WTO Doha round seen headed for diluted deal
Washington: The Doha round of world trade talks seem to be headed toward a diluted agreement that are significantly less than the ambitious market access and development goals set more than five years ago, according to analysts.

Analysts said the WTO and many of the big trading nations feel wrapping up a modest package is better than putting the talks in cold storage for several years.

The key WTO trading partners have set a new goal of reaching a deal by year's end.

Although the US and the EU appear willing to go further on agriculture, it does not seem to be enough to generate big market-opening offers from developing countries in manufacturing and services.
Back to News Review index page  

Prudential Financial to exit stock research, trading business
New York: Prudential Financial Inc. plans to shut down its stock research and trading operations in nine U.S. cities as well as London, Zurich, Paris and Tokyo. Prudential dropped research coverage immediately and said 400 employees will be terminated as operations wound down during the quarter ending June 30.

A company official said the company's strategy is to be in businesses where it has significant scale. The company said the research and trading markets are extremely competitive and challenging, and not an area where Prudential has been able to achieve scale or success for clients, shareholders or employees.

Stock trading for big institutions in the US and other countries has been under pressure since 2000, as decimal pricing squeezed margins and advances in electronic trading slashed commissions.
Back to News Review index page