International

Tuesday, February 13th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Shipowners order US$105.5B of new vessels in 2006

According to London-based Clarkson, the world's biggest shipbroker, shipowners ordered new vessels worth a record US$105.5 billion in 2006. The trend has been spurred by tanker owners keen to upgrade their fleets ahead of IMO single-hull tanker deadlines that kick in at the end of the decade, according to an article published by Gulf News.
Tuesday, February 13th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Eurozone growth surprises all 2006 forecasts: 2.7%

Eurozone growth ended 2006 strongly, thanks to better-than-expected growth in Germany and recovery in Italy. Gross domestic product across the 13 countries that use the euro grew 0.9% between October and December, compared with the previous three months.
Tuesday, February 13th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Deep sea giant squid flash blinding light to attack prey

Enormous deep-sea squid emit blinding flashes of light as they attack their prey, research shows. Taningia danae's spectacular light show was revealed in video footage taken in deep waters off Chichijima Island in the North Pacific and reported by BBC.
Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Spain accepts Gibraltar phone code and travel documents

Telephone calls between Spain and Gibraltar have gone international, following the acceptance by Spain from this weekend of Gibraltar's international dialling code, reported the local press.
Sunday, February 11th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
G 7 demand more exchange rate flexibility for China's Yuan

Finance ministers and bankers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries, G7, renewed pressure on China to relax controls over its currency. China promised more flexibility but gave no indication of time or percentages.
Sunday, February 11th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
British tycoon offers price $ 25 million to clean up atmosphere

As if offering flights to space and recently hosting his own reality show were not enough to get British billionaire Sir Richard Branson the publicity he so richly affords, this week he has gone over the heads of environmental leaders everywhere to offer a US$ 25 million prize for the first scientist who can invent an economically viable way to clean carbon from Earth's atmosphere.
Saturday, February 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Emerging markets diversity outpaces JP Morgan

JP Morgan's family of EMBI (Emerging Markets Bond Index) indexes, once seen as the most important measure of aversion to developing countries' risk, no longer expresses the diversity of fast-growing emerging markets, the bank admitted in a report
Saturday, February 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
UK Farmers urge ban on poultry imports

Farmers are calling for a ban on raw imported poultry meat from countries infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus until the cause of the UK outbreak has been established.
Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
G 7 Ministers address world financial markets' stability

Europe's concern with the stability of world financial markets is one of the main issues to be addressed by the seven most industrialized countries Finance ministers meeting, G-7, which is meeting in Germany and will see China participate for the first time in the main debates.
Thursday, February 8th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
ECB warns about medium term risks to price stability

The European Central Bank, ECB, decided Thursday to keep its key interest rate on hold at 3.5%, but pointed out that “strong vigilance” remains essential to ensure that “risks to price stability over the medium term do not materialize”.