Category: Business

By Keith Wallis and Osamu Tsukimori | SINGAPORE/TOKYO SINGAPORE/TOKYO Oil prices edged up on Friday on news that U.S. President Donald Trump could be set to impose new sanctions on multiple Iranian entities, firing geopolitical tensions between the two nations.Comments by Russian energy minister Alexander Novak that oil producers had cut their output in accordance with a pact agreed in December

TOKYO Japanese robotics startup ZMP Inc hopes to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the coming months, after a delay late last year due to client information being leaked on to the internet, the firm's founder and CEO told Reuters on Friday.Despite the delay in its initial public offering, worth up to $82 million, ZMP remained on track to develop a self-driving taxi in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, CEO Hisashi Taniguchi said.The company was ironing out internal

Visa Inc (V.N), the world's largest payments network operator, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue as more people made payments using its network.The company, whose shares were up 3.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday, also affirmed its full-year profit and revenue forecasts."The battle between strong business fundamentals and unfavorable exchange rate shifts will drive our results as we look ahead to the rest of FY 2017", Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu said on a conference call with analysts.Visa, like

By Anna Irrera | NEW YORK NEW YORK Widespread opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration curbs has proved a boon for CrowdJustice, a startup that helps individuals and organizations raise money online to fund legal cases.CrowdJustice, which until now has been based in Britain, this week brought forward the date of its U.S. launch by three weeks to take advantage

By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday, as bank stocks fell after the Federal Reserve provided little clarity into whether it would raise interest rates at its next meeting, even as the central bank painted an upbeat picture of the economy. The Fed, which left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, gave no firm signal of a hike in March as

By Christopher Johnson | LONDON LONDON Oil prices rose on Thursday as evidence that OPEC and other big exporters were cutting production outweighed a sharp rise in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles.Brent crude was up 50 cents at $57.30 a barrel by 1115 GMT (6:15 a.m. ET) after settling up $1.22 in the previous session. U.S. light crude gained 30 cents

TOKYO Sony Corp on Thursday cut its full-year outlook for operating profit on Thursday after the Japanese TV-to-gaming group took a $1 billion writedown on its struggling movie business.Sony forecast group operating profit of 240 billion yen ($2.13 billion) for the year ending in March, down from a previous estimate of 270 billion yen.It also said October-December operating profit fell to 92.4 billion yen from 202.1 billion yen a year earlier.The company said earlier this week it had cut the

TOKYO Asian shares inched up to four-month highs while the dollar was finding its feet on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve stuck to its mildly upbeat economic view but gave no hint of accelerating rate hikes.While strong economic data from the United States and elsewhere have underpinned risk assets, uncertainty and concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's policies have markets on edge."With many of his cabinet members still not approved, including (incoming Treasury Secretary Steven) Mnuchin, Trump's occasional remarks

By Rodrigo Campos | NEW YORK NEW YORK The S&P 500 edged higher on Wednesday to cap a four-day losing streak, buoyed by gains in Apple shares and after the Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates unchanged, as expected.Apple (AAPL.O) shares rose 6.1 percent to $128.75, its highest close in a year and a half. This made it the biggest positive

By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday in its first meeting since President Donald Trump took office, but painted a relatively upbeat picture of the U.S. economy that suggested it was on track to tighten monetary policy this year.The central bank said job gains remained solid, inflation had increased and

By Bernie Woodall | DETROIT DETROIT Automakers on Wednesday are likely to report a 3 percent decline in U.S. auto sales for January after a surprisingly strong December stole some thunder from the start of the new year, industry analysts and economists said.Still, with December's good showing pulling sales from January, normally the weakest month of the year in terms of

By Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki | YOKOHAMA, Japan YOKOHAMA, Japan Nissan Motor Co has taken a step back into gasoline hybrids with its Note e-Power model, which the Japanese automaker hopes will act as a gateway for drivers who will later shift to all-electric cars.The move will also trim Nissan's costs.Nissan's battery-electric Leaf, the industry's first mass-market, all-electric car launched

By Jeffrey Dastin | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Amazon.com Inc plans to invest $1.49 billion to build a large air cargo hub in northern Kentucky, state officials said on Tuesday, stoking expectations it may one day opt to directly compete with FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc.The world's biggest online retailer has agreed to a 50-year lease for about 900

By Sinead Carew and Jamie McGeever | NEW YORK/LONDON NEW YORK/LONDON U.S. President Donald Trump and a top economics adviser on Tuesday unleashed a barrage of criticism against Germany, Japan and China, saying the three key U.S. trading partners were engaged in devaluing their currencies to the harm of American companies and consumers.The comments from Trump at the end of a

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in iPhone sales for the holiday quarter but forecast current-quarter revenue below estimates as customers hold back on phone upgrades in anticipation of the launch of the 10th-anniversary iPhone.Apple sold 78.29 million iPhones in the first quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 74.78 million last year, marking the first quarterly growth in iPhone sales in a year.Analysts on average had estimated iPhone sales of 77.42 million, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.The results,

By Liana B. Baker and Jessica DiNapoli U.S. brand management company Iconix Brand Group Inc (ICON.O) is exploring a sale of its majority stake in Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which owns the rights to cartoon strip characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown, according to people familiar with the matter.The move sent shares of Iconix up more than 5 percent. It comes three months

By Ayesha Rascoe and Amanda Becker | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday that will seek to dramatically reduce federal regulations, but the policy will not apply to most of the financial reform rules introduced by the Obama administration.Trump's latest executive action will require that agencies cut two existing regulations for every new rule introduced and it

