Microsoft’s Gates to start multi-billion-dollar clean tech initiative
NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will launch a multi-billion-dollar clean energy research and development initiative with heads of state on Monday, the opening day of the U.N. climate change summit in Paris, the French governm…
Dutch government to appeal EU ruling on Starbucks tax deal
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch Finance Ministry said on Friday it will appeal against a European Commission ruling ordering it to recover up to 30 million euros ($31.8 million) in taxes from Starbucks.
Halliburton refiles bid for EU approval of $35 billion Baker Hughes buy
BRUSSELS – U.S. oil services provider Halliburton Co has refiled a request for EU antitrust approval of its $35 billion bid for smaller rival Baker Hughes , four months after regulators rejected an earlier application because of insufficient data.
Toyota leads global car sales in October, outsells VW for fourth month
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp outsold Volkswagen AG for the fourth straight month in October to remain the world’s top-selling automaker so far this year, after sales at the German carmaker suffered following the diesel emissions scandal.
HSBC whistleblower Falciani sentenced to five years in prison
(Reuters) – Herve Falciani, an ex-employee of HSBC’s Geneva private bank who leaked information on clients and their tax situation, has been sentenced to five years in prison for aggravated industrial espionage, the bank said on Friday.
Collapsing cost of euro funding lures U.S. firms over the ocean
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro’s slide against the dollar this year has been a competitive boon for corporate Europe, but it has also opened up an alternative financing window for corporate America.
VW labor boss says C02 cheating has hit new car orders
WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) – Volkswagen is facing slowing orders for new cars, with consumers shunning purchases after the automaker admitted this month it understated fuel usage and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, VW’s top labor representative said …
HSBC to close India private banking unit as competition grows
MUMBAI (Reuters) – HSBC Holdings Plc is closing its private banking unit in India as part of its group strategy, the bank said, marking the exit of another foreign bank from the cut-throat wealth management business in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Black Friday for China stocks but metals not so heavy
LONDON (Reuters) – Chinese shares slumped 5 percent on Friday, hit by regulatory and industrial sector worries, though it wasn’t enough to derail the first weekly rise for metals like copper and zinc since early October.
Pilots’ union confident of deal to join Lufthansa jobs summit: document
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit is confident it can come to a deal that will allow it to take part in a round table organized by Lufthansa management in a bid to defuse tensions with unions over job and growth prospects.




