European regulators clear Dow Chemical-DuPont merger

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The EU on Monday approved a $130 billion mega-merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, paving the way for major consolidation in a sensitive sector for farmers and the environment.The decision by antitrust regulators was subject to Dupont selling "major parts" of its global pesticide business, said the European Commission, the EU's executive arm."Due to significant commitments on products and the worldwide research and development organisation, the merger of

March 27, 2017

Lego stacks up 'supernatural' record sales

STOCKHOLM -- Lego on Thursday announced record revenues for 2016, but slow profit growth marked the end of years of boost for the inventor of the famous multi-coloured plastic bricks.Revenues jumped by six percent last year compared to 2015, to 37.9 billion kroner (5 billion euros, $5.2 billion),  for a net profit up two percent to 9.4 billion. This is the smallest annual rise since 2007 for both figures. "We have had an almost supernatural growth in recent years. Now we have more sustainable gr

March 9, 2017

Twitter woes deepen as loss widens, user growth sputters

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Twitter came under fresh pressure Thursday as the social network reported sluggish revenue and user growth, and widening losses in the past quarter.Pre-market trades showed Twitter shares slumping 10.8 percent as hopes faded for a rekindling of growth at the messaging platform, which has lagged its rivals in the fast-moving social media segment.Twitter reported a net loss in the fourth quarter of $167 million, after a $90 million deficit in the same period a year ago.Revenue

Feb. 9, 2017

India to remove cash withdrawal limits

MUMBAI (AFP) -- Limits on cash withdrawals will be removed entirely from March 13, India's central bank said Wednesday, as it left interest rates on hold for the second time since a ban on high-value rupee notes.The Reserve Bank of India capped cash withdrawals after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock decision in November to take all 500 ($7.40) and 1,000 rupee notes out of circulation to deter tax-dodging -- 86 percent of the currency in the cash-reliant nation.The ensuing cash crunch saw lon

Feb. 8, 2017

China reserves edge below $3 tril. as yuan pressure rises

China’s foreign-currency reserves edged just below $3 trillion in January, falling to the lowest since early 2011 after the yuan capped its steepest annual decline in two decades.Reserves decreased $12.3 billion to $2.998 trillion, the People’s Bank of China said Tuesday. That compares with the $3.004 trillion estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists and added to the $320 billion decrease in the holdings last year.Further erosion of the world’s largest stockpile may prompt policy makers to a

Feb. 7, 2017

Sony halves forecast as yen, movie unit hammer profit

TOKYO(AFP) -- Sony on Thursday halved its full-year profit forecast as it was battered by a near $1 billion writedown on its movie unit while a strong yen also dug into the Japanese firm's bottom line.The dour reading comes as the embattled entertainment giant struggles with a painful restructuring drive that has included layoffs and asset sales after years of huge losses.It said net profit in the nine months to December 31 plunged 80.7 percent to 45.6 billion yen ($405 million) and warned it ex

Feb. 2, 2017

Global shares fall on uncertainty over US immigration flap

Shares fell in Europe and Asia on Monday, rattled by weak data and the potential impact of President Donald Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and other immigration actions.    KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX lost 0.6 percent to 11,744.80 and the CAC 40 in France shed 0.9 percent to 4,798.53. Britain's FTSE 100 also skidded 0.9 percent, to 7,122.43. Dow futures fell 0.2 percent and S&P futures were down 0.3 percent.     TRUMP TRAVEL BAN: The executive order signed by Trump on Fri

Jan. 30, 2017

750,000 still living under militant rule in Iraq's Mosul: UN

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The U.N. and several aid organizations said Tuesday that an estimated 750,000 civilians are still living under Islamic State rule in the western part of Mosul, the next target of a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive launched three months ago.Lise Grande, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said the cost of food and basic goods is soaring, water and electricity are intermittent and that some residents are forced to burn furniture to keep warm.Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched a m

Jan. 24, 2017

'Court ruling will not change Brexit timetable'

LONDON (AFP) -- Britain still intends to start talks on leaving the European Union by the end of March, despite a Supreme Court ruling that the government must first obtain parliamentary approval, Downing Street said Tuesday."The British people voted to leave the EU, and the government will deliver on their verdict -- triggering Article 50, as planned, by the end of March," a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May's office said."Today's ruling does nothing to change that."Brexit minister David

Jan. 24, 2017

Xiaomi's Barra quits China for Silicon Valley

BEIJING (AFP) -- Hugo Barra, who caused a sensation in 2013 by leaving Google to become a vice president of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, announced Monday he was returning to the United States for health reasons.Barra, under whom Xiaomi was for a time China's best-selling brand, described his experience as a "spectacular" journey but said it was time to return home for a "new adventure". He did not elaborate."But what I've realized is that the last few years of living in such a singular envir

Jan. 23, 2017

Trumponomics gets the thumbs down from Nobel-winning economists

A pack of Nobel Prize-winning economists gave Donald Trump and his policy plans the thumbs-down on Friday, with one saying the president-elect’s programs could lead to a deep recession.Speaking on a panel during the first day of the annual American Economic Association meeting in Chicago, the Nobel laureates voiced a variety of concerns about the billionaire developer’s stance, from his haranguing of US companies about their outsourcing plans to the risk that his tax and spending proposals could

Jan. 7, 2017

Apple CEO Tim Cook's pay slumps along with iPhone sales

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple penalized CEO Tim Cook for the iPhone maker's first sales slump in 15 years with a 15 percent pay cut.Cook still did extremely well, with a compensation package valued at $8.7 million for Apple's fiscal year that ended Sept. 24, according to a regulatory filing made Friday. But the amount was down from nearly $10.3 million in the prior year.The Cupertino, California, company cited a downturn in Apple's revenue and operating profit as the main reason it cut the pay of

Jan. 7, 2017

SpaceX ready to launch again

 WASHINGTON (AFP) - SpaceX says it has determined the cause of a launchpad explosion that destroyed a satellite in September and is ready to start launches again as early as Sunday.　An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded September 1 in Cape Canaveral, destroying a satellite that Facebook planned to use to beam high-speed internet to Africa.　That marked a setback for the California-based private space firm and its founder Elon Musk, who wants to revolutionize the launch industry by making ro

Jan. 3, 2017

China stockmarkets among world's worst in 2016

SHANGHAI (AFP) -- China is the world's second-largest economy and has one of the fastest growth rates of any G20 nation, but its  stock markets have been among the worst performing in the world this year.Starting with a botched attempt to reduce volatility that instead triggered a spectacular meltdown, Chinese bourses have spent the year struggling against feckless policymakers, massive capital flight and a languishing currency.The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) closed Friday down 12.3

Dec. 30, 2016

Apple appeals landmark EU tax ruling

BRUSSELS -- Apple on Monday launched a legal challenge against a landmark EU decision that the tech giant pay billions in back-taxes to Ireland, claiming the EU has ignored the law.The European Commission, the EU executive arm, in August ordered iPhone maker Apple to reimburse a record 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in unpaid taxes in Ireland.The EU, led by its competition chief Margrethe Vestager, accused Ireland of handing Apple a secret tax deal that allowed the iPhone maker to enjoy almost z

Dec. 19, 2016