British companies increase ad budgets as optimism grows-survey
LONDON (Reuters) – The balance of British companies increasing their marketing spending over those cutting back rose at the fastest pace for six years in the second quarter, signalling growing optimism about the economy, according to researchers IPA Be…
Exclusive: Major Vivus shareholder to support activist’s slate – source
NEW YORK (Reuters) – QVT Financial LP, the third-largest shareholder in obesity drugmaker Vivus Inc , intends to vote for the full slate of nine directors proposed by dissident investor First Manhattan Co, a source familiar with QVT’s thinking said on …
Barclays wins dismissal of credit union regulator’s lawsuit
(Reuters) – Barclays Plc on Wednesday won the dismissal of a U.S. credit union regulator’s lawsuit over the sale of more than $555 million of mortgage-backed securities to two failed corporate credit unions.
Wall Street flat after Fed minutes, but Bernanke lifts futures
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow slipped and the S&P 500 edged up less than a point on Wednesday, interrupting a four-day rally, with investors trying to gauge when the Federal Reserve may scale back on its economic stimulus.
Smithfield CEO feels Senate heat over sale to China
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. senators sought answers from the head of Smithfield Foods on Wednesday about whether the proposed sale of the Virginia ham maker to China’s largest pork producer could hurt U.S. food safety and raise prices for American cons…
Greece says it does not foresee fiscal gap this year or next
ATHENS (Reuters) – Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras denied on Wednesday that Greece would record a fiscal gap this year and next, saying its EU/IMF bailout program was on track to meet the targets agreed with its international lenders.
Newedge fined $9.5 million for failing to police high-speed clients
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Brokerage Newedge USA LLC has agreed to pay a $9.5 million fine to settle allegations by FINRA and U.S. stock exchanges that it failed to adequately monitor and prevent “potentially manipulative and suspicious trading activity…
Yum China sales recovering from food safety, bird flu concerns
(Reuters) – KFC parent Yum Brands Inc on Wednesday reported a smaller than expected decline in June sales at established restaurants in China, showing signs of recovery after sales were drastically hit by a food safety scare and a bird flu outbreak.
North American group sets Bangladesh factory safety plan
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North American retailers unveiled a five-year safety plan for Bangladesh garment factories on Wednesday that would include inspecting within a year every factory they use, following tragedies such as April’s deadly garmen…
SoftBank priority is beefing up Sprint, not exec changes
NEW YORK (Reuters) – SoftBank Corp will move rapidly to use airwaves from Clearwire Corp to bolster Sprint Nextel Corp’s wireless service, but it does not plan any big personnel changes once it takes over the No. 3 U.S. mobile carrier, a top SoftBank e…
