Business News Stories
(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said it has entered into a $5 billion share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as the drug giant looks to prop up shareholder value in face of stiff competition from makers of less-costly generics. Under the accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR), Merck has agreed to repurchase about 99.5 million shares from Goldman Sachs based on current market prices. ...
BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil fell Wednesday as investors waited for a report on U.S. crude stocks and the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy.
By Masayuki Kitano and Vidya Ranganathan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Wednesday following a positive lead from Wall Street, with Japan's Nikkei reaching a fresh 5-1/2 year high and clinging to its gains as the Bank of Japan stood pat after unleashing massive stimulus last month. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent, reversing some of Tuesday's 0.4 percent decline. The South Korean market climbed 0.8 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.2 percent, breaking above 15,500 for the first time in over five years. ...
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit auto factories are forgoing their traditional two-week summer break and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks.
By Stanley White and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept policy steady on Wednesday despite concerns over recent volatility in bond market, saying growth is starting to pick up even as risks loomed from an uncertain global outlook. The central bank upgraded its assessment of the economy, saying it "has started picking up," as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's program of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus has boosted sentiment and a weaker yen has halted a decline in exports. ...
By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors are considering charging Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors as a criminal enterprise engaged in a long pattern of insider trading in stocks, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prosecutors may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, most commonly associated with prosecutions against the mafia, to move against Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund company, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. While this is one option under consideration, no final decision has been made, the source added. ...
By Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co is adding a week of production at 20 North American factories this year to build an additional 40,000 vehicles and help sustain its gains in U.S. market share. The second-largest U.S. automaker said on Wednesday that those factories will be idled for just one week this summer instead of the traditional two-week "summer shutdown" period. This is the second year in a row that the automaker has taken this step. The added capacity comes at a time when Ford sales are outpacing the overall U.S. auto market. Strength in the U.S. ...
By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed Tuesday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, channeled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world. ...
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - UBS AG lost a bid Tuesday to dismiss a whistle-blower lawsuit by a former commercial mortgage-backed securities strategist who said he was fired for refusing to publish misleading research reports. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan found that Trevor Murray, who was fired in February 2012, could move forward with his case. Murray alleges that after he complained to superiors, the Swiss bank retaliated against him in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act. ...
By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's exports rose less than expected in April from a year earlier due to weak demand from Europe and China, highlighting the challenges confronting the world's third-biggest economy as policymakers try to engineer a sustained revival. The 3.8 percent annual increase in exports in April was below the median estimate for a 5.9 percent rise and followed a 1.1 percent increase in the year to March. The result also underscores the limitations of a weak yen in bolstering the trade sector, especially as external headwinds crimp demand for exports. ...
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's trade deficit widened to a larger-than-expected 879.9 billion yen ($8.6 billion) in April as its weakening currency accentuated surging import costs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Far-reaching legislation to grant a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote Tuesday night after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan reports its trade deficit widened to a larger-than-expected 879.9 billion yen ($8.6 billion) in April as its weakening currency accentuated surging import costs.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares of Sony Corp rose 6.3 percent to 2,300 yen, a two-year high, on Wednesday after the Nikkei newspaper reported Sony is considering evaluating a proposal from top shareholder Third Point LLC to spin off its movie and music business. (Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Paul Tait)
By Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin CORK/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Tuesday it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments and had no special rate deal with the company after the U.S. Senate said it paid little or no tax on tens of billions of dollars in profits stashed in Irish subsidiaries. The Irish government, which has seen the luring of U.S. multinationals with low taxes as a key part of its economic policy since the 1960s, said its system was transparent and other countries were responsible if the tax rate paid by Apple was too low. ...
By David Henry TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co took an unusual step to fight off investors seeking more oversight of his activities - he hinted he might quit. And it worked. At the bank's annual meeting on Tuesday, JPMorgan shareholders voted down a proposal to strip Dimon of his chairmanship, giving the measure even less support than last year. Investors showed some unhappiness with the bank's management by only barely re-electing three directors who oversaw a massive trading loss last year. ...
By Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT (Reuters) - A boutique carmaker led by former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz and China's largest auto parts supplier made an offer this month to buy cash-strapped "green" car company Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter said. VL Automotive and China's Wanxiang Group are looking to gain control of Fisker through a prepackaged bankruptcy. This comes alongside a separate push by investors in Europe and Hong Kong, including billionaire Richard Li, to buy out the U.S. Department of Energy's position in Fisker. ...
By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors are considering charging Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors as a criminal enterprise engaged in a long pattern of insider trading in stocks, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prosecutors may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, most commonly associated with prosecutions against the mafia, to move against Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund company, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. While this is one option under consideration, no final decision has been made, the source added. ...
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Sam Forgione BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - As federal prosecutors circle Steven A. Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund in a long-running insider trading probe, one financial adviser in Texas is so devoted to the billionaire investor that he may give him more money. "I'm thinking about putting more money with him," said Ed Butowsky, managing director at Chapwood Capital Investment Management, who manages $1 billion in client money. ...
By Elinor Comlay MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A U.S. cellphone company owned by Carlos Slim has asked Californian authorities to investigate the funding behind protests against the Mexican tycoon by lobby group Two Countries, One Voice. The group has been leading U.S. protests against Slim, accusing his phone company of charging Mexican immigrants inflated prices to call home, just as the billionaire tries to build up business in the United States. Slim's small but growing U.S. ...
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jamie Dimon, the CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, easily survived a vote Tuesday that would have called on him to give up his role as chairman of the nation's largest bank. But shareholders sent a message that the bank needs better oversight by giving only narrow approval to three of the bank's board members.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Three former Ford Motor Co. executives were charged Tuesday with crimes against humanity for allegedly targeting Argentine union workers for kidnapping and torture after the country's 1976 military coup.
By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Google Inc's tax affairs will come under renewed scrutiny in Britain on Wednesday when the leader of the opposition Labor party accuses the Internet company of wrongly going to "extraordinary lengths" to avoid paying tax. In comments designed to politically outflank Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of next month's G8 summit on what has become a high-profile issue, Ed Miliband, the Labor leader, will say he is disappointed that Google pays so little tax. "I can't be the only person here who feels disappointed that such a great company as Google ... ...
By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) - Few foreign activist investors have made much headway in forcing change in Japan, where a conservative corporate culture favors long-standing ties with banks, business partners and workers rather than shareholders seeking value. Struggling electronics giant Sony Corp, though, with more foreign and fewer bank shareholders, may prove something of an exception. That's the hope, at least, of Californian billionaire Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point hedge fund has built up a more than 6 percent stake in Sony, making it the group's biggest stockholder. ...
By David Henry TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co's outspoken chairman and chief executive, won a vote of confidence on Tuesday as shareholders recommended that he keep his chairman title, giving him a greater margin of approval than last year. Investors who had pressed for Dimon to be stripped of his chairman title said they believed they lost because of the chief executive's hints he would quit if he did not win the vote. Just 32.2 percent of shareholder votes were in favor of a proposal to create an independent chairman, compared with 40. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter is booming as a social media destination for teenagers who complain about too many adults and too much drama on Facebook, according to a new study published Tuesday about online behavior. It said teens are sharing more personal information about themselves even as they try to protect their online reputations.
By Patrick Temple-West and Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook made no apology on Tuesday for the iPad maker saving billions of dollars in U.S. taxes through Irish subsidiaries and told lawmakers that his company backs corporate tax reform, even though it may end up paying more. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found that Apple in 2012 alone avoided paying $9 billion in U.S. taxes, using a strategy involving three offshore units with no discernible tax home, or "residence. ...
