Business

Asia firms spend less and save more as China economy slows

Editorial Bureau March 19, 2019

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Corporate spending in Asia is likely fall for the first time in three years, a Reuters analysis of Refinitiv data showed, as businesses conserve cash in the face of a stalling Chinese economy, an unresolved trade dispute and Brexit uncertainty. Capital expenditure

Business

Riding with ‘Uncle Diego’: Uber’s wild drive for growth in Chile

Editorial Bureau March 19, 2019

(Reuters) – The Uber driver pulled up to the international airport outside Chile’s capital. As his passenger jumped into his gleaming Suzuki, he glanced around furtively for signs of trouble. “Working in the airport isn’t easy,” he told a Reuters reporter, a rosary on the rearview mirror swaying as he raced towards the motorway. “Uber

Business

Brexit hits ability of UK fintech to lure top talent – report

Editorial Bureau March 19, 2019

(Reuters) – Leaving the European Union is making it harder for fintech firms in Britain to recruit top talent, a report said on Tuesday, threatening to slam the brakes on a 7 billion pound growth sector just as EU states step up competition. The Fuelling Fintech report from TheCityUK, which promotes Britain as a financial […]

Business

Nissan must streamline decision-making – Renault’s Senard

Editorial Bureau March 18, 2019

PARIS (Reuters) – Renault and Nissan must streamline decision-making in the car-making alliance and boosting the companies’ cross-shareholding is not currently in their plans, Renault’s chairman said in comments published on Sunday. Japan’s Nissan Motor and France’s Renault, together with junior ally Mitsubishi Motors, agreed last week that

Business

Japan’s exports slump again on weak external demand, puts BOJ on notice

Editorial Bureau March 18, 2019

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports fell for a third month in February in a sign of growing strain on the trade-reliant economy, suggesting the central bank might be forced to offer more stimulus eventually to temper the effects of slowing external demand and trade frictions. Slowing global growth, the Sino-U.S. trade war and complications over […]

Business

Malaysia to summon two Goldman Sachs units ahead of 1MDB case

Editorial Bureau March 18, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian prosecutors on Monday said they would issue summonses to units of U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs in London and Hong Kong, requiring them to respond by June to criminal charges filed against them last year. Soon after being elected in May, 2018, a new government charged three units of Goldman […]

Business

H&M shares slip after quarterly sales rise fails to reassure

Editorial Bureau March 15, 2019

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Shares in Sweden’s H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, slipped on Friday after quarterly local-currency sales growth matched forecasts but failed to allay longer-term market concerns over margins and inventory. H&M has seen profits shrink and inventories bank up in recent years as footfall slowed at its

Business

BMW still preparing for no-deal after UK parliament backs Brexit delay

Editorial Bureau March 15, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – German carmaker BMW is continuing to prepare for a “worst-case scenario” no-deal Brexit after lawmakers voted to seek a delay to Britain’s exit from the European Union. BMW builds over 15 percent of Britain’s 1.5 million cars, making Minis at a factory in Oxford and Rolls-Royce models at a southern English site […]

Business

After Ghosn, Nissan and Renault retool alliance as ‘equals’

Editorial Bureau March 12, 2019

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) – Japan’s Nissan Motor and France’s Renault on Tuesday retooled the board structure of the world’s largest car-making alliance, putting themselves as equals after the ouster of former boss Carlos Ghosn. They said the chairman of Renault would serve as the chairman of the alliance but – in a critical sign of […]

Business

Volkswagen accelerates electric push as core brand margin slips

Editorial Bureau March 12, 2019

WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) – Volkswagen said it will cut jobs as it launches almost 70 new electric models by 2028, accelerating its rollout of zero-emission cars as earnings revealed the operating margin at its core brand had taken a hit. The profit margin at its core VW brand slipped to 3.8 percent last year, down […]