Retail sales growth slows as higher taxes kick in
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retail sales barely rose in January as tax increases and higher gasoline prices restrained spending, suggesting the economy got little help from consumers at the start of the year.
Wall Street rises, S&P hits highest since November ’07
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising above 1,523.57 to reach its highest intraday level since November 1, 2007.
Comcast to buy rest of NBC Universal from GE in $16.7 billion deal
(Reuters) – Comcast Corp clinched full control of NBC Universal for $16.7 billion on Tuesday, the latest in a series of deals that have taken the cable operator from humble roots in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Manhattan’s iconic Rockerfeller Center.
Lexus leads as auto industry quality better than ever: survey
DETROIT (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s luxury brand Lexus topped a U.S. vehicle dependability study of owners of 3-year-old cars and trucks as model-year 2010 vehicles improved to record-high quality levels.
Business inventories rise less than expected in December
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Business inventories edged up in December as sales pushed higher, confirmation that a slow pace of warehouse restocking weighed on fourth-quarter economic activity.
American-U.S. Air merger would boost revival of oneworld alliance
LONDON (Reuters) – US Airways’ expected move to the oneworld alliance as part of its proposed merger with American Airlines would be part of a comeback by oneworld, which has lost members and fallen behind rivals Star Alliance and SkyTeam in recent y…
EU, U.S. fire starting gun for free trade talks
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The United States and the European Union agreed on Wednesday to push for the launch by the end of June of talks to create the world’s biggest free trade alliance, which could be a benchmark for global competitors to follow.
Exclusive: Russia plans $25-$30 billion oil-for-loans deal with China
LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Rosneft is seeking to borrow up to $30 billion from China in exchange for possibly doubling oil supplies, making Beijing the largest consumer of Russian oil and further diverting supplies away from Europe.
Exclusive: Santander UK probed over flawed advice-sources
LONDON (Reuters) – Santander’s British arm is under investigation for possible investment advice failures and could face a fine or license changes that prevent it from offering such services in future, four industry sources said.
India to blacklist Finmeccanica if bribery proven
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will cancel a $750 million deal to buy helicopters from Finmeccanica SpA and blacklist the Italian defense group if bribery allegations are proven, India’s defense minister said, as political opponents tried to capitalize on…
