PARIS (Reuters) - Carmaker Fiat Chrysler is subject of a French judicial inquiry over suspected obstruction of a French inquiry into the 'Dieselgate' affair, concerning devices used to cheat on tests over emissions, according to a document obtained by Reuters.
BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday defended its growing trade with North Korea as permitted by U.N. Security Council sanctions that say they should avoid hurting "humanitarian needs."
China, the North's main trading partner, "strictly implements" sanctions aimed at stopping the North's pursuit of nuclear and missile technology, said a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang.
Customs data show Chinese exports to North Korea rose 31.4 percent in August from a year earlier, while imports fell 9.5 percent. Beijing has pointed out the sanctions don't prohibit food sales and argued against measures that might harm the North Korean public.
The Security Council barred member governments on Aug. 5 from buying North Korean coal and seafood.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog has fined Bank of America's Merrill Lynch investment banking arm 34.5 million pounds ($45.5 million) for its third transaction reporting failure in just over a decade.
Tesla has reached an agreement to set up its own manufacturing facility in Shanghai, a move that could help it gain traction in China’s fast-growing electric-vehicle market.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore, one of the world's most expensive places to own a vehicle, will not allow any growth in its car population from February, citing the small city-state's land scarcity and billions of dollars in planned public transport investments.
(Reuters) - Kaspersky Lab will ask independent parties to conduct security reviews of its widely used anti-virus software to help dispel allegations that the Russian government uses the products to conduct espionage, the Moscow-based company said on Monday.
Pressure from Beijing officials seeking Mr. Guo’s return sparks a frantic response from the Trump administration—and standoffs at Pennsylvania Station and JFK airport.
The world’s largest infant-formula market is surprisingly volatile. Investors shouldn’t expect the good news for Western consumer groups to last.
United Continental Holdings is in discussions with J.P. Morgan to renegotiate terms of their co-branded card partnership, a move some analysts fear could suppress revenue at the bank.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Kobe Steel Ltd is considering withdrawing its earnings forecast for this fiscal year as it struggles to quantify the impact of its data falsification scandal, Kyodo reported on Monday.
LONDON (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's convincing election victory lifted the Nikkei to its highest in 21 years and world stocks to an all-time high on Monday, despite an escalation of Spain's constitutional crisis that weighed on the country's banks.
TOKYO (AP) — Global trading was muted Monday, but Japan's benchmark rose on the back of a parliamentary election victory by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democrats, who had promised stability and growth.
KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 was virtually unchanged at 5,371.36 in early trading, while Germany's DAX also nearly flat at 12,987.54. Britain's FTSE 100 was unchanged at 7,523.23. Dow futures were nearly flat at 23,281.00. S&P 500 futures fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,573.30, pointing to a slow start on Wall Street.
ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 percent to close at 21,696.65. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2 percent to 5,894.00. South Korea's Kospi was flat at 2,490.05. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.
European Central Bank officials are watching wage growth as they plot a gradual retreat from easy money policies to boost the regional economy. But the pickup they’re looking for as a signal that Europe is returning to full health might not materialize.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Embattled Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp said on Monday it now expects to slide to a net loss of nearly $1 billion this business year after calculating taxes related to the sale of its prized chip unit.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. refineries from Ohio to Minnesota are capitalizing on access to cheap crude from Western Canada and North Dakota oilfields, helping their region break a historic dependence on fuel from the Gulf Coast while redrawing oil trade maps.
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
SPOTLIGHT ON GM
Wall street expects that General Motors' latest quarterly results declined from a year earlier.
The automaker is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday. GM said in July that it planned to cut vehicle production in the second half of this year as its factories prepared to switch to build newer models.
ECONOMIC BELLWETHER
The Commerce Department releases new home sales figures for September on Wednesday.
A shortage of homes for sale combined with rising prices has translated into an affordability challenge for many would-be buyers. That's one reason new home sales declined in July and August, though sales are running 7.
LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin is booming, digital currency hedge funds are sprouting at the rate of two a week and the value of all cryptocurrencies has surged tenfold this year to more than $170 billion.
NEW YORK (AP) — Target says customers want it to pause the "Christmas creep." It says it wants to be more in tune with customers' mindset, so it plans to ease in holiday promotions this year while better recognizing Thanksgiving.
