Citigroup to sell Belgian retail business

On Wednesday, Citigroup as agreed to sell its retail business in Belgium to Credit Mutuel Nord Europe according to the French firm.

A spokesman for CMNE said it would include Citigroup’s credit card and consumer loan businesses in the country.

“This fits perfectly in the CMNE group’s strategy. It is clearly based on our pursuit of expansion, notably in northern France and in Belgium, which we consider as our second domestic market,” Eric Charpentier, director general of Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe said in the statement.

The merged company will be set up after the closure of the transaction, expected in the second quarter of 2012.

Reliance Communications close to PE deal

The Times of India reported on Monday that Indian mobile phone carrier Reliance Communications is in the final stages of talks with private equity firms Carlyle CYL.UL and Blackstone (BX.N) to sell its tower unit.

The deal that may be worth $4 billion is expected to be announced in the next two weeks, the newspaper said without citing any sources.

India’s second biggest mobile operator, the debt-ridden Reliance Communications, has posted nine straight drops in quarterly profit and is trying to sell the sell the tower unit for more than one-and-half years to help bring in much needed funds.

A spokesman for Reliance Communications did not offer any comment.

Essential Online Marketing Strategies

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Brent Rises Above $104

On Friday, Brent crude futures rose above $104 on concerns about supply disruption after the U.S. Congress approved a bill imposing sanctions against the central bank of Iran. The bill limits ability of the buyers to pay for oil they buy from the Islamic Republic.

Brent crude that rolled over to February as the prompt month rose 42 cents to $104.02 a barrel by 0210 GMT, after it slipped 65 cents to settle at $103.60 a barrel. U.S. crude rose 6 cents to $93.93 a barrel, after falling $1.08 to settle at $93.87, after reaching a $95.99 session high.

“The geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran are putting a floor, keeping prices supported at current levels despite growing worries about the economy,” said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress. “China can run but can’t hide from what’s going on in Europe. The fallout will hurt everybody.”

Fashion Advice for Men Over 40

Just because you have been a part of this world for the last forty years or more does not mean that you should give up on style. However, there are certain guidelines which you should follow so that age and style complements each other in a perfect way.

It is very important for 40-plus men to wear flattering colors as their hair and skin color have changed with passing time. But that does not mean that they should wear clothes that are not just for them. Men over 40 should pay attention to what fits correctly and stick with classics without being boring. This also means that men should avoid wearing low cut and tight fitting jeans they might have worn in his 20s and 30s, even if they have a six-pack and a great butt. However, flattering, stylish jeans, and t-shirts (just differently) could be their best bets.

Moreover, men should avoid wearing striped suits with striped shirts and a striped tie with a striped shirt (always wear a wide tie). Some good tie color options could be ties of one color but with different shades of blue or brown or red and yellow ties of certain shades. It is also suggested that you avoid wearing bright colored suits outside spring and summer. Furthermore, you should avoid wearing running shoes as casual footwear and clashing colors. Three-button suits should always be avoided and two-button suits should be preferred.

Try out this fashion advice for men over 40 and experience the world appreciating your style sense.

How To Choose The Best Web Hosting?

The website hosting market is becoming quite crowded with thousands of beginners trying their hand at web hosting. However, not all of them offer quality hosting services and often lure customers into false promises, only to let them down at “crucial times.”

To make an informed decision, you just need to do your own homework or research to select the most appropriate web hosting company for your website. It is also important for you to clearly specify your needs and prioritize them so that you do not miss out on serious revenues and prospective clients. After that, you just need to enlist certain web hosting features and options you must consider and make required comparisons to choose the best website hosting deal and webhost provider.

Audi A8L 3.0 TDI – Test Drive

If there was ever a dream vehicle for luxury car enthusiasts, it has to be the 3.0-litre diesel version of the latest, cutting-edge Audi A8L. In other words, Audi has gone all out in making the Audi A8L 3.0 TDI something truly special.

