Moody’s downgraded 16 Spanish banks, with three-notch cuts for the “Big Three” lenders – Santander, BBVA and La Caixa – and three small institutions left in “junk” territory, though the agency made no mention of Bankia. (Financial Times 18/05/12)

$1 billion club gets crowded. At least 20 closely held U.S. start-ups backed by venture capital are now valued at $1 billion or more, Pinterest and Evernote among them. During the frothy days of the 1990s dot-com bubble, there were just 18 such start-ups valued at $1 billion or more. (The Wall Street Journal 18/05/12)

Hewlett-Packard plans to cut its workforce by 25,000 to 30,000 employees, a record number for the venerable tech giant as it grapples with declining revenue and profits.(The Wall Street Journal 18/05/12)

EU to push for binding investor pay votes. Shareholders in Europe’s listed companies will be given a binding vote on pay while those who invest in banks will gain powers to set a cap on bonus levels, under plans being drawn up by senior EU officials. (Financial Times 16/05/12)
 
In U.K., pay spats excalate. A shareholder rebellion over executive pay rippling through the U.K. is exposing fissures inside some of the nation’s biggest companies. (The Wall Street Journal 16/05/12)
 
European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co took a €158 million charge in the first quarter to provide a permanent fix to wing cracks in its iconic A380 superjumbo, but the aerospace giant raised its projection for earnings for the full year on increased commercial jet production. (The Wall Street Journal 16/05/12)

General Motor’s plan to return its long-troubled European unit to profitability is taking shape as the company heads into its first major showdown with the region’s powerful labor unions amid the latest restructuring. (The Wall Street Journal 14/05/12)

J.P. Morgan’s efforts to shield itself from European market fallout prompted disastrous bets. Regulators in the U.S. and U.K. are examining what went wrong. (The Wall Street Journal 14/05/12)

U.S. wholesale prices declined for the first time this year, suggesting a drop in energy costs is helping to keep inflation under control. (The Wall Street Journal 14/05/12)

Bundesbanksignals softening on inflation. New-found flexibility in German thinking. (Financial Times 10/05/12)

In a move aimed at arresting the rupee’s recent plunge against the dollar, India’s central bank Thursday said that all foreign-exchange earners must convert 50% of their earnings kept in banks into rupees. (The Wall Street Journal 10/05/12)

Banking giant HSBC Holdings said it is in talks on a possible sale of its operations in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay.(The Wall Street Journal 10/05/12)

Financial markets’ relatively calm reaction to the Greek turmoil masked rising risks Greece is on a road that leads to its exit from the euro zone, with hard-to-predict consequences.(The Wall Street Journal 09/05/12)

MasterCard unveils “digital wallet” network. PayPass to ease way for retailers in smartphone payments. (Financial Times 09/05/12)

Morgan Stanley, where money and tech meet. The company, led by its technology investment banking chief has shepherded 28 technology initial public offerings in the past year. Facebook is next. (The New York Times 09/05/12)

CIC fund to help China invest in Europe. Chinese groups urged to expand internationally. (Financial Times 03/05/12)

Standard & Poor’s raised Greece’s credit rating to CCC from SD (selective default) after the country completed its distressed debt exchange. (The Wall Street Journal 03/05/12)

European auto makers have begun lobbying to revise a trade agreement that has led to a substantial increase in imports of Korean-made vehicles. (The Wall Street Journal 03/05/12)

The U.K. slid back into recession in the first quarter of 2012, dealing a fresh blow to Prime Minister David Cameron’s governing coalition and complicating its efforts to fix the nation’s public finances. (The Wall Street Journal 27/04/12)

Standard & Poor’s said Thursday it downgraded Spain’s sovereign credit rating by two notches, citing “a challenging fiscal outlook” amid worries on the ability of the country’s regions to curb spending. (Financial Times 27/04/12)

The Bank of Japan stepped up its fight to curb deflation and weaken the strong yen, announcing plans to boost its purchases of Japanese government bonds. (The Wall Street Journal 27/04/12)

A chorus of European leaders called for strategies to bolster the region’s faltering growth, reflecting growing unease about the austerity medicine being applied to heal the region’s economic woes. (The Wall Street Journal 26/04/12)

India’s image as a surging economic force was challenged after S&P cut its outlook on the nation’s long-term debt. (The Wall Street Journal 26/04/12)
 
Google could join with auto makers to bring its self-driving car technology to market, offer it as an after-market product or even give away the technology, a manager at the Internet company said. (The Wall Street Journal 26/04/12)

Banks are on a erozone knife-edge. The immediate priority is to give the countries in difficulty the time to achieve stability.(Financial Times 25/04/12)

RBS to boost shares with reverse stock split. One for 10 swap could lift price to above £2. (Financial Times 25/04/12)

Greek economy to shrink 5%. Central bank expects even deeper recession. (Financial Times

Vodafone has no cause of action yet to serve a formal notice on the Indian government for a proposal that seeks to retroactively tax international transactions for the transfer of local assets, Revenue Secretary R.S. Gujral said. (The Wall Street Journal 24/04/2012)

Facebook’s growth slows as IPO nears. In what is likely to be the last snapshot of its financial condition before an expected May IPO, Facebook disclosed Monday that its first-quarter profit and revenue declined from the final quarter of 2011. (The Wall Street Journal 24/04/2012)

Microsoft loses round in Xbox patent fight. Judge sides with Motorola Mobility on infrigement claims. (Financial Times 24/04/2012)