Anheuser-Busch InBev NV has reported a10 percent drop in profit for fourth quarter of 2015. The brewer is suffering from sluggish market in the US. As a result, revenues for fourth quarter fell to $3.23 billion from $3.33 billion.
Other
Israeli investment firms get $665 million in 2016
Israel is witnessing an increasing number of new venture capital (VC) firms coming up. The country registered an inflow of $665 million VC funding during the first two months of the year. Unfazed with the recent market crash, the funds inflows continue for Israel startups.
China's super regulator plan may merge banking, securities & insurance sectors
China is working on a new financial super-regulator mechanism to take care of banking, securities and insurance segments under one umbrella. Recent turmoil in the financial markets are driving the Chinese government to revamp financial monitoring mechanism.
Peru's central bank ups reserve ratio for Sol currency
Central Reserve Bank of Peru is increasing local currency bank reserve requirements (reserve ratio) to support its weakening currency Nuevo Sol. The capital reserve ratio will be one percent from March 206 onwards from existing 0.75 percent.
SpaceX Aborted Its Third Attempt to Launch Falcon 9 Rocket Due to Technical Difficulties After a Delay
SpaceX aborts its third attempt to launch its Falcon 9 rocket, which is designed to land its booster on a platform, making spaceflight more affordable. The abrupt scrub, just seconds before the liftoff, was due to an unexpected delay that caused the fuel to fail.
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The King of Good Times, or Vijay Mallya, reached an agreement with spirits giant Diageo to leave the booze business. He is resigning his position as United Spirits Ltd chairman while Diageo takes full management ownership of the company.
UK's Finance Minister George Osborne may take leverage of Group of 20 to support Britain to stay with the European Union (EU). G20 meeting is being held on 26-27 February in Shanghai. Brexit may be a major outcome at the G20 finance ministers meeting.
UK's GDP growth rate was remained unchanged at 0.5 percent for the fourth quarter of 2015. Services sector contributed the most to the GDP growth. Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned about weakening global growth.
South Africa's unemployment rate drops to 24.5% in the fourth quarter due to increased employment in the finance industry which offsets job losses in agriculture and construction sector. But with the major sectors laying off jobs, and the cost cutting of the government will sure make the unemployment rate will rise again.
US dollar against Yen is rising as renewed buying support is propelling Japan's Nikkei index upwards. The priority shift among some investors from traditional safety net of Japanese currency to equities was the major reason on Nikkei's rise. The market players are eagerly waiting for the outcome of G-20 meeting this weekend in Shanghai.
President Jacob Zuma is at the center of criticism over lack of infrastructure facilities to attract foreign capital and global companies. All quarters of the society are calling for government's commitment to restore business confidence on South Africa.
Africa's largest trading block is attracting attention of global investors and businessmen. The recent 'Africa 2016' investment forum held in Egypt had participation of over 1,500 businessmen and government representatives. Foreign investors have called for more reforms and policy changes among African nations.
The new budget for South Africa may witness a major focus on government spending, sluggish global economy and inflation. The debt component is also increasing to about 50 percent of GDP. Global rating agencies have downgraded South Africa's sovereign credit rating.
China has unveiled a series of new initiatives to push its economy growth rate. The government is keen on meeting the increasing demand in small and medium-sized homes. Another set of new rules for accelerating reforms at state-owned enterprises will be announced soon.
