Glencore Xstrata names ex-BP boss Hayward as chairman
LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore Xstrata confirmed Tony Hayward as permanent chairman of the mining and commodities trading group, sealing the former BP chief executive’s comeback from the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
At China’s Alibaba, chairman Ma’s dealings raise red flags
SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING (Reuters) – Part-way through Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s long-awaited IPO prospectus was a subtle, but striking, warning: investors should know that lead founder and executive chairman Jack Ma might work against the company’s best…
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac post profits driven by legal settlements
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Government-controlled mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will send the U.S. Treasury dividends totaling $10.2 billion after posting quarterly profits driven mainly by income from legal settlements.
Coca-Cola to close two Russian juice plants as market shrinks
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co is closing two of its four fruit juice plants in Russia in response to falling demand, putting at risk hundreds of jobs in a business which the U.S. company had bought for $276 million four years ago.
GM brings back top spokesman to help with ignition switch woes
(Reuters) – General Motors Co has re-hired Steve Harris, its top spokesman during the automaker’s slide into bankruptcy, as it faces a new public relations crisis caused by a deadly ignition defect that has forced it to recall 2.6 million vehicles.
Billionaire brothers plead not guilty as mammoth Hong Kong graft case begins
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Billionaire brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok, co-chairmen of Asia’s largest developer, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, pleaded not guilty on Thursday in Hong Kong’s biggest corruption case since the anti-graft agency was formed 40 ye…
McDonald’s April global comparable sales rise 1.2 percent; U.S. flat
(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp on Thursday reported an increase in global sales at established restaurants for April, with disappointing sales in Europe and flat business in the United States.
China can grow economy by about 7.5 percent in 2014: premier
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is confident about expanding its economy by around 7.5 percent this year, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying on Thursday, in line with the government’s growth target.
Bank of England sticks with low rates even as recovery builds
LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low on Thursday, despite signs that Britain’s economic recovery is picking up more speed and that house prices are rising strongly.
Euro, sterling buoyant before central bank meetings
LONDON (Reuters) – Expectations the European Central Bank will keep its policy powder dry for another month kept the euro near a two-month high on Thursday, as soothing talk from the Federal Reserve and data from China lifted shares.
