Airbus’s new A350 plane glided smoothly through its maiden flight on Friday, leaving company executives relieved and brimming with confidence for the battle with Boeing that lies ahead.Designed to help the European manufacturer catch up with its American rival in the market for long-haul, fuel-efficient planes, the new Airbus completed a faultless test flight from an airport close to the company’s headquarters in southern France.After just over four hours in the air, the new plane touched down t

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) ― Google is launching Internet-beaming antennas into the stratosphere aboard giant, jellyfish-shaped balloons with the lofty goal of getting the entire planet online. Eighteen months in the works, the top-secret project was announced Saturday in New Zealand, where up to 50 volunteer households are already beginning to receive the Internet briefly on their home computers via translucent helium balloons that sail by on the wind above Earth. While the project is still

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The International Monetary Fund assailed U.S. government spending cuts as “excessively rapid and ill-designed” on Friday as it cut the economy’s growth forecast for 2014.Warning that the country still faces downside risks to its recovery, the IMF cheered the Federal Reserve’s stimulus efforts and urged Congress to help firm up growth by repealing the severe “sequester” budget cuts.In its annual report on the U.S. economy, the IMF said growth would be only 1.9 percent this year

ROME (AFP) ― Italy’s cabinet on Saturday approved emergency measures aimed at boosting growth and relieving pressure on struggling Italians, from reducing bills and red tape to increasing credit for businesses.“There are many measures in the ‘To Do’ law,” said Prime Minister Mario Monti at a press conference, referring to the name given to the new decree which is expected to create 30 thousand new jobs in infrastructure alone.“Many of them give Italians the possibility to carry out operations ne

Investors have begun pulling money out of emerging economies mainly because they think that the U.S. Federal Reserve central bank may be about to wind down its easy-money policy which has supported the economy and pushed funds into the financial system.This prospect has reduced the willingness of fund managers to take risks even though only a few months ago their focus was more on a rapid rise of stock markets and signs that maybe assets prices were overheating.At HSBC Global Asset Management Fr

Global regulators may start overseeing currency rates in a widening response to benchmark-rate setting scandals that began with revelations on the manipulation of Libor, according to two people familiar with the matter.The International Organization of Securities Commissions, a Madrid-based group known as Iosco that harmonizes market rules, may propose final guidelines improving transparency and oversight of benchmarks, including the WM/Reuters rates, as soon as next month, said the people, who

LONDON (AFP) ― Britain’s markets watchdog is holding talks with “relevant parties” over allegations of foreign exchange market manipulation by banks, a spokesman said on Thursday.“The Financial Conduct Authority is aware of these allegations and has been speaking to the relevant parties. However, we can’t comment further at this time,” an FCA spokesman told AFP.The Financial Times, citing sources, said the FCA had requested information from several banks with large London foreign exchange busine

LONDON (AP) ― A key British lawmaker accused search giant Google of dodging its taxes on Thursday, issuing a scathing report that accuses the U.S. Internet company of taking on highly contrived arrangements serving no purpose other than to avoid paying its fair share. The report came after testimony by Google Vice President Matt Brittin, who tried to persuade members of Britain’s parliamentary Public Accounts Committee that his company was transparent and fair. Committee chair Margaret Hodge rej

Company launches first servers outside the U.S. on edge of Arctic Circle in Lulea, Sweden

SoftBank Corp. agreed to raise its offer for Sprint Nextel Corp. by 7.5 percent to $21.6 billion, countering Dish Network Corp.’s unsolicited proposal of $25.5 billion for the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier. SoftBank will pay $16.6 billion to Sprint shareholders and inject $5 billion of new capital into the target company for a 78 percent stake, the Tokyo-based mobile-phone carrier said in a statement Tuesday. That compares with the company’s October offer of $20.1 billion for a 70 percent

Japan’s central bank keeps easing policy steady, upgrades view of domestic economy