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A proposed merger between EADS and BAE systems has hit a stumbling block as Lagardere a major shareholder in the European giant has expressed reservations regarding the deal. As it stands, a decision about the tie-up needs to be made by 10 October because of a deadline set by the UK’s Takeover Panel. However, a request for an extension from...

Spain’s ailing economy has caused stock markets across Europe to fall. A general strike and fears that Greece is on the verge of exiting the single currency has also helped stocks to drop. A report from the Bank of Spain confirms that the country’s economy continued to shrink during the third quarter. Spain’s deepening recession and...

An announcement last week that the US Federal Reserve will be introducing measures to help boost the economy has helped to push the world’s stock markets to multi-month highs. The new securities buying programme has resulted in investors putting money into riskier stocks and assets. The markets are also being supported by expectations...

An announcement by the European Central Bank that it intends to buy bonds in an attempt to ease the debt crisis gripping the eurozone has met with positive reactions from markets around the globe. The ECB hopes that bond buying will drive down the cost of borrowing for a number of the block’s struggling economies. Earlier in 2012, the...

Credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned that the European Union faces being downgraded from its AAA status if the region’s top four economies have their creditworthiness damaged by exposure to the current debt crisis. The Netherlands, the UK, France and Germany between them currently contribute around 45 per cent of the zone’s budget...

A slowdown in domestic and international demand for goods is being cited as one of the reasons why China’s economy is continuing to contract after several years of rapid growth. The latest figures show that activity in the manufacturing sector dropped in August to the lowest it has been in nine months. IHS Global Insight analyst,...

Vivendi, the French telecoms and media company, has reported a second quarter drop in net profits. The firm has blamed a 46 per cent fall in profits to €619 million on its struggling telecoms division. Revenues are down by 1.5 per cent to €6.96 billion. Because of the trouble it is currently having with its SFR phone unit, the firm said...

Qantas has posted its first ever full-year loss as it struggles to compete with increased competition and the high cost of aviation fuel. The Australian flag-carrier has also confirmed a cancellation with American manufacturer Boeing for 35 of its new Dreamliner aircraft. For the year ending in June the airline said it made a A$244 million...

Apple, the computer and gadget designer and manufacturer, has just beaten Microsoft to the crown of most valuable firm of all time. Apple is already the most valuable company on the planet, but with a market value of an estimated $623 billion it has just beaten the previous record set in 1999 by Microsoft of $620.58 billion. The price of...

When shares in Manchester United go on sale today on the New York Stock exchange they will be priced at $14 each. When the football club first announced the stock sale it had hoped to be able to attract between $16 and $20 per share. The lowering of the price suggests that the club was unable to find any buyers and the lowering of the...