations and retirements – was also at a five-year high, of 177,697.The...

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Support for Spain’s leaders drops to a new low: poll

MADRID (Reuters) – Support for Spain‘s political leaders has fallen to a new low, according to a poll published by El Pais on Sunday, in the midst of a deep economic recession and record high unemployment.In a survey by Metroscopia January 9 and 10, only 29.8 percent said they would vote for Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP), the lowest level of support since the November 2011 election when it won...

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