Strike at Brazil plant catches General Motors off guard
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – General Motors Co was caught by surprise on Friday by a strike at its Brazilian car factory as workers protested a planned furlough and layoff of hundreds of staff, in the latest labor disruption in the nation’s slumping auto indu…
Insight: Brazilian companies push for deal to minimize Petrobras scandal
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Some of the companies caught up in a massive corruption scandal at state-run oil firm Petrobras are quietly pressing Brazil’s government and judiciary to strike a “grand bargain” to minimize the legal fallout, five sources with kn…
Citigroup consumer banking head Medina-Mora to retire
(Reuters) – Manuel Medina-Mora, who helped build Citigroup Inc’s Mexico business only to see it run into trouble after he stopped running it day-to-day, will retire in June, the bank said on Friday.
HSBC Swiss tax scrutiny set to overshadow $21 billion profit
LONDON (Reuters) – When HSBC’s marketing team began drawing up plans for next month’s 150th anniversary celebrations, they weren’t expecting top managers to spend the run-up to the event apologizing to investors and lawmakers.
Drugmaker Valeant close to buying Salix – source
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc is close to a $10.2 billion deal to acquire gastrointestinal drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd, according to a person directly familiar with the matter.
UAW chief: Raise worker pay, keep companies competitive
NEW YORK (Reuters) – United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams told Reuters it would be an “injustice” if workers at the Detroit Three automakers don’t get a raise in contracts this year, but he said the union must also ensure the companies remain competitive.
RadioShack cleared to sell leases to 1,100 abandoned stores
WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) – Bankrupt electronics retailer RadioShack Corp received court approval on Friday for its plan to try to sell the leases to more than 1,100 stores that it will close by the end of February.
Nasdaq nears all-time highs as exuberance yields to reason
NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closes in on the all-time high it reached in March 2000, investors are facing a market that barely resembles the go-go era of 15 years ago.
U.S. factory activity edges up in February: Markit
(Reuters) – The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in February at its fastest rate since November, after notching its lowest reading in a year in the prior month, an industry report showed on Friday.
RBS poised to take four billion pounds hit on value of U.S. bank Citizens: sources
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland is likely to write down the value of its U.S. bank Citizens by about 4 billion pounds ($6.2 billion) next week, industry sources said, potentially wiping out much of the state-backed bank’s annual profit.