The retailer's holiday plans also include a new e-gift service, adding kiosks that focus on impulse presents mainly under $15, and launching a wallet feature to its app. It's also offering more weekend deals since shoppers do more holiday buying then.
While all retailers need to worry about online growth and the expansion of Amazon, Target is spending $7 billion over three years to remodel old stores, open small ones in cities and college towns and offer faster delivery for online orders.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc , the world’s largest networking gear manufacturer, is nearing a deal to buy U.S. telecommunications software firm BroadSoft Inc for close to $2 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
21st Century Fox knew of a settlement Bill O’Reilly had reached with a network analyst who had accused him of sexual harassment when the company renewed the star Fox News host’s contract, the company said.
A Trump administration proposal aimed at shoring up coal-fired and nuclear power plants has generated opposition from groups often at odds, including environmentalists, the oil and gas industry and some utilities.
The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week.
Tesla is said to be moving closer to becoming the first foreign car company to have a wholly owned manufacturing operation in the country.
One reason we’re just hearing about harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein and Bill O’Reilly has to do with nondisclosure agreements signed by the accusers.
With the U.S. considering reimposing sanctions on Tehran, companies do business with it “at great risk,” the secretary of state said.
European banks, tech companies and the big oil companies are all reporting their third-quarter results. And the economy is expected to have slowed.
Mr. Tillerson talked with Jason Zengerle about his most important diplomatic relationship — the one with President Trump — factoring the president’s tweets into foreign policy strategy and more.
Artificial intelligence permeates everything at Facebook, the social network’s head of applied machine learning says—and humans are bound to understand Facebook less than ever.
Vast warehouses are being built, fueling a demand for lower-skilled workers and reviving areas that once relied on manufacturing.
Xerox, in collaboration with the 92nd Street Y, gathered essays from writers like Gary Shteyngart and Joyce Carol Oates to help reinforce its role in the workplace.
Nearly all big tech companies have an artificial intelligence project, and they are willing to pay experts millions of dollars to help get it done.
Organizers of a Monday conference on the Narragansett Bay were told three E.P.A. scientists would not be allowed to present their work.
Matthew Henick, a onetime teenage ringtone magnate, is leading the company away from popular shorts toward deals with production studios.
PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Statistics Office says the web sites it used to publish results from a parliamentary election were hacked.
The office made the announcement on Sunday, a day after two sites the office used to post returns of the election for the lower house of Parliament were unavailable for some period of time.
The office described the problem as "massive and sophisticated" attacks that were stopped. It says vote tallying was unaffected.
Police and a Czech government office that deals with cybersecurity are investigating.
The centrist ANO (YES) movement led by euroskeptic populist billionaire Andrej Babis won a landslide victory in Saturday's election, paving the way for Babis to become prime minister.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The FBI hasn't been able to retrieve data from more than half of the mobile devices it tried to access in less than a year, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Sunday, turning up the heat on a debate between technology companies and law enforcement officials trying to recover encrypted communications.
In the first 11 months of the fiscal year, federal agents were unable to access the content of more than 6,900 mobile devices, Wray said in a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Philadelphia.
"To put it mildly, this is a huge, huge problem," Wray said.
Ex-employees and whistle-blowers question whether the provider of investment advice to people in public and nonprofit jobs does put its customers first.
When some of the world’s largest energy companies report earnings next week, it will provide a glimpse into whether they are improving profitability as oil prices continue to hover around $50 a barrel.
The e-commerce giants are spending billions in new markets like Southeast Asia and India to tap a rising new class of young, middle-class shoppers.
Hollywood cleaned its cupboard over the weekend, releasing five new films with limited potential. But Tyler Perry secured his sixth No. 1 opening.
The institution that celebrates journalism is now reckoning with years of financial deficits, partly caused by a news industry in turmoil.
A new crop of mega-philanthropists — from Soros to Gates to Koch — eclipses old guard, changes the rules and courts controversy.
ROME, N.Y. (AP) — Envisioning a day when millions of drones will buzz around delivering packages, watching crops or inspecting pipelines, a coalition is creating an airspace corridor in upstate New York where traffic management systems will be developed and unmanned aircraft can undergo safety and performance testing.
