06 May 2005 10:50 AM

Britain has about the lowest state pension level among developed nations, reveal the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development numbers. The nation ranks 26th on a list comprising 30 by the proportion of average post-tax salary that comprises the state pension.

06 May 2005 10:28 AM

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he would spur the economic growth of the country ahead of the 2006 general election.

06 May 2005 10:21 AM

The UK elections showed that the voters are more conscious about the Labour Party with the Labours getting a slight majority in the House of Commons this time.

06 May 2005 10:17 AM

The number of personal bankruptcies is on the rise in England and Wales in the first quarter, hitting 10,091, according to the Department of Trade and Industry numbers. This represents a 27.9% increase from a year ago, and a 1.6% hike from the previous quarter.

06 May 2005 10:15 AM

The Social Security plan should be overhauled as soon as possible, said House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas.

06 May 2005 09:32 AM

OneChicago signalled that the significant volumes of trading in single-stock futures can be attracted by it. OneChicago, launched in 2002 by the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange, said that the trading rose by 81% as compared with the same period of 2004. The

06 May 2005 09:13 AM

Royal Dutch/Shell, Europe’s No.1 energy company, and German chemicals group BASF agreed to sell their Basell plastics joint venture that was founded five years ago.

06 May 2005 09:11 AM

The investment bank Lazard Ltd., led by Bruce Wasserstein, raised its initial public offering to $854.6 million, the move that led to the end of the era of family-controlled bank.

06 May 2005 09:10 AM

The US top carmakers General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler appeared on the top of the list of the companies with exceptional volumes in credit default swaps, or CDS, the Financial Times data shows. The customers of GFI, a large broker and data provider for credit derivatives, indicated that the three carmakers

06 May 2005 09:07 AM

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 274,000, according to the Labor Department. Economists were expecting 170 000. The unemployment rate remained at 5.2%.

06 May 2005 09:05 AM

On Wednesday, the US Treasury announced the possibility to reinstate the 30-year bond. The New York-based Bond Market Association said it would lobby the decision. The Bond Market Association will lobby the reinstating of the 30-year bond, the industry body said. “We felt four years

06 May 2005 07:02 AM

Chinese officials are still dissatisfied with the nation’s economic growth that in their view is still too fast, according to Deputy Finance Minister Li Yong.

06 May 2005 06:59 AM

Malaysia’s pension fund in an attempt to raise returns investing in higher-yielding assets has a plan to put as much as $1.5 billion in overseas stock and bond markets following the liberalisation of foreign exchange regulations. Employees Provident Fund’s Chief Executive Officer Azlan Zainol said the fund is seeking approval from the government for a $1 billion investment in foreign private equity funds and fixed-income securities.

06 May 2005 05:59 AM

MERRILL LYNCH CUT BANK OF NEW YORK TO "NEUTRAL" FROM "BUY"

06 May 2005 05:42 AM

The Nikkei 225 rallied 190.06 points, or 1.73%, to 11,192.17, the highest level since April 15. The TOPIX index rose 1.68% to 1,150.76.