MILAN (AP) ― Italian carmaker Fiat reported Tuesday that second-quarter net income plummeted by 92 percent as a slump in European sales offset a profit at its U.S. carmaker Chrysler.Fiat, which is based in the northern city of Turin, posted a profit for the second quarter of 103 million euros ($126.53 million), down from 1.3 billion euros in the same period last year. Without Chrysler, Fiat would have lost 240 million euros, Fiat said.Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne called it a “good qua

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday imposed new economic sanctions on Iran’s oil export sector and on a pair of Chinese and Iraqi banks accused of doing business with Tehran.In a statement released by the White House, Obama said the new measures underlined the United States’ determination to force Tehran “to meet its international obligations” in nuclear negotiations.The sanctions came on the same day as the U.S. State Department branded Iran “an active state sponsor of ter

PARIS (AFP) ― French President Francois Hollande vowed Tuesday to do everything possible to defend and strengthen the eurozone, following talks in Paris with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.“We recalled once again our commitment to do everything so that, first, the decisions taken by the European Council at the end of June are applied, that the eurozone be defended, preserved and consolidated,” Hollande said.He also said the two leaders agreed on the need to work to ensure that “questions ask

Germany’s largest bank to cut jobs as profits hit by Europe’s debt crisisFRANKFURT (AP) ― Deutsche Bank said Tuesday it plans to cut about 1,900 jobs, most of them outside Germany, as Europe’s debt crisis hurt profits at its investment banking business. Germany’s largest bank, which employs nearly 101,000 people, said second quarter earnings slid 46 percent to 661 million euros from 1.233 billion euros in the same three months a year ago. Market turbulence and subdued client activity due to Euro

Apple Inc. is preparing to introduce the next version of the iPhone on Sept. 12 in what will be a design overhaul of its top-selling product, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s plans. The people asked not to be named because an official announcement hasn’t been made. The new iPhone will have a larger screen and thinner body, and is expected to work with faster long-term evolution wireless networks being introduced by carriers such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., according

Geithner, Schaeuble push for more reforms to end euro crisisBERLIN (AP) ― U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his German counterpart stressed the need for coordinated action Monday in the face of the eurozone debt crisis and faltering global growth, but left open what joint steps Europe and the United States would take to shore up the world economy in the coming months.Geithner traveled to the German North Sea island of Sylt for informal talks with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, b

PARIS (AFP) ― Fuelled by surging demand in China, luxury goods makers are bucking the global economic slowdown and reaping huge profits on sales of high-end handbags, expensive jewellery and posh perfumes.Results for the first-half of 2012 released this week showed major brands, including world leaders LVMH, PPR and Luxottica with rising profits driven by growing sales in emerging markets.The results beat analyst expectations and allayed fears that the cooling down of China’s economy would dampe

Japan’s industrial production unexpectedly fell in June, adding to evidence that the world’s third-largest economy is losing steam as global demand weakens. Production fell 0.1 percent in June from May, when it fell 3.4 percent, the Trade Ministry said in Tokyo Monday. The median estimate of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1.5 percent increase. Europe’s debt crisis and the yen’s strength against the dollar and the euro are threatening a recovery that has been supported by gove

Country’s labor costs to equal U.S. within four yearsBEIJING (AFP) ― Rapid wage increases are threatening China’s competitiveness, but improved productivity and other advantages mean it will continue to attract investors, analysts say.Labor costs in China would match those of the United States within four years, catching up with eurozone countries in five years and with Japan in seven, the French bank Natixis forecast in a study last month.China “will soon no longer be a competitive place for pr