Govt green incentives give auto sales boost

Government incentives in Italy and France to buy greener cars propelled sales of Fiat and Renault in the final month of 2007, just enough for the Western European auto market to record its highest level in six years.

JPMorgan says Q4 earnings declined

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the third-biggest US bank, said profit fell 34 percent, more than analysts estimated, after $1.3 billion of writedowns for subprime-mortgage investments.

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Northern Rock's 'challenge' is repaying loan

Northern Rock Plc's "principal challenge" is to find a way to repay at least 25 billion pounds owed to the Bank of England, Chairman Bryan Sanderson said yesterday.

Ackermann: More writedowns likely

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann warned that the pain may not be over for the global banking sector, with more writedowns possible if the liquidity and credit crisis continues to hit valuations.

Troubled Citigroup posts worst loss in 196 years

Citigroup Inc posted the biggest loss in the US bank's 196-year history as surging defaults on home loans forced it to write down the value of subprime mortgage investments by $18 billion.

EMI plans jobs axe to revive profits

EMI Group Plc, the music company bought last year by private-equity financier Guy Hands, will cut as many as 2,000 jobs after a slump in music sales led to a record loss.

Toshiba price cut ups stakes in Blu-ray battle

Consumer electronics maker Toshiba Corp said it is slashing prices of its HD DVD format players by between 40 to 50 percent as major Hollywood studios move to embrace Sony Corp's Blu-ray format high definition DVDs.

Burberry stock suffers huge loss

Burberry Group Plc, the maker of $3,100 metal-studded Knight handbags, fell 12 percent in London trading, the most ever, after the company said it may miss profit estimates.

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