Category: Business

WASHINGTON The Trump administration's push to overhaul tax laws might soon target a loophole used by some financial managers to lower their tax rates, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on Sunday.President Donald Trump campaigned before the Nov. 8 election to eliminate the so-called "carried interest" loophole, which is used by many financial managers to lower tax obligations. But a rough outline for a major tax overhaul released last week failed to mention the loophole.

A union representing 1,200 U.S. air maintenance workers at United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) turned up pressure on the company on Sunday to settle a three-year contract dispute, saying it would seek clearance to strike.The union is taking its grievances directly to UPS shareholders, running as an advertisement an open letter to David Abney, the company’s chief executive, ahead of a Thursday shareholders meeting.The letter, which has been delivered to board members, was signed by nearly 78 percent of members of Local

LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to protect workers against irresponsible practices over pensions on Sunday, promising new regulations on how schemes are handled during corporate takeovers.May's Conservative party will give regulators power to examine takeover proposals that threaten the solvency of a company pension scheme, and the regulator could be empowered to block takeovers if it is not satisfied with the arrangements.

By Sue-Lin Wong and Kevin Yao | BEIJING BEIJING Growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed faster than expected in April, an official survey showed on Sunday, as producer price inflation cooled and policymakers' efforts to reduce financial risks in the economy weighed on demand.The National Bureau of Statistics' official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a six-month low of 51.2 in

By Lawrence Delevingne | BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Titans of U.S. industry and Wall Street gather in Beverly Hills this week to discuss how to navigate - and profit from - hot topics such as U.S. tax reform, the upcoming French election and Chinese economic growth. U.S. President Donald Trump’s first 100 days and the

SEOUL South Korea's finance minister said on Sunday the government was already working on downsizing its trade surplus with the United States, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's comments Thursday that Washington will renegotiate or scrap the free trade pact the two countries have.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho added in televised comments he did not expect the free trade agreement will be terminated. It has been in effect since 2012.

By Liana B. Baker and John Tilak Shaw Communications (SJRb.TO) is looking for a buyer for ViaWest, the U.S. data center company it bought three years ago, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Canadian cable company continues to shed assets it considers non-core.The sale of ViaWest would be Shaw's latest step to streamline its operations. Last year it

By Giselda Vagnoni and Agnieszka Flak | ROME/MILAN ROME/MILAN Italians are watching their flag carrier Alitalia go into yet another financial tailspin, and a growing number of them believe it would be better for the country if it crashed.Outraged at repeated state bailouts that have cost taxpayers more than 7 billion euros ($7.62 billion) over a decade, many Italians are taking

BERLIN Online fashion retailer Zalando (ZALG.DE) is pondering opening stores in major cities such as London, Paris or Berlin, the company's co-chief executive told Germany's Manager Magazin."We have proper fans in the metropolises who spend much time with us and order a lot," co-Chief Executive Rubin Ritter said in an interview published on Saturday.

SYDNEY Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google said it will challenge amended tax assessments issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which is trying to claw back billions of dollars from multinational corporations citing unpaid taxes.The ATO has increased scrutiny over how much tax multinationals operating in Australia pay. In December, it said it was pursuing seven global businesses over A$2 billion ($1.50 billion) in unpaid tax.While the ATO has not named the businesses it is pursuing, Google's Australia unit said in

By Jeffrey Dastin | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Amazon.com Inc's ventures far beyond online retail, from cloud computing to movie making, are raising questions among corporate strategy experts about its focus.The Seattle-based company wowed Wall Street again this week with a 23 percent jump in sales, pushing its shares to an all-time high. But there are concerns that if blockbuster growth

DETROIT Tesla Inc needs to complete fixing its Model S sedan emergency braking system to regain Consumer Reports' top safety rating, the magazine said on Friday, noting that a recent update by the luxury electric car maker was not enough.The magazine, which provides an annual rating of vehicles sold in the United States, said on Wednesday the sedan had lost its top ranking in the ultra-luxury car category for failing to install the feature that it had promised to owners

NEW YORK Stocks edged lower on Wall Street on Friday after data showing the U.S. economy grew at its weakest pace in three years in the first quarter gave traders a reason to cash in recent gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 40.82 points, or 0.19 percent,

WASHINGTON The U.S. Congress passed and sent to President Donald Trump legislation to pay for federal government operations through May 5 and avoid agency shutdowns that otherwise would have begun on Saturday.

By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. economy likely hit a soft patch in the first quarter as an unseasonably warm winter and rising inflation weighed on consumer spending, in a potential setback to President Donald Trump's promise to boost growth. Reduced business investment in inventories and government spending cuts also crimped gross domestic product growth. A Reuters survey of

FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank is expected to name James von Moltke as new finance chief, replacing Marcus Schenck who is taking on a role as co-head of the investment bank, a source close to the matter said on Friday. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Von Moltke will join Germany's flagship lender from Citi, where he worked as treasurer from 2015 after earlier looking after the bank's financial planning and analysis.

