McDonald’s to cut 63 headquarters jobs in cost reduction
(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp will cut 63 jobs at its corporate headquarters as part of a plan to reduce costs by $100 million as it looks to increase sales and reverse traffic declines in its major markets.
GM CEO sees U.S. auto market flattening, but room for growth
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra said growth in the U.S. auto market will flatten out this year, although a strong economy and falling gasoline prices should sustain demand.
Honda to pay $70 million in fines for failure to report deaths, injuries: U.S. agency
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co has agreed to pay $70 million to the U.S. government in penalties for failing to report hundreds of injuries, deaths and other consumer claims involving its cars, transportation officials said on Thursday.
Exclusive: Oil glut spurs top traders to book supertankers for storage at sea
LONDON (Reuters) – Some of the world’s largest oil traders have this week hired supertankers to store crude at sea, marking a milestone in the build-up of the global glut.
Starboard reiterates Yahoo should combine with AOL
(Reuters) – Activist-investor Starboard Value LP has reiterated that Yahoo Inc should consider a merger with AOL Inc and cut costs to improve profits, spurred by media reports that Yahoo is exploring other large-scale acquisitions.
Santander to boost capital and cut dividends in Botin shake-up
MADRID (Reuters) – Santander’s new chief Ana Botin continued her shake-up of the Spanish lender on Thursday with plans to boost its capital with a 7.5 billion euro ($8.8 billion) share sale and a cut to its dividends.
Car makers pay to keep Chinese dealers happy as market slows
SHANGHAI/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – After years of outsized growth that turned China into the world’s biggest car market, a slowdown is exacerbating tensions between global automakers and local car dealers, with smaller margins leading to tougher negotiations over sharing profits.
ECB risks undermining QE if it opts for compromise plan
LONDON (Reuters) – The ECB is considering three main options for pumping money into the struggling euro zone economy but two of them could hurt confidence in the bloc’s most indebted states, defeating the object of the exercise.
Inditex to open more than a dozen Zara stores in U.S. this year
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Inditex will open more than a dozen Zara clothes stores in the United States this year, including a flagship store in the SoHo area of New York, it said on Thursday.
U.S. jobless claims dip; 2014 layoffs lowest in 17 years
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and job cuts declined sharply in December, suggesting the labor market is tightening.