MOSCOW McDonald's (MCD.N) plans to open more than 50 restaurants in Russia this year and hopes to sign more franchising deals to expand in existing and new regions, the local unit's chief executive said on Tuesday. The fast-food chain opened 73 restaurants in Russia last year, exceeding its forecast. Of the newly-opened restaurants, 65 are company-owned, Khamzat Khasbulatov, head of McDonald's Russia, told a news conference.Khasbulatov said the target for new outlets in 2017 did not signify the company was

By Ginger Gibson and David Shepardson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Days before a group of Republican lawmakers were due to discuss their party's controversial proposal to tax all imports, Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) sent an urgent message to its U.S. dealers - tell the politicians the tax would seriously hurt car buyers.Some of Toyota's 1,500 dealers heeded the call and contacted

By Henning Gloystein | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Brent crude oil prices fell around 5 percent from their early January peak as rising U.S. drilling activity offset efforts by OPEC and other producers to cut output in an effort to prop up the market.Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.25 per barrel at 0112 GMT, virtually

By Rodrigo Campos | NEW YORK NEW YORK Major U.S. stock indexes posted their largest drop so far in 2017 on Monday as investors worried that a curb on immigration ordered by Donald Trump was a reminder that some of the U.S. president's policies are not market-friendly.An executive order issued by Trump on Friday banned immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Anna Irrera | NEW YORK NEW YORK Day traders love making bets on tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump, but some of the most prominent quantitative strategists from hedge funds and banks are not quite ready to make big, bold trades on his social media musings.The president's active Twitter presence has lifted volatility in financial markets, which

By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. consumer spending rose solidly in December as households bought motor vehicles and a range of services amid rising wages, pointing to sustained domestic demand that could spur faster economic growth in early 2017.There are also signs of inflation steadily firming. The strengthening economy, rising price pressures and a tightening labor market could allow the

By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian share markets and Wall Street stock futures fell on Monday after immigration curbs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump heightened concerns about the impact of the new administration's policies on trade and the economy.European markets were also poised for a sluggish start, with financial spreadbetter CMC Markets expecting Germany's DAX to start the day

TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) four-year run as the world's top-selling automaker has ended as the Japanese company said on Monday its global sales for 2016 fell short of Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE).Toyota said global sales across its Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu minicar and Hino Motors Ltd (7205.T) truck brands rose 0.2 percent to 10.18 million last year from 2015. This was less than the 10.3 million sold by Volkswagen, which posted record high global sales despite its diesel emissions scandal.Toyota's overall

TOKYO Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp [MTFGTB.UL] is preparing to sue Toshiba Corp for 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) in damages after its share price tanked due to a $1.3 billion accounting scandal two years ago.The trust bank is seeking compensation on behalf of its client pension funds, a spokesman said on Monday.The development is an extra headache for the conglomerate which has plunged into crisis again.

By Sinead Carew | NEW YORK NEW YORK In an ordinary world, a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, jobs data and a hefty number of earnings reports next week would provide investors with welcome distraction from speculation about the U.S. president's policy plans.But the current world is less than ordinary. In the second week after Donald Trump's inauguration, issues such as his

By Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan | NEW YORK NEW YORK Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on Friday expressed optimism that the United States will move ahead as a nation, even as it works through political differences and gets used to the new Trump administration.The world's two richest people were speaking to students at Columbia University after U.S. President Donald Trump

By Devika Krishna Kumar and Catherine Ngai | NEW YORK NEW YORK Investors have rushed back into North American pipelines after U.S. President Donald Trump revived growth prospects in a sector that struggled to cope with a two-year oil price slump and strident opposition from environmental and Native American activists.Investor confidence in the industry was shaken last year when the

MEXICO CITY Seeking to quell a social media campaign imploring Mexicans to boycott U.S. companies, Starbucks defended itself on Friday, saying it had invested millions in the country, created more than 7,000 jobs, and that its local unit is Mexican-owned.The statement came after disparate social media campaigns directed at U.S. companies based in Mexico gained traction, following U.S. President Donald Trump's order to build a border wall along the country's southern border and promise to make Mexico pay for it.

SAN FRANCISCO U.S. companies scrambled on Saturday to cope with the fallout from President Trump's executive order on immigration, with Google urgently calling back employees from overseas and companies rushing to provide legal advice and assistance.Trump's order bars citizens of seven countries from entering the United States even if they hold valid visas or permanent residence permits, a move that caught many companies off-guard.Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in an email to staff that more than 100 Google employees

By Christine Murray | MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY Billionaire Carlos Slim said on Friday that Mexico should not fear Donald Trump, seeing opportunities for his country in the U.S. president's economic policies, and praising Mexicans for uniting behind their government in talks with the northern neighbor.In a rare news conference, the telecommunications and construction mogul called Trump a negotiator, "not Terminator"

BERLIN Germany's motor industry watchdog raised suspicions Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) was using prototype vehicles to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in tests in 2015 soon after VW's manipulation of diesel emissions tests was uncovered, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper reported on Saturday.It quoted the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) as telling VW in a November 2015 email it would choose test models randomly and appoint new external experts to carry out testing because of doubts about the independence of the company's

SEATTLE Boeing Co (BA.N) and its largest union said on Friday they had agreed on a February date for a union vote at Boeing's jetliner factory in South Carolina, setting up what is likely to be a fresh battle between the union and the world's biggest plane maker.International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers spokesman Mike Evans said in a statement that about 2,850 workers at the factory that builds 787 Dreamliners would be eligible to vote on union representation