The unmanned aircraft traffic management corridor, jump-started by a $30 million state investment, will extend 50 miles (80 kilometers) west over mostly rural farmland from Griffiss International Airport, a former Air Force base in Rome that is already home to NASA-affiliated drone testing.
It will be equipped with radar and ground-based sensors to enable what Democratic Gov.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With stock price indexes setting record highs, many investors have been keeping a wary eye on the markets. Have stocks risen too far, too fast? Are they destined to fall from here? And what might happen if prices experienced a full-fledged correction — typically defined as a plunge of at least 10 percent?
Would investors panic?
Anthony Saglimbene, a global market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, says he isn't unduly worried. Saglimbene, who has been with Ameriprise since 2008, notes that numerous factors underpin the stock market's current levels.
He spoke recently with The Associated Press. The conversation was edited for clarity and length.
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Q. Are you worried about stocks being overvalued?
A.
As a successful real estate agent, you probably have your hands full with satisfied clients and profitable commissions. If you love meeting with clients at all hours and working through the paperwork to help people’s dreams come true, you probably want to continue doing so until retirement age.
But if you’re ready for a new adventure, the promise of steadier income, and a different set of responsibilities at work, it might be time to start your own real estate business. Here are a few things you should know as you get started.
Learn About Starting Your Own Business
If you’ve been successful in real estate thus far, then you already have a knack for business.…
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer up memes designed to feel real, if only for an instant — long enough for our minds to make a false connection.
In January, the Fox News host was said to have agreed to a $32 million settlement with a former network analyst, the largest of his known payouts.
In her first interview since the essay that started a wave of sexual-harassment revelations, Susan Fowler tells her life story and looks to the future.
The elite military group drove the Iranian economy at the peak of the sanctions era. Now, seen as a drag on growth, it is under attack by President Hassan Rouhani.
Donald Trump signaled that Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen remains a strong candidate to be renominated for the job after the two met this week, saying he liked her “a lot,” while also highlighting John Taylor and Jerome Powell as front-runners.
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Google's parent Alphabet Inc. said Friday that its stratospheric balloons are now delivering the internet to remote areas of Puerto Rico where cellphone towers were knocked out by Hurricane Maria.
Two of the search giant's "Project Loon" balloons are already over the country enabling texts, emails and basic web access to AT&T customers with handsets that use its 4G LTE network.
The balloons — called HBAL199 and HBAL237 — are more than 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) above land, according to FlightRadar24.com . They navigate using an algorithm that puts them in the best position to deliver signal by rising and falling to ride wind currents.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday defended the central bank's extraordinary efforts to fight the Great Recession and said they might be needed again.
During the recession, the Fed pushed short-term interest rates to zero. When the economy needed more help, it took the extraordinary step of buying hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of bonds to push long-term interest rates lower.
Now the economy is improving: It grew at a sprightly 3.1 percent annual pace from April through September, and the unemployment rate has tumbled to a 16-year low 4.2 percent.
"The U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signaled Friday that he is considering dual nominations for the Federal Reserve's top two jobs.
Trump may appoint Jerome Powell, a member of the Fed's board, potentially as chairman, and John Taylor, a Stanford University economist, as vice chairman, according to a transcript of an interview with Trump distributed by Fox Business.
Asked about that possibility, Trump said, according to Fox Business: "It is in my thinking, and I have a couple of others things in my thinking but I like talent and they're both very talented people. It's a hard decision."
The interview is to air Sunday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — First the U.S. government temporarily banned laptops in the cabins of some airplanes. Now it is looking to ban them from checked luggage on international flights, citing the risk of potentially catastrophic fires.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently recommended that the U.N. agency that sets global aviation standards prohibit passengers from putting laptops and other large personal electronic devices in their checked bags.
The FAA says in a filing with the International Civil Aviation Organization that the lithium-ion batteries in laptops can overheat and create fires.
Some questions and answers about the shifting U.S. policy.
HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 15 this week to 913.
That's up from the 553 rigs that were active a year ago.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 736 rigs sought oil and 177 explored for natural gas this week.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost eight rigs, Alaska and Wyoming each declined by two and New Mexico and Utah each lost one.
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
NEW YORK (AP) — The parent of Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue says its CEO Jerry Storch is stepping down and will return to his advisory firm on Nov. 1.
Storch has been the CEO of Toronto-based Hudson's Bay, which also operates the department store chain under its namesake, since January 2015.
