- Ben Bernanke: "Financial conditions have become less supportive of growth in recent months"US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the country's economic outlook remains "unusually uncertain".He told the Senate Banking Committee record low interest rates would still be needed to support economic recovery. The Fed was also prepared to step in with "further policy actions" to boost the economy if needed, he added.Investors reacted negatively to the comments, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 1% lower.
- Swiss bank Credit Suisse has reported higher-than-expected profits of 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.5bn; £1bn) for the three months to the end of June.The net profit figure was slightly higher than a year earlier.The profit was achieved despite a fall in revenue from investment banking of almost a third, to 4.1bn francs.
- Auction site operator eBay has reported a 26% rise in profits for the last three months thanks largely to increased use of its PayPal service.Profits for the quarter totalled $412m (£272m), the company said, up from $327m a year ago.Sales were up 20% internationally, but rose only 2% in the US, demonstrating its reliance on international growth.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to cancel Haiti's $268m (£176m) debt and lend the impoverished Caribbean nation a further $60m.The IMF said both decisions formed part of a strategy to support Haiti's reconstruction plans in the wake of the devastating earthquake six months ago.The disaster left some 230,000 people dead and more than a million homeless.
- High-value deals are continuing to drive up the price of arts and antiques, according to a survey.The art market was "buoyant" despite tough economic times, said the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.The proportion of surveyors reporting price rises in the £50,000-plus bracket doubled in the second quarter of the year compared with the first three months of 2010.
BBC Business 22nd July 2010
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