Both sides of the Atlantic may soon face a perfect storm that could push value of the euro to the lowest level in 15 years. By the next autumn, four largest member states of the Eurozone will determine whether wave of populists and anti-globalists will wash away foundations of centrist government. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has tied his political fate to the constitutional reform...

Global smartphone shipments in 2016 are likely to rise by 0.6% after 10.4% - jump in 2015. Only a few years ago, in 2012, the growth rate was 47%, says new report of research firm International Data Corp. (IDC). At that, sales are expected to set a new record of around 1.45 billion units. Growth will persist in some regions of China, India, Indonesia and other developing countries, as new users...

According to preliminary data of the US National Retail Federation (NRF), this year’s sales started with a larger number of active consumers. However, aggressive discounts and revitalization of online shopping have already resulted in a smaller purchase size. According to the NRF, number of Americans who came to offline regular stores during "Black Friday 2016" was 99 million people, compared to...

Chinese travel company Ctrip.com International announced $ 1.74 billion-worth purchase of Skyscanner Holdings Limited, which owns Scottish online tickets service. The transaction is expected to be closed in late 2016. According to Ctrip.com International, the company signed an agreement with main part of Skyscanner Holdings Limited’s shareholders. The deal’s terms imply that the Chinese company...

International rating agency Moody's rated the Greek banking system as "stable". The outlook was adjusted due to expectations of improvements in performance and funding of the country's financial organization, in spite of bad loans and limited opportunities for lending.  "We expect that Greek banks will return to small profit in 2016-17 years thanks to substantially lower deductions for...

Rail transportation is commonly accepted as greener than travel by road; trains and tramways could be considered as the first means of sustainable mobility. For a century, a lot of progress has been made, but there is still room for further progress and improvement.

The US Geological Survey discovered of a huge gas field in Texas, which could become the largest in the country. Oil reserves there could reach 20 billion barrels, gas - 453 billion cubic meters, gas condensate - 1.6 billion cubic meters. According to the US Geological Service (USGS)’s estimates, Wolfcamp could become the largest oil and gas field operating in the US. "We were able to make...

US branch of BNP Paribas SA bank became the most profitable among the European investment banks during the first nine months of this year, according to the company's statement to the US regulators, says Bloomberg. American branch of BNP Paribas - France's largest bank - reported profit before tax of $ 958 million on revenue of $ 3.87 billion, the bank’s reporting show. Previously, the Fed has...

Swiss bank PostFinance will charge retail customers a premium for deposits larger than 1 million francs (a little more than $ 1 million). This is stated in a message on the credit institution’s website. "I understand that this measure is not going to be very popular among our customers. No one likes to pay a commission," says General Director of PostFinance. It is expected that the bank will...