Hudson's Bay says it has retained an executive search firm to recruit a new CEO. Richard Baker, the company's executive chairman, will serve as interim CEO.
Like many department stores, Hudson's Bay has been trying to reinvent itself amid a changing retail landscape.
The news comes after reportedly unsuccessful efforts this year to merge Hudson's Bay with department store operators Macy's Inc. and Neiman Marcus.
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Trump promises tax cuts as Senate GOP paves way with budget
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is promising the biggest tax cuts "in the history of our country" following Senate passage of a $4 trillion budget. The budget plan lays the groundwork for action on a tax overhaul Republicans hope to push through by year's end. They'll now be able to get the plan through the Senate without Democratic votes. Also Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the GOP was adding a fourth tax bracket for high-income people to the three already in its proposal.
NEW YORK (AP) — General Electric's new CEO is starting to lay out bold plans to return the conglomerate to its industrial roots by slashing costs and streamlining its operations.
John Flannery said Friday that the company will shed business units worth more than $20 billion over the next year or two.
Flannery, who has been on the job less than three months, is expected to provide more details next month on how he will put his own stamp on the Boston-based manufacturing giant. But he offered plenty of hints after GE's latest disappointing financial results.
GE drastically cut expectations for the full year after its third-quarter profit fell more sharply than expected due to large restructuring charges.
Stocks closed higher Friday, extending a record-setting drive for major indexes.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average closed out their sixth straight week of gains. Both indexes also finished at record highs for the fifth day in a row.
Banks and technology companies had some of the biggest gains as investors cheered strong quarterly results. The Senate's passage of a budget bill raised traders' expectations of an easier path for the White House's tax cut proposal.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 index rose 13.11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,575.21.
The Dow gained 165.59 points, or 0.7 percent, to 23,328.63.
The Nasdaq composite added 23.99 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,629.05.
Wall Street capped a week with no shortage of milestones with a few more Friday.
U.S. stocks closed modestly higher, lifting the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its fifth record close in a row. The Dow Jones industrial average, which crossed past the 23,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, also finished the day with its fifth-straight all-time high.
Banks led the gainers Friday. Technology companies also posted big gains, helping to drive the Nasdaq composite to a record high.
The latest milestones came as investors drew encouragement from the Senate's passage of a budget bill that is expected to ease the path for the White House's tax cut proposal.
At the largest meeting of organized labor next week, U.S. unions are shutting out politicians so they can determine who their friends are.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday:
Celgene Corp., down $14.63 to $121.33
The drugmaker ended late-stage testing of a potential treatment for Crohn's disease.
General Electric Co., up 25 cents to $23.83
The industrial company slashed its annual forecast after a disappointing third quarter and announced plans to shed more than $20 billion in operations over the next couple of years.
Skechers USA Inc., up $9.96 to $33.99
The shoe company's profit and sales were stronger than analysts expected.
PayPal Holdings Inc., up $3.72 to $70.97
The payment technology company reported big gains in new users and transactions.
Procter & Gamble Co., down $3.34 to $88.
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):
4 p.m.
Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street, continuing a record-setting drive for major indexes.
Banks and technology companies posted some of the biggest gains Friday.
Synchrony Financial jumped 4.2 percent Friday and Citizens Financial rose 2.4 percent. Both reported higher earnings than analysts had been expecting.
PayPal rose 5.5 percent after reporting a strong quarter.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,575.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 165 points, or 0.7 percent, to 23,328. The Nasdaq composite climbed 24 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,629.
The only way to truly be competitive in the modern marketplace is to continually adapt to the new demands and challenges consumers are placing on you and your competition. While it’s easy to be complacent, allowing your business to be contented with what it has currently is a recipe for complete doom and upheaval in the future – the not so distant future!
Here’s 6 branding tips you should adapt and use leading into 2018 and beyond:
1. High end “real” video – likeable, shareable, emotive – must be at the forefront of branding
I’m not talking about product placement videos either.…
Sales of previously owned homes declined on an annual basis for the first time since July 2016, suggesting a chronic shortage of homes for sale is beginning to take a bigger toll on the market.
Unless you’re keeping news of your pending launch tightly under wraps, you’ve probably been inundated by well-wishes and offers of assistance. Whether you know it or not, you’ve got a lot of people rooting for you.
