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Veolia Says Net Profits More than Double to 321 Million Euros

Waste management giant Veolia said Monday its profits in the first half of the year more than doubled to 321 million euros ($352 million), helped by a cost-cutting drive.

The French company, which specializes in water distribution, waste, recycling and energy, said its turnover also rose by 7.3 percent to 12.3 billion euros. 

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Bitcoin Exchange CEO Manipulated Data Dozens of Times

Mark Karpeles, the head of defunct Bitcoin exchange MtGox, manipulated its computer system at least 30 times over a couple of years, a report said Monday, as Tokyo promised greater efforts to regulate the digital currency.

The fresh allegation against France-born Karpeles, 30, follows his arrest Saturday by Tokyo police, more than a year after the once-dominant exchange collapsed in the wake of fraud allegations.

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Greek Stocks Plunge 22 Percent as Bourse Reopens

Greece's stock exchange reopened Monday with a drop of more than 22 percent after a five-week shutdown imposed by the country's debt crisis and capital controls.

The ATHEX plunged to 615.72 points a few minutes after opening at 0730 GMT, down 22.82 percent from its June 26 close.

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Proof of Trump's Charity Giving Elusive

Donald Trump, widely believed to be the wealthiest U.S. presidential candidate ever, is nowhere among the ranks of the most generous Americans and hasn't donated to his own charity in seven years, according to an Associated Press review of his financial records and other government filings.

The billionaire TV star, who has dominated coverage of the Republican presidential race, has said he donated $102 million worth of cash and land to philanthropic and conservation organizations over the past five years. But his campaign has provided little documentation for most of these contributions, and tax filings of the Donald J. Trump foundation show Trump has made no charitable contributions to his own namesake nonprofit since 2008. Without an endowment, the fund has continued to give grants only as a result of contributions from others.

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HSBC Profits Fall 3.8% in Q2, Brazil Sell-off Agreed

HSBC announced Monday that net profit fell 3.8 percent in the three months to June, as the company agreed to sell its Brazilian business for $5.2 billion to Brazil's Banco Bradesco.

Europe's biggest bank announced in June that it would cut its global workforce by up to 50,000 as it exits Brazil and Turkey.

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French Minister Says Germany Wrong to Propose Temporary 'Grexit'

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said in an interview Sunday that his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble was "wrong" to propose a temporary withdrawal from the euro for debt-laden Greece, evoking "a clear disagreement."

"I think Mr. Schaeuble is wrong and even contradicting his own deep European commitment," the French minister said in the interview to be published Monday in the German business daily Handelsblatt, excerpts of which were broadcast Sunday.

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Varoufakis Warns Spain Could 'Become Greece'

Spain could become like Greece if the same austerity policies are imposed on the country, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview published Sunday.

"Spaniards need to look at their own economic and social situation and based on that evaluate what their country needs, independently of what happens in Greece or wherever," he told center-left daily El Pais.

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Report: Nationalizations, German Probes in Greek Contingency Plan

Greece had a contingency plan in the event of being forced by creditors into a disorderly default, which included nationalizations and a corruption probe targeting German companies, a Greek newspaper reported Saturday.

Efimerida Ton Syntakton daily said the plan -- alluded to by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in parliament on Friday -- was designed "to raise the cost of rupture" for Greece's creditors.

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IMF Approves Loan to Ukraine Despite Debt Concerns

The International Monetary Fund approved Friday the next installment of its massive loan to Ukraine despite uncertainty about the sustainability of the country's debt and its conflict with separatist forces.

The IMF executive board, which represents 188 member nations, gave a green light to the immediate disbursement of $1.7 billion, part of a support program awarded in March that has caused internal strains in the Washington-based institution.

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Head of Failed Japan-Based Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Arrested

The head of the failed Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox was arrested in Tokyo on Saturday on suspicion of inflating his cash account by $1 million, authorities said.

Mark Karpeles, 30, is suspected of accessing the exchange's computer system in February 2013 and inflating his account, Japanese police said. If found guilty, the France-born Karpeles could face up to five years in prison, or a fine of up to 500,000 yen ($4,000).

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