Foreign firms seek action from China's new leaders

BEIJING: Foreign companies in China say they want the country's new leadership to act on pledges to reduce bureaucracy and remove investment barriers as the business climate gets tougher, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Friday.

BP to go ahead with $500 million Shetlands investment

LONDON (Reuters) - British oil group BP is pressing ahead with a $500 million-plus investment in the Shetland Islands, a shot in the arm for the government's efforts to revive the North Sea oil industry to help kickstart a flagging economy.

Wal-Mart may get customers to deliver packages to online buyers

SAN FRANCISCO: Wal-Mart Stores Inc is considering a radical plan to have store customers deliver packages to online buyers, a new twist on speedier delivery services that the company hopes will enable it to better compete with Amazon.com Inc.

Prudential fined £30m over AIA bid

Insurance giant Prudential has been fined £30m by regulators over its 2010 bid to buy AIA, an Asian subsidiary of US insurer AIG.

Sharp says no investment deal with Taiwan's Hon Hai

TOKYO: The deadline for a crucial capital injection in Sharp from Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision lapsed Tuesday without any deal, the struggling Japanese electronics giant said, citing regulatory hurdles.

Bankia Stock Value Is Nearly Wiped Out Under Recapitalization Plan

MADRID — Shares in Bankia, the giant Spanish mortgage lender whose collapse last year led to a banking crisis in Spain, slumped Monday in the first day of trading after regulators wiped out most of the stock’s value.

Airbus-Boeing battle shifts to Indonesia

JAKARTA: A new rivalry between the world's biggest planemakers is heating up in Indonesia after a record deal for Airbus in a market with huge potential that until now has been a "fortress" for Boeing.

BP to buy back $8bn in shares after Russian sale

Oil giant BP has said it will buy back $8bn (£5.2bn) of shares, returning to shareholders the money they had put into a complicated Russian venture.

H&M profits fall amid tough economy, bad weather

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB reported Thursday a 10 percent fall in its first-quarter net profit, to 2.46 billion kronar ($380 million), mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions and a tough economic climate.

Apple brand less 'inspiring', survey says

Technology giant Apple is perceived as less "inspiring" than it was three years ago, a brand survey suggests.

Weak Europe, U.S. weighs on Volvo February shipments

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - World number two truck maker Volvo said on Wednesday that shipments of its trucks fell 26 percent year-on-year in February as lingering weakness in Europe and North America offset stronger demand in Latin America.

US companies stash more cash abroad, tax likely factor: report

WASHINGTON: Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, PfizerBSE -0.04 % Inc and other big US multinational corporations boosted cash held offshore in 2012, likely in an effort to flee US taxes, said a report released on Tuesday.

Dreamliner: Boeing says flights to restart in 'weeks'

Boeing has said that it expects commercial flights of its Dreamliner 787 plane to restart within "weeks".

Can US airlines attract investors with better returns?

ATLANTA: US airline stocks, long derided as investment duds, have been gaining altitude in recent years. Now, some see room for them to fly even higher. Recent mergers have brought in new, profit-focused managements who are running larger, leaner operations than in the past.

JP Morgan accused of hiding losses by Senate report

US bank JPMorgan Chase has been accused of hiding its huge trading losses by a US Senate panel. The bank lost $6.2bn (£4.1bn) in trades last year by an employee nicknamed the London Whale.

Samsung set for crucial Galaxy S4 smartphone launch

Samsung is set to launch a device in its flagship premium smartphone range, expected to be named the Galaxy S4. It follows the S3, a handset that has sold more than 40 million units. The Galaxy handsets are seen as the closest competitor to Apple's iPhone.

Banking reform 'still does not go far enough'

The government's proposed reforms of the banking sector still do not go far enough, according to a banking commission set up in the wake of the Libor scandal.

European Union mulls cut in executive salaries of listed companies

BRUSSELS: After reaching an agreement last week to cap bankers' bonuses, the European Union plans to rein in the salaries of managers and board members of all stock exchange listed companies across the EU block.

Sony Chairman Howard Stringer Says He’ll Retire in June

Sony Corp. (6758) board Chairman Howard Stringer, who became the first non-Japanese executive to lead the company, said he will retire in June.

News Corp will start its new life with $2.6bn after split

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp will start its new life primarily as a publishing company with no debt and $2.6bn (£1.7bn) in cash when it is spun off.

Barclays and RBS disclose number of staff paid £1m-plus

A total of 428 employees of Barclays and 93 at RBS earned more than £1m last year, the banks have disclosed. Five members of staff were paid more than £5m, the Barclays said, but they did not include the chief executive, Antony Jenkins, who received £2.6m.

Workers don't share in companies' productivity gains

Companies are on a tear in terms of productivity and profits, but they aren't sharing much of the gains with their workers.

Samsung in final talks to take 3% stake in Sharp: Sources

TOKYO: South Korea's Samsung Electronics is in final talks with Sharp Corp to invest about 10 billion yen ($107 million) for a 3 percent stake in the Japanese company, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Singapore's Temasek raises stake in Spain's Repsol

MADRID: Spanish oil group Repsol has sold a 5 percent stake to Singapore's government fund, Temasek, in a further step towards financial stability after the sale last week of gas assets to Shell.

HSBC pays $4.2bn for fines and mis-selling in 2012

HSBC paid out $4.2bn (£2.8bn) last year to cover the cost of past wrongdoing. As well as $1.9bn in fines for money laundering, the bank also set aside another $2.3bn for mis-selling financial products in the UK.

Swiss Voters Approve Limits on ‘Fat Cat’ Executive Pay

Swiss voters approved some of the world’s toughest limits on executives’ pay in a referendum, a move critics say could make Switzerland less attractive to multinational corporations.

US judge orders cut in Samsung payout to Apple

A judge in the US has ordered $1bn (£660.4m) in damages awarded to Apple last year against Samsung be cut by 40%, and set a new trial to assess the level of damages.

US factories grow at fastest pace since June 2011

WASHINGTON: US manufacturing expanded in February at the fastest pace since June 2011, buoyed by increases in new orders and production.

Apple CEO Tim Cook to face investors with $137 billion on their mind

SAN FRANCISCO: As Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage at this year's shareholder meeting, he may not get the reception he received in 2012, when investors lauded the company's performance and rising shares.