All this support can be overwhelming, even confusing. How do you sort well-meaning but misguided advice from truly valuable nuggets of wisdom?
Turning to successful businesspeople could offer some clarity. You might not be able to get Bill Gates on the phone, but you can certainly benefit from the experience he’s gained over a lifetime of fantastic success. Ditto for any number of other high-profile entrepreneurs.…
After criticizing the Fed for the past eight years, Republicans have a chance to change the course of the central bank when President Donald Trump nominates someone to take the helm in early 2018. But they are divided over which direction monetary policy should take.
The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in 44 years, reflecting power outages in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that have disrupted the application process.
Andrew McCubbins is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who has steered multiple ventures into successful multi-million dollar businesses. He believes in going against the crowd. In second grade, he was selling candy to school kids and that is when he realized he had an entrepreneurial skill that he could use to make money.
photo credit: Inspirery
Like most successful entrepreneur Andrew McCubbins has a knack for identifying problems around him and using his entrepreneurial skills to solve them. His telemedicine initiative – Bronson Medical– was started after his seven-year-old daughter got strep throat several times.
He decided that the entire process of seeing a local medical provider needed to be simplified.…
Trump administration attempts to neuter Nafta and the World Trade Organization are intended to sideline the referees from the world trade arena, but that would allow both the U.S. and rivals to be more aggressive, Greg Ip writes.
The truth about lines of credit for businesses is yet to be known by both existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. This is so because most of the sources available to provide information concerning lines of credit are too generic and inaccurate. As a result, many people have found themselves in problems in their efforts to use a line of credit to establish their businesses.
Prior to considering this option to revamp your business idea, here are important things you should do:
- Learn how it works;
- Check if you meet the qualifications;
- Look at its merits and demerits
- Choosing your best option.
The Myth about Lines of Credit
People out there are meant to believe that their business plan is the ultimate factor considered by a bank before it can give them business line of credit.…
Halitosis is nothing to joke around about. Not only does it make the people you talk to at work and in life want to vomit at the mere thought of communicating with you, it can literally kill you! Looking at the infographic on this page, you’ll note that at least 60 percent of people suffering from bad breath are also much more stressed than their minty fresh counterparts.
There’s no “U” in bad breath!
Now, you might be fine with elevated cortisol and the effects it has on your long term health, including high blood pressure, heart disease, weakened immune system, and the slow and steady destruction of your brain.…
If you have run a brick-and-mortar store before, you know just how damaging one customer’s negative experience can be to your reputation in the neighborhood. Infamy carries an impact several orders of magnitude larger on the internet.
You are no longer dealing with the perception of the hundreds or thousands of people living in your area. It’s now about the millions of people online who may come across the complaint. That’s why online reputation management is so vital. We look at the three ways of protecting your brand on the internet.
1. Great Content
First impressions last. One of the most effective ways of increasing your credibility online is by creating high quality content.…
Are you being paid on time? When do you mail out invoices to clients? Invoicing can seem like a never-ending job, especially if you do not have a reliable system in place to maximise your accounting practices. If you are struggling with invoicing and billing within your business, you may need to make a change in the way you charge.
photo credit: ClearFrost / Flickr
If the employees that you have completing the invoicing process are struggling with getting them out on time or appear to dislike the time of the month when invoicing occurs, you need to make a change in your company to speed up the process and make it more efficient.…
Not every business makes use of promotional products, even though it can be a vital part of their advertising operation, but those that do (and, hey, even those that don’t yet) should always think about the impact of combining holiday themes with promotional tools. It is never too early to start getting consumers ready to consider your business a prime source for what they need.
Christmas advertising: Isn’t it too early?
Many people describe how they hate hearing about Christmas shopping specials months in advance, and it’s true: preparing for the holiday season means interrupting the warm summer months with thoughts of snow, decorated trees, and short daylight hours.…
If you own a business that allows people to make purchases based on a credit system, you’re taking the risk that you may never actually get paid in full for the product or service you render. While you’d like to believe that anyone who buys something from you will eventually be able to pay you back, the opposite is often found to be true for business owners. But when the success of your business relies on having cash flowing into your coffers, you’ve got to find some ways to recoup those funds.
So to help make this an easier task, here are three tips for getting your customers or clients to pay their bills.…
