Asda apologises for ‘mental patient’ fancy dress costume
LONDON (Reuters) – Asda, Britain’s second biggest retailer, has apologized and withdrawn a product it advertised on its website as a “mental patient fancy dress costume” after being criticized as stereotyping those suffering from mental illness.
Tokyo Electron takeover could be a mold-breaker for Japan
TOKYO (Reuters) – Applied Materials Inc’s $10 billion acquisition of Tokyo Electron Ltd is more than just a milestone foreign takeover in Japan – it’s a rare forward-looking deal in a country where selling to an overseas rival is usually a last resort….
China’s top appliance maker Gree eyes banking business
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A unit of China’s Gree Electric Appliances Inc of Zhuhai plans to set up a private bank, the second Chinese home appliance player to eye a move into the financial industry after Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd announced its own plans…
Korean court overturns Hanwha chairman’s three-year prison term
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s supreme court has overturned a three-year prison sentence against Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn for breach of trust and other charges, sending the case back to a lower court.
BlackRock launches short-maturity bond ETF
NEW YORK (Reuters) – BlackRock Inc, the largest provider of exchange-traded funds through its iShares business, is set to launch a new actively managed ETF focused on short-maturity bonds that will begin trading Thursday.
Lixil CEO: Grohe would be its last big M&A deal for some time
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Lixil Group Corp would take a break from major acquisitions if it completes a planned $4 billion deal for European bathroom fixtures maker Grohe , the chief executive of Lixil told Reuters on Thursday.
South Korea seeks stealth jet edge while North’s MiGs age
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s decision to reject a bid by Boeing to supply 60 warplanes and to re-issue a tender was made in the interests of stealth technology but may not be justified given North Korea’s weak air capabilities, experts said.
U.S. union efforts at VW plant may face hurdle after eight workers say misled
DETROIT (Reuters) – Eight employees at Volkswagen AG’s Tennessee plant have said they were misled into endorsing the United Auto Workers, handing some ammunition to opponents of the union’s efforts to organize for the first time at a foreign-owned U.S….
Data brokers D&B, LexisNexis, Altegrity report cyber attacks
BOSTON (Reuters) – Three major U.S. data providers said on Wednesday they were victims of cyber attacks, after a cybersecurity news website linked the breaches to a group that sells stolen social security numbers and other sensitive information.
Lixil reaches basic agreement to buy Grohe for $4 billion: Lixil CEO
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Lixil Group Corp has reached a basic agreement to buy Grohe , Europe’s biggest bathroom equipment maker, for about 400 billion yen ($4.05 billion), Lixil Chief Executive Yoshiaki Fujimori said on Thursday.
