US feels pinch from high petrol prices. Rise of petrol prices threatens to stall nascent economic recovery. (Financial Times 22/02/12)

China cuts banks’ reserve ratios. Move expected to free up about $64bn for new lending. (Financial Times 22/02/12)

The Obama administration will propose lowering the top income-tax rate for corporations to 28% from 35% but would raise overall tax revenue by eliminating dozens of deductions in an effort to restructure corporate taxes. (The Wall Street Journal 22/02/12)

Citigroup is facing a multibillion-dollar write-down as it begins unwinding its minority investment in the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney brokerage. (The Wall Street Journal 22/02/12)

Eurozone agrees second Greek bail-out. Bondholders forced to take deeper losses in €130bn rescue. (Financial Times 21/02/12)

Top European banks, responding to new regulations and wary of lending, are stashing increasingly large sums of money at central banks around the world in a collective flight to safety. (The Wall Street Journal 21/02/12)

The Federal Reserve has operated almost entirely behind closed doors as it rewrites the rule book governing the U.S. financial system, a stark contrast with its push for transparency in its interest-rate policies and emergency-lending programs.(The Wall Street Journal 21/02/12)

TNT Express’s shares jumped beyond the value of UPS’s $6.44 billion offer on speculation that any eventual deal for the Dutch package-shipping company would be completed at a higher price.(The Wall Street Journal 21/02/12)

The number of workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly four years, as a series of reports offered mostly positive signs about the U.S. economy. (The Wall Street Journal 17/02/12)

A debt restructuring and second bailout for Greece appeared likely to go ahead, as German officials scrapped an idea to pressure Greece by withholding part of the bailout and the ECB developed a plan to protect its holdings of Greek bonds from the restructuring. (The Wall Street Journal 17/02/12)

European banks cling to U.S. operations. Despite deep financial problems that are forcing them to unload assets around the world, most big European banks consider their U.S. retail divisions to be among their most stable operations. (The Wall Street Journal 17/02/12)

Anglo American reported a 6% drop in full-year net profit, partly due to exceptional charges, but underlying earnings were up 23% due to positive contributions from its iron ore, coal and diamond businesses. (The Wall Street Journal 17/02/12)

Moody’s threatens to downgrade UK. Moody’s downgraded six European nations and put France and Austria on negative watch. (Financial Times 14/02/12)

Obama called for new taxes on the wealthy and short-term spending measures in his $3.8 trillion budget. Republicans quickly dismissed the plan as a political document. (The Wall Street Journal 14/02/12)

Irish IOU deal just “weeks” away. A deal to lessen the burden Ireland must pay down in IOU promissory notes will be struck “in the next few weeks”, a senior Irish government minister said. (The Wall Street Journal 14/02/12)

Bank of Japan eases credit policy. In a move that surprised analysts, Japan’s central bank said it will expand its asset-purchase program—the main tool for credit easing amid near zero interest rates. (The Wall Street Journal 14/02/12)

Eurozone dismisses Greek budget deal. Bail-out hopes dashed as finance ministers find €325m hole in package. (Financial Times 10/02/12)

Draghi encouraged European banks to take advantage of the ECB’s next offer of cheap three-year loans, saying use of the facility shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign of weakness. (Wall Street Journal 10/02/12)

Barclays has capped the cash component of bonuses at about £65,000, as the bank announced an 8% drop in net profit.
(Wall Street Journal 10/02/12)

French oil giant Total said that 2012 started favorably and reiterated its output guidance, reporting a 12.8% increase in net income in the fourth quarter on the strength of oil prices. (Wall Street Journal 10/02/12)

Foreign Deal on Tax Dodging. The Treasury Department and the governments of five European nations reached broad agreement Wednesday on a proposal to prevent U.S. taxpayers from dodging taxes through foreign accounts. (The Wall Street Journal 9/2/2012)

Officials on Wednesday assembled the pieces of a complex debt and bailout deal for Greece, but broad Greek political support for the accord, a key piece of the puzzle sought by the government’s international creditors, remained elusive after hours of talks among the main political parties. (The Wall Street Journal 9/2/2012)

Groupon Inc. went public on the promise of fast growth and future profits. But on Wednesday, some of those promises remained elusive.In its first major test since an initial public offering in November, the Chicago-based daily deals site reported revenue more than doubled to $506.5 million in the fourth quarter, strengthened by new products, holiday sales and a rise in the rate it takes from merchants. (The Wall Street Journal 9/2/2012)

Ireland offers tax relief in quest for skills. Dublin introducing 30% relief on salaries above €75.000. (Financial

The ECB has made key concessions over its holdings of Greek government bonds, which will contribute to a reduction of the country’s debt burden and smooth the path toward a new bailout deal. (The Wall Street Journal 8/2/2012)

UBS said it will slash its investment-bank bonuses for 2011 by 60%, while the head of the unit will forgo any bonus following a trading scandal in September that cost the bank $2.3 billion. (The Wall Street Journal 8/2/2012)

Kazakhstan believes the international community’s first nuclear fuel bank can be up and running on Kazakh soil by late next year, potentially supporting the U.S.’s broader efforts to combat the spread of nuclear weapons. (The Wall Street Journal 8/2/2012)

Peer-to-peer lending takes root in China. Microcredit websites are helping businesses long neglected by banks. (Financial Times 8/2/2012)

Xstrata and Glencore agree to merger terms. Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata formally announced plans to merge with Glencore to create a $90 billion commodities giant. (The Wall Street Journal 07/02/12)

Fresh wave of Spanish bank deals imminent. Round of restructuring by the government aimed cleaning up balance sheets set to trigger more mergers. (Financial Times 07/02/12)

Brazilian equities burst back into life. Growing risk appetite and IPOs boost the Bovespa (Brasilian Stock Exchange). (Financial Times 07/02/12)

BofA ends sale of MBNA Europe. Bank of America has abandoned the sale of MBNA Europe, the bank’s credit-card business in the U.K. and Ireland. (The Wall Street Journal 07/02/12)