Britain's plans to extricate itself from the collapse of mortgage bank Northern Rock stumbled as it faced the prospect of an auction with only two bidders.
MELBOURNE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open sharply lower on Wednesday after fresh data pointed to a U.S. recession, but resource stocks could find support as investors wait to see whether BHP Billiton BHP.AX launches a
SYDNEY, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Macquarie Group Ltd MQG.AX, Australia's top listed investment bank, named Nicholas Moore as its new chief executive, replacing the outgoing CEO Allan Moss, and forecast a record full-year profit.
BHP Billiton will have to announce today whether it intends to push ahead immediately with one of the world's biggest corporate takeovers, or the mining giant has to leave the deal for six months.
The Federal Opposition says interest rates are more likely to rise again if the Federal Government goes through with plans to change industrial relations laws.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The vast services sector of the US economy contracted in January for the first time in nearly five years, a closely watched private survey showed Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street shares slid at the open Tuesday after a surprisingly weak reading on US service sector activity intensified fears about a recession in the world's biggest economy.
LONDON (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets fell on Tuesday, retracing some of last week's gains after losses overnight on Wall Street and earlier in Asia, dealers said.
BRUSSELS (AFP) - A service sector slump in January plunged business activity in the nations sharing the euro to the lowest level in over three years, a widely watched survey showed Tuesday.
LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices moved lower on Tuesday as supply fears faded over the recent closure of a shipping channel serving a Texas port, analysts said.
