Foreign Exchange News

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Avon Products Inc. on Friday said its profit plunged 67% in the first quarter as the beauty-products giant struggled to turn around its business and put the brakes on sinking sales in Asia. Avon (AVP) , the world's largest direct seller of skincare, cosmetics and accessories, said this "transition year" was moving faster than expected and that it would step up advertisin ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Avon Products Inc. on Friday reported a 67% drop in first-quarter profit, pinched by restructuring costs and weakness in Asia. The world's largest direct seller of beauty products (AVP) , which is in the midst of a turnaround plan, said it considers 2006 a "transition year" and set an aggressive plan for advertising spending. Shares of Avon were up 1.8% at $31.82 in e ...

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- German automaker Volkswagen AG reported a more than quadrupling of its first-quarter profit on Friday, but shares came under pressure after the results didn't come close to meeting analyst forecasts. Volkswagensaid first-quarter profit rose to 327 million euros ($411 million) from 70 million euros, with sales up 21.4% to 25.34 billion euros. Its operating profit before  ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Consumer confidence improved more than expected in April, as people were more upbeat about their personal finances, a survey showed on Friday. GfK NOP's monthly consumer confidence barometer rose to -4 this month from -7 in March, much better than analysts' forecasts for a modest improvement to -6, but down from a year ago, when there was a reading of 0. The pound rallied after the data to hit a seven-month high against the dollar as currency dealers saw diminishing prospect ...

Asian markets were mixed to lower Friday morning, with Tokyo and Seoul swamped by a cascade of selling as investors fretted over the implications of Beijing's first interest rate increase since October 2004. On Thursday, the People's Bank of China's boosted its key one-year bank lending rate by 27 basis points to 5.58%. The rate hikes come as China is struggling to maintain control over surging ...

U.S. stocks ended higher Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke lifted investors' spirits by hinting at a pause in the central bank's rate-increase cycle. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed off its highs of the day but gained 28.02 points at 11,382.51. Of the 30 component stocks of the Dow, 20 were higher.. The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) climbed 11.32 points to 2 ...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- The U.S. Treasury on Thursday called China's move to raise interest rates a positive step, but again urged Beijing to allow more flexibility in the value of its currency, the yuan. This is "another example of the Chinese trying to use market instruments to deal with monetary conditions in their economy," said Treasury spokesman Tony Fratto. "It is intended to try to ...

HONG KONG (Dow Jones) - The Chinese central bank said Thursday it was raising its key interest rates in an effort to slow explosive loan growth and cool investment in the world's most populous country. It was the People's Bank of China's first rate hike since October 2004 and comes against a background of a rapidly expanding economy which has been fueled by low interest rates and easy investmen ...

HONG KONG (Dow Jones) -- The People's Bank of China announced Thursday it was raising interest rates across the board, from the benchmark one-year rate all the way through to the long term 5-year-and-up rate, in its first hike since October 2004. The 1-year benchmark rate, which applies to nearly half of all loans in China, will increase to 5.85%. The 1-3 year rate will become 6.03%, the 3-5 ye ...

Sean Poulter, Daily Mail27 April 2006 PARENTS face paying up to 71% more for a family holiday during the summer school break. WANT TO KNOW MORE? DEAL FINDER: Travel insurance TIPS: 50 ways to save on your holidays OTHER STORIES Doorstep lenders slammed Heat goes out of house price growth Market report: Thursday preview First-time buyers relying on parents BA pensions row sparks s ...