By Jennifer Ablan and Stephen Nellis | NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Growing tensions with North Korea should worry global electronics firms such as Apple Inc as they source key parts from South Korea, but investors are brushing off such concerns and snapping up shares in key exporters, heartened by robust earnings and big investment plans.U.S. President Donald Trump said

By Julia Love and Rishika Sadam Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) posted a surge in profit and revenue on Thursday as its core advertising business continued to grow at an extraordinary rate and problems such as an advertiser boycott of YouTube had little impact.Alphabet's profit beat Wall Street estimates and rose 29 percent to $5.43 billion, a performance that analysts called

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) posted a 41.1 percent jump in first-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by sustained growth in online retail sales and its profitable cloud business. The world's biggest online retailer said net income rose to $724 million, or $1.48 per share, from $513 million, or $1.07 per share,

By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON New orders for U.S.-made capital goods rose less than expected in March, but a second straight monthly increase in shipments suggested business investment accelerated in the first quarter amid a recovering energy sector.While other data on Thursday showed a bigger-than-expected increase in first-time applications for unemployment benefits last week, the trend in claims remained consistent

NEW YORK United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) reported a higher quarterly net profit on Thursday as revenue grew across its domestic, international and supply chain and freight segments. The Atlanta-based company posted first-quarter net income of $1.158 billion, or $1.32 per share, up 2.4 percent

By James Pomfret, Lawrence White and Sumeet Chatterjee | DONGGUAN, China/LONDON/HONG KONG DONGGUAN, China/LONDON/HONG KONG In the digital age, footfall in bricks-and-mortar outlets is an incomplete measure of business activity, but HSBC's empty branches in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) suggest it's not all plain sailing for the bank's expansion in mainland China.HSBC, the world's sixth-largest bank by assets, announced in

By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, a White House said.The announcement came after White House officials disclosed that Trump and his advisers had been considering issuing an

SEOUL Strong memory chip earnings propelled tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) to its best quarterly profit in more than 3 years, the South Korean firm said on Thursday as its first-quarter results matched its earlier guidance.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. A federal judge in Connecticut on Wednesday sentenced a former Jefferies Group bond trader to two years in prison and to pay a $2 million fine after he was found guilty earlier this year of defrauding customers on bond prices.

By Amanda Becker and Ginger Gibson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will release a tax plan on Wednesday that proposes to sharply slash rates on businesses and overseas corporate profits returned to the United States, officials said.The Trump administration is touting the blueprint, which also calls for higher standard deductions for individuals, as a landmark tax cut just days before

PepsiCo Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as the company benefited from demand for its healthier drinks and snacks and kept a tight leash on costs.The company's shares, which had risen 9.1 percent this year, were off 1 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday.PepsiCo and other processed-food makers are investing heavily to meet consumers' increasing preference for healthier snacks such as unsweetened tea and baked chips.The company has said it now gets more than 45 percent of its

SEOUL A South Korean court on Wednesday ruled that the ride-hailing group Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] illegally used private vehicles for commercial purposes, in the latest legal setback for the U.S. firm in Asia's fourth biggest economy.Uber's operations in South Korea were not expected to be impacted by the ruling, since it suspended its UberX service after prosecutors filed charges against the local unit in 2014 for violating the transport law, a company spokeswoman said.

TOKYO McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) has put on hold plans to sell shares in its Japan unit, which recently returned to profit for the first time in three years after a series of food scandals shook consumer confidence in the chain.The fast food giant has "made the decision to not proceed with the transaction at this time," Chief Finance Officer Kevin M. Ozan told investors on a conference call on Tuesday.

Deckers Outdoor Corp (DECK.N) said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company, a month after an activist investor urged the apparel and accessories maker to sell itself.Deckers, the owner of the UGG brand of boots and apparel, said it had retained Moelis & Co LLC as financial adviser.Shares of Goleta, California-based Deckers rose 6.5 percent to $62.53 in trading after the bell on Tuesday.

By Andrew Chung | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to clamp down on where corporations can be sued, a potential setback for plaintiffs' lawyers who strive to bring cases in courts and locales they consider friendly. The nine justices in two separate cases heard appeals of lower court rulings allowing out-of-state injury lawsuits against drug maker

By Dan Freed and Ross Kerber | PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N) annual meeting turned raucous when it was repeatedly interrupted by angry shareholders on Tuesday as the bank's chairman and chief executive tried to calm nerves ahead of a vote that could oust the majority of its board.At least one shareholder was

By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday, building on a day-earlier rally as investors assessed quarterly earnings, while awaiting a major tax plan from President Donald Trump. * Trump promised last week to make "a big tax reform and tax reduction" announcement on Wednesday. The President has directed his aides to move quickly on a plan to cut

By Eveline Danubrata | BEKASI, Indonesia BEKASI, Indonesia A full merger of Japanese car makers Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) (7211.T) and Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) is not on the table, Carlos Ghosn, chairman of both firms, said on Tuesday."Full merger is not on the table. We want Mitsubishi to reform itself," said Ghosn, who was attending the opening ceremony of