Mexico’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart de Mexico or Walmex, late on Monday announced a 26 percent rise in fourth quarter profits to MXN$8.23bn compared to MEX$6.54bn during the final quarter of 2010. Results were achieved through an aggressive expansion and a major holiday sales event in the last months of 2011.

Revenues according to retailer climbed 16 percent to MEX$116bn from MEX$100bn a year earlier.

In 2011 Walmex opened 364 stores in Mexico and 76 in Central America, and now operates 2,722 shops and restaurants globally.

US buyout firm Vista Equity Partners announced late on Monday that it has made an approach to buy British banking software company Misys. Although no price was mentioned analysts value the deal at an estimated £1.2bn or 360p a share.

Vista’s move comes just two weeks after Misys confirmed that it was approached by Swiss-based rival Tenemos. It is believed that this takeover bid could now wreck an agreed merger between Tenemos and Misys.

According to a Vista spokesperson, the potential deal will now depend on “a recommendation from Misys board of directors and the completion of due diligence.”

Oil prices on Monday climbed to a nine month high, close to $105 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after Iran’s oil ministry said late on Sunday that it had halted crude exports to both France and Britain.

The move comes in retaliation to the EU’s imposed sanctions on Iran’s fuel exports, which include an oil embargo set to start in July and a freeze on the nations’ central bank assets.
Iran’s oil minister, Rostam Qassemi, had warned at the start of the month that Iran would cut of crude exports to “hostile” European nations.

Prices were also up in London where crude climbed to $121.01 per barrel.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto said on Thursday that its top executives will not take a bonus this year following an $8.8bn hit on its aluminium business Alcan.

The mining giant reported a 50 percent drop in annual net profits to $5.8bn compared to $14.32 the year before.

Rio CEO Tom Albanese took full responsibility and announced he will forgo his bonus, saying: As the acquisition of Alcan happened on my watch, I felt it only right not to be considered for an annual bonus this year.”

CFO Guy Elliott has also refused a bonus.

Aside from the issues at Alcan, Albanese informed shareholders it was a good result with revenues climbing to $60bn.

Switzerland’s biggest lender by assets, UBS AG, announced on Tuesday a 76 percent fall year-on-year in net profits for the fourth quarter of 2011 in the wake of its $2bn rogue trading scandal last year.

Figures fell to SFr393m for the quarter compared to a SFR1.66bn a year earlier, and were below analyst’s average estimates of SFr739m.

UBS’s investment banking arm posted the biggest losses amid challenging economic circumstances, plunging to a pre-tax loss of SFr256m from a SFr100m profit a year earlier.

The bank says it foresees “headwinds” for growth in the early part of 2012 due to the bloc’s sovereign debt crisis and prolonged ambiguity concerning the global economy.

The news comes only a week after Deutsche Bank reported a 76 percent decline in fourth quarter profits.

The Chinese government on Monday announced it has prohibited state-owned airlines from paying EU-imposed charges on carbon emissions.

The move by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is the globe’s fastest growing aviation market, is said to trigger a dispute about the cost of combating climate change.

Fitch warned in December that this clash could also spiral into a possible global trade war.

But, China could have abnormally strong leverage in a potential dispute as its airlines carry vast quantities of Chinese and Asian tourists to Europe and back, which would mean any disruption could hurt the EU’s travel industry.

The US Justice Department late on Thursday announced it had filed criminal charges against Wegelin & Co, Switzerland’s oldest private bank, for purportedly helping wealthy US citizens evade taxes between 2002 and 2011.

It is alleged that the 271 year old bank conspired together with US taxpayers and other parties to conceal $1.2bn in secret bank accounts. An estimated $16m have been seized from the bank’s correspondent US bank accounts at UBS in Stamford in accordance with a seizure warrant and a civil forfeiture complaint, said the Justice Department.
Manhattan US attorney Preet Bharara said: “Wegelin bank aided and abetted US taxpayers who were in flagrant violation of the tax code. And they were undeterred by the crystal-clear warning they got when they learned that UBS was under investigation for identical practices.”

The globe’s biggest listed commodities trader, Glencore International, and Anglo Swiss mining giant Xstrata, on Thursday announced they are in talks about a possible merger.

The mining group said that it was “not certain” whether the talks would “lead to an offer being made by Glencore for Xstrata.”

Glencore, which already owns a 35 percent stake in Xstrata, has made an all-share offer, Xstrata said in a published statement to the LSE.

It is believed that if negotiations prove successful, the merger could create a company worth an estimated $83bn.

French defence supplier Dassault Aviation has been chosen as India’s preferred bidder in an eagerly contested $20bn race to provide 126 fighter jets to India.

The Dassault Rafale fighter jet was named the lowest priced compliant bidder ahead of the Eurofighter Typhoon which is produced by the UK’s BAE Systems. Through this deal the French have consolidated their presence in India’s defence space, while Britain suffered a significant industrial setback.

India said it will now enter into exclusive cost negotiations with Dassault to discuss the contract which is estimated to be worth between $15bn and $20bn.

In line with India’s regulations, foreign manufacturers have to either offset or purchase at least 30 percent of the components and services locally. Dassault stated that the first 18 aircrafts will be built by its French manufacturer while the remainder will be built in association with an Indian company.

After a decade at the helm the governor of New Zealand’s Reserve bank, Alan Bollard, on Monday announced he is to step down in September after deciding not to seek a third term in office.

The move comes as the country is preparing for a large-scale privatisation programme that involves the sale of stakes in several state-owned corporations including Genesis, Solid Energy, Mighty River Power and Meridian.

Bollard leaves as New Zealand is struggling with slow economic growth, raised funding costs for its banks and a strong domestic currency.

The focus will now be on who will succeed Bollard to take on the most powerful post in New Zealand’s economy. Former central bank deputy Murray Sherwin, Reserve Bank chairman Arthur Grimes and Reserve Bank deputy governor Grant Spencer are all in the running.