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Royal Bank of Scotland Group Tuesday announced a £12 billion ($23.9 billion €15.1 billion) rights issue to shore up its capital position after suffering heavy losses from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. RBS also disclosed that it expects further write-downs on mortgage-backed securities and other assets of £5.9 billion pounds ($11.7 billion; €7.4 billion) before taxes, or £4.3 billion ($.. more

The chairman of the Samsung Group announced his resignation Tuesday, just days after his indictment amid an investigation into allegations of corruption. "I sincerely apologize and will do my best to take full legal and moral responsibility," said Lee Kun-hee, who was indicted last week on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust. "It grieves me for I still have many things to do." At least fou.. more

China Mobile Ltd., the country's biggest mobile phone carrier, says its first-quarter profits have surged while China Telecom Ltd. said earnings barely grew. China Mobile said Monday profits for the three months ending March 31 rose 37.2 percent over the same period of 2007 to 24.1 billion yuan ($3.4 billion). It said the number of subscribers rose 6 percent to 392 million. China Telecom, the cou.. more

The Bank of England announced a $100 billion plan Monday to allow banks to swap mortgage-backed securities for Treasury bills. The bank's aim is to unblock the interbank lending market, by giving banks assets they can use to operate, in hopes they will then resume lending more -- and support the housing market and the overall British economy. Banks have become increasingly reluctant to lend to riv.. more

Bank of America said Monday its profit fell 77 percent in the first quarter, hurt by trading losses and a $3.3 billion increase in reserves for problem loans. The Charlotte-based bank, set to acquire troubled subprime mortgage lender Countrywide later this year, reported earnings of $1.21 billion, or 23 cents per share, on $17 billion in revenue. That compared with net income of $5.26 billion, or.. more

Protests against Tibetan independence have continued Sunday in several Chinese cities, according to the country's state-run news agency. Demonstrators also expressed their anger about what they see as biased reporting of the Tibet story by Western media organizations including CNN. Protesters gathered outside the French supermarket Carrefour in several Chinese cities including the northwestern ci.. more

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped nearly 7 percent early Monday after the market watchdog announced a new policy for freshly tradable shares, though it ceded most of that gain as trading progressed. In a move viewed as a market-stabilizing measure, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced late Sunday that shareholders that want to sell large numbers of shares newly free.. more

Oil prices spiked to a record $117.40 a barrel after a Japanese oil tanker was attacked in Middle Eastern waters, off the east coast of Yemen. The 150,000-ton tanker Takayama was attacked about 440 kilometers (270 miles) off the Yemen coast in the Gulf of Aden while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement posted on its Web site. None of the s.. more

President Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Saturday that there still is a chance to make progress on eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, urging critics to see what Pyongyang says in a required declaration before deciding whether nations are being too lenient. "We need persistent patience, ladies and gentlemen," Lee said, accompanied by Bush at the presidential ret.. more

Investors appear ready to embrace Google Inc. again after weeks of hand wringing over whether the faltering U.S. economy would bog down the Internet search leader's moneymaking machine. Google won back Wall Street with first-quarter earnings and revenue growth that surpassed analysts' predictions, propelled by an aggressive push outside the United States. The pleasant surprise delivered late Thur.. more