Business and Finance news

Troubled Chinese timberland company Sino-Forest Corp. is filing for bankruptcy protection and putting itself up for sale.
Sino Forest says if it doesn

MELBOURNE

Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy may be enjoying the European Central Bank

Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament has overwhelmingly voted in favor of ensuring that its own lawmakers will comprise the bulk of a panel that will write the country’s constitution.
Lawmakers Saturday voted on the criteria for the makeup of a 100-member panel drafting the document. The Islamists, who dominate the parliament, want a formidable presence on the panel […]

Claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to match a four-year low, and U.S. consumer confidence rose to the highest since 2008, signaling an improving labor market may boost household spending.
Applications for unemployment insurance payments fell by 14,000 to 351,000 in the period ended March 10, Labor Department figures showed today. The Bloomberg Consumer […]

German factory orders unexpectedly declined in January as foreign demand for investment goods such as machinery slumped.
Orders (GRIORTMM), adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, fell 2.7 percent from December, when they gained 1.6 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Economists forecast a 0.6 percent increase, according to the median of 37 estimates […]

U.S. corporations pay one of the highest tax rates in the world. There’s little debate about that.
Still, some argue the difference in the overall tax burden for U.S. companies isn’t nearly as great it appears.

In fact, the United States collects less corporate tax relative to the overall economy than almost any other country in […]

German business confidence rose more than economists forecast to a seven-month high in February as Europe

ATHENS, GREECE