Publicis, Omnicom merger gets U.S. antitrust green light
PARIS (Reuters) – Advertising groups Publicis and Omnicom received no objections from U.S. antitrust authorities for their proposed merger, they said on Friday, taking them a step closer to creating a new world leading player.
Asia factory activity picks up; Britain coasts along
BEIJING (Reuters) – Demand for exports drove the fastest upturn in Asia’s factories in months during October, led by China, as Friday’s business surveys also showed UK manufacturers still expanding.
RBS avoids break-up with 38 billion pounds ‘internal bad bank’
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland is to create an internal “bad bank” to fence off its riskiest assets, part of a raft of measures designed to heal its relationship with the British government and speed up its eventual privatization.
Sinopec gets initial approval for $10-billion Shanghai refinery: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – Sinopec Corp won initial approval last month from China’s top economic planner for a plan to build a $10-billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Shanghai, two company officials said.
Euro on the ropes after dive in inflation
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro tumbled to a two-week low on Friday after a plunge in euro zone inflation left markets suddenly eyeing the outside chance of a cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank next week.
Russian PM wants cheaper credit to stimulate economy
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia must boost the flow of credit to businesses to promote an investment-led recovery but will not throw fiscal caution to the wind to overcome the drag on the economy from weak exports, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
China factory activity picks up in October, recovery seen gradual
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s giant manufacturing sector strengthened further in October, two surveys showed on Friday, though mixed signals in important areas including export orders suggest any recovery in the world’s second-largest economy will be gra…
Nissan, facing growing pains, reshuffles management
TOKYO (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co said Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga would step aside from the No.2 post to a job handling external affairs in a management makeover as the company grapples with quality issues amid an ambitious drive to boost …
Japan growth seen slowing in third quarter, shoppers set to take up slack
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economic growth may have slowed in July-September as consumer spending and exports moderated, but growth will quickly bounce back as shoppers spend up before a sales tax hike next year, a Reuters survey found.
Insight: Property hot spots renew easy-money bubble fears
LONDON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – From China to Canada and London, fast-rising property markets are haunting the global economy again, five years after the U.S. subprime mortgage bubble burst and triggered the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.