By Sinead Carew (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp raised its buyout offer for wireless service provider Clearwire Corp to $3.40 per share on Tuesday under pressure from activist shareholders, but the new bid failed to impress several big investors. Clearwire shares traded around the new offer price after Sprint was forced to revise its original $2.97 per share offer just hours before a scheduled shareholder vote on the deal. Analysts and investors had predicted that the original bid would not have won approval. Clearwire said it would review the new bid and postponed the vote to May 30. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to keep a $400 million annual cut — or roughly a half of 1 percent — to the food stamp program in a farm bill it is considering this week.
By Jonathan Spicer and Paul Carrel NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two senior Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday played down the chances that the U.S. central bank would signal a readiness to reduce its bond buying at its meeting next month, dampening speculation the Fed's ultra-easy monetary policy might end soon. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard, both of whom will vote at the June 18-19 meeting, made clear further economic progress was needed before they would support curtailing bond purchases. ...
By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 closing at new all-time highs as Federal Reserve officials' comments eased some concerns that the central bank could start reducing its stimulus program. Dow component Home Depot gave the market a lift after the world's largest home improvement chain raised its profit outlook, driving its stock to a record intraday high. JPMorgan also bolstered the Dow, rising more than 1 percent to a 52-week high after the bank's chief executive won a vote of confidence from shareholders. ...
By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - ESPN, the sports channel that is Walt Disney Co's most profitable unit, is cutting 300 to 400 jobs across the company and closing a small Denver office, a person with knowledge of the cuts said. The job cuts, comprising 4 to 6 percent of ESPN's staff of 7,000, include open positions that will not be filled, said the source, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. But ESPN will continue hiring for other open positions, the person said. The channel has recently won rights to exclusive coverage of the U.S. ...
By Luke Baker and Mark John BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Growing concern in European capitals about aggressive tax avoidance by high-profile corporations such as Amazon, Google and Apple looks set to steal the agenda of a European Union summit in Brussels on Wednesday. The summit was originally called to discuss energy policy and tax coordination, but press reports in Britain, France and the United States exposing how little tax major international companies have been paying by carefully structuring their European operations has forced the issue up the agenda. ...
(Reuters) - Gap Inc's chairman and CEO said on Tuesday the U.S. retailer was ready to sign a global accord designed to prevent another deadly disaster in Bangladesh's garment industry, provided there were some "very minor accommodations." A series of incidents at factories has focused attention on safety standards in Bangladesh's booming garment industry while creating a trans-Altantic divide between U.S. and European retailers over ways to resolve these issues. Some U.S. ...
(Reuters) - Sony Corp is considering evaluating a proposal from top shareholder Third Point LLC to spin off part of its movie and music business, Japanese daily Nikkei reported. Sony's U.S. listed shares rose 9 percent on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Billionaire hedge fund investor Daniel Loeb last week called on the company to spin off its lucrative entertainment arm, setting the stage for a clash between his activist Wall Street fund and management at the Japanese electronics maker. Sony declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. ...
By Ethan Bilby BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is willing to deepen trade ties with China but wants to see concessions from Beijing first, documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed. At the same time as EU regulators are ramping up trade pressure on Beijing by threatening duties on solar panels and telecoms equipment, Brussels is dangling the carrot of trade agreements before the Chinese. ...
By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's new chief executive, Brian Krzanich, has launched a sweeping company reorganization and created a unit aimed at growing its market share in mobile technology. The shakeup, announced internally just days after the 30-year veteran took the helm, places most of the main product groups of the world's top chipmaker directly under the CEO's supervision and hands its sprawling global manufacturing operation to new president Renee James, said a source close to the company, who declined to be identified. ...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Sprint Nextel Corp. is offering 14 percent more than before for the stake in wireless data network operator Clearwire Corp. it does not already own, but a large shareholder said the offer was still inadequate.
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for former Goldman Sachs Group Inc board member Rajat Gupta sought to reverse his insider-trading conviction on Tuesday, arguing that wiretap evidence used by the prosecution should not have been introduced at trial. Defense lawyer Seth Waxman told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that wiretaps played for the jury were inadmissible because they amounted to hearsay evidence. ...
