Pfizer, the No. 1 drugmaker, said on Monday that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for about $68 billion (49.6 billion pounds) in a move to diversify its revenue base. The world’s largest drugmaker, which raised $22.5 billion in debt from a consortium of banks to finance the deal,...

Struggling German chipmaker Qimonda has filed for insolvency at a court in Munich, a court spokeswoman said Friday. The Infineon subsidiary had received a 325-million-euro ($422-million) cash injection from the German state of Saxony, the federal government and a Portuguese development bank in December in a bid to keep...

EU finance ministers vowed to lower their growing national deficits after recession-hit economies improve, but the politicians did not call for implementing binding deadlines to fight the debts. “A crisis that arose out of (too much) debt cannot be fought by creating more debt over the long term,” Austrian...

Barack Obama has taken the oath of office and been sworn in as America’s 44th president – and the country’s first African-American leader. More than one million people gathered in the National Mall in a wintry Washington DC, to see Mr Obama take the oath shortly after 1200 (1700...

Analysts were unprepared for a higher-than-predicted leap in German investor optimism in January, despite continued signs of downsizing in German industry. German investor confidence jumped unexpectedly in January, a key indicator released on Tuesday showed. It signals hope that signs of an economic recovery could emerge as the year...

The government has announced a second package of measures to encourage banks to lend to individuals and businesses. The long list of policies includes a scheme to offer insurance against banks losing more money from the bad debts that started the credit crunch. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the...

The EU is facing a “deep and protracted” recession, according to forecasts made in Brussels and released on Monday, Jan. 19. More economic contraction and rising unemployment are on the horizon, Brussels said. The 16 nations which use the euro will see their economies shrink by 1.9 percent, while...

The worldwide economic crisis has significantly shaken Europe’s economies. No country can sit back and wait it out. With a series of economic stimulus packages, nations hope they can weather the storm. At their summit in December, the EU countries’ heads of state agreed to launch economic stimulus packages...

The three parties of Germany’s grand coalition have agreed on a fresh round of stimulus measures worth billions to protect the weakening economy. But some already worry the package will not offer the help that’s needed. In talks held late into the night on Monday, Jan. 12, the governing...

The company demonstrated the technologies, along with another one designed to block malware from getting into corporate networks, to reporters and briefed them on its research and development strategy at an event it dubbed ‘Innovation Showcase’ in California on Wednesday. Virtualisation technology that essentially creates different machines on the...

Under normal circumstances, the election of Barack Obama would have meant a lot for your wallet. As a candidate, Obama promised to shift the burden of taxes toward the affluent, get health coverage to the uninsured and slap tougher regulations on financial products. But these aren’t normal circumstances. Major...

For the British, skiing in the Alps has suddenly become unaffordable and those summer vacations on the Costa Brava are under grave threat. The pound, formerly one of the world’s most expensive currencies, is only worth a bit more than the euro. Brits, however, are still insistent in their...

Euro zone economic sentiment hit an all-time low in December and German exports posted a record drop, pointing to a fast-deepening recession and piling pressure on the European Central Bank to keep cutting interest rates. The European Commission said economic sentiment in the 15 countries using the euro fell...

First Merkel said Germany didn’t need a new economic stimulus package. Then she said there would be no tax cuts. But on Friday, her party presented its proposal for a 50 billion euro plan, complete with lower taxes. And it comes not a moment too soon. Germany’s first economic...

Bleak economic data in Europe and disappointing December retail sales figures in the United States unsettled financial markets on Thursday, strengthening the case for more government stimulus and encouraging rate cuts. The Bank of England, which cut its key interest rate to an historic low of 1.5 percent from...