Ford China joint venture acquires factory in $1.1 billion deal
BEIJING (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd will takeover and upgrade a factory in northeast China in a 6.6 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) deal, a company spokeswoman said.
McDonald’s raising average worker wage to about $10 an hour
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp plans to raise the average pay of about 90,000 U.S. workers to around $10 an hour, but the increase will not benefit workers at the vast majority of the restaurants, because they are operated by franchisees, who …
U.S. trade deficit lowest since 2009, ports dispute likely a factor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit in February fell sharply to its lowest level since 2009, likely as a labor dispute at one of the country’s main ports depressed both imports and exports.
SurveyMonkey expands business into paid analytic services
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Online polling company SurveyMonkey, one of the United States’ most richly valued venture-backed firms, launched a new tool on Thursday to help companies better understand their customers.
IBM forges mobile app partnership with China Telecom
BEIJING (Reuters) – International Business Machines (IBM) has struck a deal with China Telecom Corp Ltd to offer and manage corporate-grade mobile apps, the latest in a string of tie-ups with Chinese firms.
Doubts over U.S. growth cool dollar rally
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar lost ground on Thursday, the last trading day of the week for many markets ahead of Easter, after disappointing U.S. economic data on Wednesday raised doubts over the growth outlook ahead of key jobs data due out on Friday…
China knocking on door of IMF’s major league, U.S. wavers
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – China is closer to joining the major league of reserve currencies with a deal possible later this year to include the yuan in the International Monetary Fund’s unit of account, international finance officials say.
Wal-Mart support of gay rights turns on business
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores has emerged as an unlikely voice for gay rights after the Arkansas state governor heeded his call on Wednesday to reject a much-criticized bill.
China Internet authority denounces Google certificate rejection
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese Internet regulator on Thursday slammed as “unacceptable” a decision by Google Inc to no longer recognize its certificates of trust, a move which could deter Chrome browser users accessing sites approved by the authority.
GM says Korea labor costs have surged, but has no plans to exit
ILSAN, South Korea (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM) on Thursday said its labor costs have risen nearly 50 percent over the past five years in South Korea, where it makes nearly one-fifth of its global output, but that it does not plan to shut any of …