The clarity of its displays, simplicity of the layout, and quality of the car materials make the Audi A8L 3.0 TDI a dream car in the truest sense. The entire cabin of this Audi car is superbly finished and its ambient lighting offers a premium feel at night. The eight-inch color display that folds smoothly out of the dashboard allows Audi A8L 3.0 TDI owners to operate the SAT-NAV and stereo using the tried-and-tested MMI interface of Audi.

If that is not all, this Audi masterpiece sprints from 0-60mph in only 6.1 seconds, thanks to its V6 diesel engine producing 250bhp and 550Nm of torque. The V6 diesel produces 184 kW from its 2,967 cc displacement and delivers 550 Nm at 1,500 to 3,000 rpm to represent an improvement of 13 kW and 100 Nm compared to the previous model. The Audi A8L 3.0 TDI is light in weight with its elegant and powerful aluminum Audi Space Frame (ASF) body.

As far as the safety aspect is concerned, the Audi A8L 3.0 TDI has an integral head restraint system that protects upper torso and supports the head in an accident along with a night vision assistant with pedestrian marking along with an electronic stabilization program ESP with traction control and electronic differential lock.

Passengers seating on the rear seats are treated to plenty of leg and headroom while the large windows of the Audi A8L 3.0 TDI make the interior appear airy and spacious.

http://www.fantasticreviews.net/reviews/car-makers-preferring-diesel-models.html

Gold Hit By Market Sell-Off

Gold was down in late U.S. morning trade but was lifted off its lows over concerns about euro zone economic slowdown and fears that France could be sucked into its spiraling debt crisis.

The metal largely ignored news that John Paulson, the billionaire financier, slashed a third of its ETF bullion holdings in the third quarter.

From Reuters.com:

Some safe-haven buying lifted gold after euro zone economy posted tepid growth in the third quarter, and a think-tank report said triple-A rated France should also be “ringing euro zone alarm bells” as it could not make rapid adjustments to its economy.

Although gold is traditionally regarded as a safe haven, it has increasingly moved in tandem with other riskier assets due to investor jitters. Shares on Wall Street were again hit by jitters over Europe’s debt crisis.

Spot gold was off 0.6 percent to $1,769.09 an ounce at 11:38 a.m. EST (1638 GMT), having traded as low as $1,760.04 an ounce early on Tuesday.

“We do see very active physical and safe-haven buying on dips. Even though we do see pressure from a stronger dollar, dips are seen as buying opportunity and key support levels have held,” said David Meger, director of metals trading of futures broker Vision Financial Markets.

Nuclear Watchdog Board Rebukes Defiant Iran

On Friday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog board censured Iran over mounting suspicions it is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

However, Tehran said this move would only strengthen its determination to press on with sensitive work.

From Reuters.com:

Almost unanimously, the agency’s 35-nation board passed a resolution expressing “increasing concern” about Iran’s nuclear program, after a U.N. report last week said the Islamic state appeared to have worked on designing an atom bomb.

“Iran will not bow to pressure,” said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In a further sign of Tehran’s worsening ties with the U.N. body, he said Iran would boycott rare Middle East nuclear talks hosted by the IAEA next week.

“The whole world now knows that Iran not only sought to hide its uranium enrichment program from the world for more than two decades, but also engaged in covert research and development related to activities that can have only one application: building a nuclear warhead,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

First Gold Shipment From Europe Received By Venezuela

The government of President Hugo Chavez began repatriating Venezuela’s gold reserves from European banks Friday as the first shipment arrived on a flight from Paris.

“It’s coming to the place it never should have left. … The vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela, not the bank of London or the bank of the United States,” Chavez said. “It’s our gold.”

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

The leftist president has said his decision to repatriate the gold reserves is aimed at helping to protect the oil-producing country from economic troubles in the United States and Europe.

Economist Pedro Palma, who is a professor at the Institute of Higher Studies of Administration, said he saw no economic justification for moving the gold.

“From the economic point view, it is the same to have it here as in England. The reserves will not change because of this,” Palma said. He said it seemed to be an attempt to show the public “heroic actions” on the part of the government.

“If there’s some problem in the international markets, here it’s going to be safe,” Central Bank president Nelson Merentes said.