Category: Business

By Nigel Stephenson | LONDON LONDON European stocks and the euro pulled back on Monday from highs touched after Emmanuel Macron's emphatic but well-flagged victory in France's presidential election as investors' focus shifted from politics to monetary policy.With the political risks that have dominated European markets in a year packed with elections seen receding, the European Central Bank is expected to

AMSTERDAM Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel (AKZO.AS) on Monday rejected a third takeover proposal from larger U.S. rival PPG valued at 26.9 billion euros ($29.51 billion)saying it undervalues the company, faces antitrust risks, and does not address other stakeholder concerns such as "cultural differences."

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump took aim again on Sunday at Rexnord Corp (RXN.N) for the industrial supplier's decision to move jobs to Mexico from Indiana.Milwaukee-based Rexnord announced plans in October to move a bearing plant and its 300 jobs from Indianapolis, employees told the Indianapolis Star at the time.

LONDON The euro topped $1.10 for the first time since the U.S. elections on Sunday and climbed to a one-year high against the safe-haven yen on relief that Emmanuel Macron had beaten the far-right Marine Le Pen to clinch the French presidency. Early projections showed the market-friendly, pro-EU candidate Macron had been voted in with about 65 percent of the vote, comfortably defeating Le Pen, a nationalist who threatened to take France out of the European Union.

By David Lawder | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Saturday that threats of retaliatory trade actions from Canadian officials "are inappropriate" and will not influence final U.S. import duty determinations on Canadian softwood lumber."We continue to believe that a negotiated settlement is in the best interests of all parties and we are prepared to work toward that

By Anthony Esposito | MONTERREY, Mexico MONTERREY, Mexico Engineers from across Mexico streamed into a cramped hotel lobby in the industrial city of Monterrey for a chance of a job with the U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), which is looking south of the border for talent in short supply at home. The fair was held at a delicate time

By Jonathan Cable | LONDON LONDON The fate of the European Union and the euro could hang on the outcome of Sunday's French presidential election.The expected victory of centrist, pro-EU candidate Emmanuel Macron would be taken by markets as a sign that political risk in Europe is receding; a surprise win for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen would raise the risk

By Ann Saphir | PALO ALTO PALO ALTO San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams on Saturday reiterated his view that the U.S. central bank should begin trimming its massive balance sheet later this year, in part so the Fed has more tools at the ready when the next recession hits. He was the fourth Fed official in two days

FRANKFURT Shareholder adviser Ivox Glass Lewis has called on Linde (LING.DE) investors to vote against signing off on the actions of its management and supervisory board due to problems in the handling of a planned merger with peer Praxair (PX.N).The all-share merger of equals would reunite a global industrial gases company that split in World War One and would create a market leader to rival Air Liquide (AIRP.PA).But the $65 billion deal has faced unexpectedly strong opposition from trade unions,

By Jonathan Stempel | OMAHA, Neb. OMAHA, Neb. Warren Buffett on Saturday faulted Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N) previous management for failing to take action immediately upon learning that its employees were signing up customers for bogus accounts, causing a national scandal.Buffett spoke at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), which he chairs, and where he and Vice Chairman

MILAN Loss-making airline Alitalia, which asked to be put under special administration on Tuesday, had debts of around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) as of Feb. 28, Italy's government said. In a document marking the opening of the special administration process and the appointment of three commissioners that will

By Lawrence Delevingne | NEW YORK NEW YORK Paul Singer's hedge fund firm Elliott Management Corp raised more than $5 billion in about 24 hours this week, citing a major potential investment opportunity at a time when Singer said financial markets could face a disruption after being distorted by years of economic stimulus.Singer, in an email to investors on Wednesday announcing

By Dan Levine and Joseph Menn The city of Portland, Oregon plans to subpoena Uber Technologies Inc to force it to disclose software that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, a city official said on Friday.Uber has acknowledged using the software, known as Greyball, to circumvent government officials who were trying to clamp down on Uber in areas where its

By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. job growth rebounded sharply in April and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent, near a 10-year low, pointing to a tightening labor market that likely seals the case for an interest rate increase next month despite moderate wage growth. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 211,000 jobs last month after a paltry gain of 79,000

By Jonathan Stempel | OMAHA, Neb. OMAHA, Neb. Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), the conglomerate run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, on Friday reported a 27 percent decline in first-quarter profit, and said a loss from insurance underwriting contributed to operating results that fell short of forecasts.The results were released one day before Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, where Buffett, 86,

By Dominique Vidalon | PARIS PARIS The shareholders of AccorHotels (ACCP.PA) on Friday granted former French President Nicolas Sarkozy a seat on the board of Europe's largest hotel group, and rejected a bid to block long-term shareholders from getting more double voting rights. Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin reiterated at the annual shareholders meeting that double voting rights were a good

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite opened higher on Friday after a report showed U.S. job growth accelerated sharply last month, but a drop in IBM kept the Dow in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 7.14 points, or 0.03 percent, at 20,944.33.

