A consortium led by German engineering conglomerate Siemens AG has received a 1.8 billion euro ($2.14 billion) order to build a power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, Siemens said on Wednesday. Siemens' share of

Read More

Turkey's parliament has approved a draft budget for 2006 with no changes to macroeconomic targets agreed with the International Monetary Fund. The assembly, where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a large majority,

Read More

German consumer sentiment is set to brighten in January, reflecting greater willingness to buy and soaring domestic confidence in Europe's biggest economy, the GfK market research group said on Wednesday. Analysts and retail lobbyists also

Read More

The executive board of New York's Transport Workers Union voted to accept a new contract on Tuesday, the union's leader said, after a dispute that brought the city's subways and buses to a standstill last

Read More

Iraq hopes to produce at least 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by the end of 2006 but will need significant foreign investment to reach that target, Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Abdel Amit Allawi

Read More

Americans said goodbye to 2005 on a more cheerful note, with consumer confidence and expectations for next year both picking up in December and holiday sales improving just before Christmas. The late-year rise in consumer

Read More

Taiwan shares fell on Wednesday, dragged down by heavyweight chip maker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) after the company said it was considering delisting from the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The main TAIEX share index finished 0.11

Read More

Malaysian share prices closed 0.12 percent higher in fairly quiet trade on Wednesday as many investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the New Year holiday, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up

Read More

Hong Kong stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday, tracking a softer close in New York on Tuesday amid lower crude oil prices, with buying interest from a firmer Japanese market curbing a larger decline. Hang

Read More

Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.4 percent on Wednesday to end at a new five-year closing high as builders including Kajima Corp and property shares gained after data underscored the economy's strength. A rise in

Read More