Qantas seeks foreign ownership rule change

Australian airline Qantas has backed a suggestion by Treasurer Joe Hockey that rules restricting foreign investment in the carrier should be changed.

Burberry appeals as China cancels tartan trademark

Burberry has appealed against a decision by Chinese authorities to cancel trademark protection for the British trenchcoat maker's distinctive tartan pattern in one of the key markets for luxury goods firms.

Royal Mail Operating Profit Almost Doubles

LONDON — Royal Mail said rising parcel revenue and ongoing cost cuts helped the newly-privatised postal operator almost double its operating profit in the first half of the year.

Blackberry shakes up senior management

Struggling smartphone maker Blackberry has shaken up its top management as part of its continuing reorganisation.

H&M aims to pay all textile workers ‘living wage’ by 2018

Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer, laid out a plan on Monday to pay a fair “living wage” to some 850,000 textile workers by 2018, saying governments were acting too slowly.

Zimbabwe warns foreign firms of January 2014 arrest

The owners of foreign firms operating in certain sectors in Zimbabwe after 1 January 2014 will be arrested, a senior official has warned.

Samsung to pay Apple $290m (£180m) for copying phones

A Silicon Valley jury has ruled that Samsung must pay $290m (£180m) to Apple for copying iPhone and iPad features in its devices.

Royal Mail float: paying bankers' deferred fees would be 'mad', MP says

The government would be "mad" to pay more than £4m in deferred fees to the banks that advised on Royal Mail's privatisation because they undervalued the company, the chairman of a parliamentary committee said after grilling the bankers on Wednesday.

JP Morgan in record $13bn settlement with US authorities

US bank JP Morgan Chase has agreed to a record $13bn (£8bn) settlement with US authorities for misleading investors during the housing crisis.

Sony Entertainment Looks to Cut $100 Million-Plus

Sony Entertainment, the movie and music arm of Sony Corp., is looking to cut at least $100 million in costs and has hired consulting firm Bain & Co. to conduct a review of its operations.

Dubai Air Show: Boeing leads order books race

Airlines in the Gulf have placed a number of high-value plane orders on the first day of the Dubai Air Show, with US giant Boeing a major winner.

Nationwide reports big rise in profits

Nationwide Building Society, the UK's largest mutual lender, has reported a big rise in profits for the six months to the end of September.

France sells stake in jet engine firm Safran

The French government is selling a 3.6% stake in jet engine maker Safran worth 937m euros ($1.3bn).

Volkswagen Issues Global Recall of 2.64 Million Vehicles

Volkswagen is recommending that mineral oil be used in dual-clutch gearboxes on 1.6 million cars and vans in place of synthetic oil, Michael Franke, a spokesman at the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company, said today by phone.

Sainsbury's reports 9% rise in half-year profits

Sainsbury's has reported a half-year pre-tax profit of £433m, up 9.1% from the same period in 2012. The supermarket giant said the results were "strong" considering the "tough trading environment".

Energy companies shouldn't treat customers as 'cash cows', says Davey

Ed Davey, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, has accused the big six energy companies of using customers as "cash cows" by raising bills unfairly.

Barratts and Blockbuster fall into administration

High Street shoe chain Barratts and DVD rental chain Blockbusters have both gone into administration, putting more than 3,000 UK and Irish jobs at risk. Duff & Phelps has been appointed as administrator to Barratts.

Flybe set to cut 500 jobs

Flybe has warned that it plans to axe another 500 jobs in the latest round of cost-cutting at the struggling regional airline business.

Nissan boss warns UK over possible EU exit

Nissan will reconsider its investment in the UK if Britain leaves the European Union, chief executive Carlos Ghosn has told the BBC.

Twitter Resists Investor Frenzy to Avert Facebook Flop

The contours were familiar: A hot social-media company going public with investors baying to buy its stock.

Siemens splashes out on buyback as new CEO works on strategy

BERLIN: Siemens' new Chief Executive Joe Kaeser promised on Thursday to buy back up to 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) worth of shares while asking investors for patience as he works out a strategy by May to close a gap with more profitable rivals.

Toyota raises full year profit forecast

The world's biggest carmaker, Toyota, has raised its profit forecast as the yen's weakness and cost-cutting measures helped lift its earnings.

BlackBerry Takeover Bid Collapses; CEO Heins Ousted

BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY), coping with the collapse of a $4.7 billion buyout by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH), will raise $1 billion in convertible bonds and seek a new chief executive officer for the struggling company.

Ryanair shares plunge after warning over profits

Ryanair shares have slumped 13% after the company warned that profits are likely to fall this year. It now expects to make a profit of between 500m euros (£423m; $674m) and 520m euros for the financial year ending in March, down from its previous projection of 570m euros.

London super rich give private jet market a lift

A new generation of the super rich buying expensive properties in London are providing a spin-off for the corporate and private jet market.

Facebook revenue surges 60% on strong ad sales

Social network giant Facebook reported a 60% surge in revenue, to $2.02bn (£1.26bn), in the third quarter. Revenue from advertising grew by 66% to $1.8bn, with nearly half of that coming from mobile ads.

Nissan, facing growing pains, reshuffles management

TOKYO: 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 market share.

Sony lowers profit forecast dramatically after movie loss piles on the misery

The flop of the film White House Down has added to earnings woes at Sony in the latest quarter, dragging the entertainment and electronics giant to a 19.3bn yen (£122m) loss.