WOLFSBURG, Germany Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is targeting fixed productivity gains at its troubled core division through 2020 by pushing cost savings, stemming overseas losses and launching more higher-margin cars as the carmaker battles to overcome its emissions scandal.Positive development at Volkswagen's namesake VW brand may continue throughout 2017, the carmaker said on Friday, building on a strong rebound in the first quarter when cost cuts helped operating profit to surge to 869 million euros ($953 million)from 73 million a year earlier

By Saikat Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks declined for a third consecutive day on Friday as fresh falls in commodities raised concerns about the health of the global economy, though the euro bucked the broad weakness on receding concerns about France's presidential election.Chinese stocks led regional losers, falling to a three-month low as concerns about tighter financial

Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKa.N) Warren Buffett has sold "a reasonable amount" of his stake in International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) after the stock crossed $180, CNBC reported.IBM's stock touched $180 on Feb 14 and reached a high of $182.78 during Feb. 16 trading. It closed on Thursday at $159.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.Berkshire Hathaway and IBM could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

By Michael Flaherty and Ankit Ajmera Greenlight Capital escalated its battle against General Motors Co (GM.N) on Thursday, posting credit ratings documents that it said the automaker inappropriately changed to undermine the hedge fund's proposal to create two classes of GM stock.Greenlight, which owns 3.6 percent of GM shares, has said its dual share plan would boost GM's value by creating

By Julia Simon | NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices collapsed on Thursday to their lowest since late November as investor worries about the world's stubbornly persistent glut of crude erased most of the gains that followed last year's OPEC's output cut.The slide worsened after OPEC delegates downplayed the chance that their group and other producing countries would deepen their output

Wall Street opened slightly higher on Thursday, led by banks, after the Federal Reserve expressed confidence in the strength of the economy. However, gains were limited by a fall in technology and energy stocks.

By Sumeet Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) plans to hire about 100 wealth management client advisors over the next two years in Hong Kong, the biggest wealth hub in Asia-Pacific, to grab a bigger share of the fast-growing mid-tier millionaire segment.The Swiss bank's sharpening focus on the middle of the wealth market comes as some global

By Rishika Sadam and David Ingram Facebook Inc reported surging quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday, helped by its fast-growing mobile ad business, but its shares dipped from a record high in after-hours trading as investors showed some nervousness about future earnings. The world's biggest online social network, which is nearing the five-year anniversary of its initial public offering, is searching

By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks retreated on Thursday, taking their cues from a subdued session on Wall Street, while the dollar retained gains made after the Federal Reserve delivered a hawkish policy statement.At the end of its two-day meeting, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate steady as expected, but downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth and emphasized the

By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth while emphasizing the strength of the labor market, in a sign it was still on track for two more rate rises this year.In a bullish statement following the end of a two-day policy meeting, the central

By Nick Carey and Joseph White | DETROIT DETROIT Automotive supplier Delphi Automotive Plc (DLPH.N) on Wednesday said it plans to spin off operations tied to internal combustion engines and focus on technology for electrically powered and self-driving vehicles, boosting its share price and highlighting the challenges for legacy auto industry players.Vehicles driven by humans and powered with petroleum will dominate

Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by lower taxes, vigorous sales of Taco Bell's Naked Chicken Chalupas and lower costs at KFC restaurants.Shares of the company were up 1.7 percent at $67.45 before the opening bell on Wednesday.Sales rose 8 percent at Taco Bell restaurants open for more than a year, topping the 3.7 percent growth expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.The sales figure was boosted by $1 Double Stacked Tacos and the

By Karolin Schaps | LONDON LONDON Oil prices rebounded from near 2017 lows on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a much higher-than-expected fall in U.S. crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply.Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 37 cents at $50.83 a barrel at 0815 GMT. On Tuesday the futures had settled at their lowest since Nov. 30, when the

As the United States adapts to the presidency of Donald Trump and faces rising tensions abroad, Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders will descend on Omaha, Nebraska this weekend seeking reassurance, from Warren Buffett.The weekend known as "Woodstock for Capitalists" is unique in corporate America, a celebration of the billionaire's image and success at a conglomerate whose businesses range from Geico insurance to the BNSF railroad to See's candies to Ginsu knives.Buffett, 86, and vice chairman Charlie Munger, 93, will answer five

By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks followed global indexes higher on Wednesday, as strong earnings and manufacturing data boosted risk appetite, while expectations that the Federal Reserve will signal a June rate increase later in the session lifted the dollar.Oil prices pulled higher after a sharp fall on Tuesday on technical selling in a market already worried about oversupply

By Anya George Tharakan and Stephen Nellis Apple Inc (AAPL.O) reported a surprise fall in iPhone sales for its second quarter on Tuesday, indicating that customers may have held back purchases in anticipation of the 10th-anniversary edition of the company's most important product later this year.Shares of the world's most valuable listed company were down 2.1 percent at $144.37 in after-hours

Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel NV's (AKZO.AS) supervisory board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss how to proceed after deeming PPG Industries Inc's (PPG.N) latest $29 billion offer to be insufficient, people familiar with the matter said.Akzo believes that PPG's third acquisition bid, which was unveiled on April 24, still does not value the company highly enough, especially in light of Akzo's plans to unlock value by exploring a spin-off or sale of its specialty chemicals business, and