Luxury goods buck economic slowdown

Fuelled by surging demand in China, luxury goods makers are bucking the global economic slowdown and reaping huge profits on sales of high-end handbags, expensive jewellery and posh perfumes.

Analysis: Apple sounds warning bell for smartphone industry

(Reuters) - If Apple Inc's weaker-than-expected quarterly result is anything to go by, the global smartphone industry is a lot more vulnerable to economic shocks these days than during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Spanish firms cut prices, halt dividends to face downturn

Telefonica suspends dividend payments, Mango cuts prices and Santander boosts its debt provisions: Spanish companies are stepping up measures against an economic crisis that has no end in sight.

Peugeot to make deeper cuts after 819m euro loss

Struggling French car firm Peugeot has reported a loss of 819m euros (£638m) for the first half of the year and has detailed 1.5bn euros of cost savings.

Rosneft considers buying BP's stake in TNK-BP

Russian state oil company Rosneft has followed Russian consortium AAR saying it is considering buying BP's stake in Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP.

China slowdown to hit German luxury car makers

FRANKFURT: Investors are bracing themselves for what could be the end of the Chinese boom for Europe's luxury car makers as double-digit profit margins are threatened by slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.

McDonald's showing signs of tear from economy

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald's Corp., which has thrived in recent years by emphasizing affordability and rolling out popular new menu items, is starting to show signs of tear from the volatile global economy.

Jobless Spaniards protest as crisis outlook darkens

Thousands of jobless Spaniards marched through Madrid Saturday in the latest angry demonstrations against economic crisis cuts, as fears rose for the country's financial stability.

Nokia losses deepen to 1.4bn euros in last quarter

Nokia made losses of 1.41bn euros (£1.1bn) in the last three months as the mobile phone maker lost more market share to Samsung and Apple.

Libor scandal: Bank of England refused to take responsbility for regulating Libor

The Bank of England has been accused of refusing to lead the reform of the discredited Libor system after failing to act on warnings more than four years ago over interest rates rigging by the banks.

South Korea banks in rate-rigging investigation

A South Korea financial regulator has started an investigation into alleged interest rate rigging by some of the country's banks.

Indian companies invest more overseas in June: RBI

MUMBAI: Led by Piramal Healthcare, foreign investments by Indian companies in June rose by 50.21 per cent from the previous month to $ 3.53 billion despite a slowdown in the global economy.

Sector Snap: Coal companies fall on weak demand

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of coal mining companies tumbled Monday as inventories continued to build with weaker demand in the slowing global economy.

Oil Companies Spring a Leak, Courtesy of Anonymous

Five top multinational oil companies have been targeted by members of Anonymous, who published about 1,000 email addresses for accounts belonging to the firms, as well as hashed and unencrypted passwords.

JPMorgan Chase raises its recent trading loss to $4.4bn

JPMorgan Chase has raised its estimate of the amount it lost in a recent trading error to $4.4bn (£2.8bn).

Peugeot Citroen plans 8,000 job cuts

French carmaker Peugeot Citroen has set out plans to cut 8,000 jobs and close an assembly plant outside Paris as losses mount.

Lloyds could face £1.5bn claim over Libor - analysts

Lloyds Banking Group could have to pay out more than £1bn over claims it was involved in the manipulation of Libor, according to City analysts.Lloyds Banking Group could have to pay out more than £1bn over claims it was involved in the manipulation of Libor, according to City analysts.

European fiscal crisis drags down business travel

NEW YORK: US companies are scaling back their travel plans in response to Europe's financial crisis and uncertainty about the economy at home.

Serious Fraud Office launches Libor investigation

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it has formally launched an investigation into the rigging of inter-bank lending rates.

Yahoo and Facebook settle patent brawl

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Facebook and Yahoo are officially friends again.The two companies said Friday that they have settled the patent lawsuit Yahoo filed against Facebook four months ago, in a "strategic" deal that includes no cash.

Job Growth Remains Tepid

The nation’s employers created almost enough jobs to keep up with population growth in June, but not nearly enough to reduce the backlog of nearly 13 million unemployed workers.

Samsung profits surge 79% boosted by smartphone sales

Samsung Electronics has said that it expects its profits to surge 79% in the second quarter as sales of its smartphones continue to grow.

Barclays credit rating outlook cut by Moody's and S&P

Rating agencies Moody's and Standard and Poor's have lowered their outlook on Barclays from stable to negative amid the bank rate-rigging scandal. Moody's said shareholder and political pressure was creating uncertainty about the bank's future.

India's carmakers including Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors stop production but not launches

MUMBAI: Muted demand courtesy of escalating fuel and finance costs may have left India's carmakers with little choice but to cut production, but when it comes to new launches they aren't quite slamming the brakes.

Bank inquiry launched after Libor rate-rigging scandal

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a full parliamentary inquiry of the banking sector following the Barclays rate-rigging furore.

Chinese miner builds high-altitude experiment in Peru

MOROCOCHA, Peru (Reuters) - High in the Andes mountain range, a Chinese mining company is now in the housing construction and demolition business as it works to relocate a Peruvian town that sits in the way of its $2.2 billion Toromocho copper mine.

Toyota to recall Lexus SUVs to fix floor mat issue

DETROIT: Toyota's problems with runaway acceleration just won't go away.

David Cameron: We must clean up 'shoddy' banks

David Cameron has said that cleaning up Britain’s discredited and “shoddy” banks is a priority for the Government on a par with cutting the country’s debts.