General Electric Co shares climbed 5 percent on Thursday after a powerful U.S. lawmaker suggested a planned financial regulatory overhaul would not force the largest U.S. conglomerate to spin off its hefty finance arm.
Citigroup will sell its Japanese asset management arm to Sumitomo Trust Banking in a $1.2 billion deal, the U.S. bank's latest asset sale to recoup losses from the financial crisis.
French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis expanded its animal health business by buying the other half of Merial from its U.S. partner Merck for $4 billion in cash while opening the door for a bigger deal.
Auto parts maker Federal-Mogul Corp (FDML.O) posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit on Thursday, but reported substantial progress from earlier in 2009 as it cut costs to address the economic downturn and production cuts by its automaker customers.
Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 66 percent drop in quarterly profit, falling short of Wall Street expectations, as natural gas and crude oil prices slid from a year ago and the global recession hurt demand for fuel.
In the first half of 2009, Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and General Motors [GM.UL] remained the world's two biggest automakers despite a more than 20 percent drop in sales
from the year earlier.
Automakers in Europe and Japan unveiled weak results for the first half of the year on Thursday and are set to keep tight control over costs but most predict an improvement in conditions for the rest of 2009.
Auto dealership group Asbury Automotive Group Inc (ABG.N) posted a 47 percent drop in quarterly earnings on Thursday, but said the U.S. new vehicle market had essentially stabilized, though at very low levels.
French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) swung to a worse-than-expected 2.712 billion euro net loss for the first half on Thursday, but now expects the world automotive market to contract less sharply this year.
German luxury automaker Daimler released consensus-beating second-quarter results on Wednesday, but analysts are split on whether the figures signal the beginning of a turnaround for the carmaker or if its balance sheet problems will continue.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT.N) posted a loss on Thursday that was smaller than analysts had expected as the downturn in the North American and European economies pressured results.
Colgate-Palmolive Co's quarterly profit rose more than expected, as cost-cutting helped offset the impact of weaker consumer spending and the stronger U.S. dollar.
Automakers in Europe and Japan unveiled weak results for the first half of the year on Thursday and are set to keep tight control over costs but most predict an improvement in conditions for rest of 2009.
French carmaker Renault on Thursday posted a worse-than-expected loss on for the first half in line with results at its European rivals as auto sales fell sharply but it said the outlook is stabilizing.
British Airways is seeking to renegotiate installment payments to Boeing Co for the 787 Dreamliners the carrier has ordered, the Wall Street Journal, reported, quoting the carrier's Chief Executive Willie Walsh as saying in an interview.
(In July 29 story, corrects paragraphs 1, 5 to ... inter-alliance ... not,... intra-alliance)
Citi continues to refuse to discuss its 10 percent stake Al Raya Investment, four days after the Kuwaiti firm's chief executive was found dead.
Britain's leading institutional investors could join forces to bypass investment banks in a protest over the fees they charge for rights issues, The Times reported.
Internet content delivery company Akamai Technologies Inc reported second-quarter revenue and an outlook that fell short of Wall Street's expectations, citing pricing pressure, dragging its shares down 11 percent in after-hours trade.
Security software maker Symantec Corp reported a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit, saying its average deal size is shrinking.
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest developer, on Thursday posted its first quarterly loss since 2003 due to writedowns on investments and said the outlook for 2009 was uncertain.
Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc sealed a 10-year Web search deal to better compete against market leader Google Inc.
China State Construction Engineering Group (CSCEC), the world's largest stock offering in 16 months, had 28 billion yuan capital trapped in stock at their debut in Shanghai as its price fell to 6.53 yuan compared to the opening price of 6.70 yuan.
When the dust from the great coffee war that wasn't settles, McDonald's and Starbucks will find that each plays on a slightly shifted field, but neither side has captured the spoils -- the other's customers.
Microsoft's 10-year Internet search deal with Yahoo will get a hard look from Obama administration antitrust enforcers but will probably squeak through.
Australian miner giant BHP Billiton has unveiled a shift in the way it prices sales of iron ore, indicating the end of 40 years of annual contracts.
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that General Motors Co and Chrysler Group were companies worth saving, but he expects both to repay their government loans.
Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as revenue improved in all business segments.
The deeper the recession, the more consumers stay home, hunkered down in domestic cocoons. And accordingly, their desire for convenient meals that simulate an away-from-home dining experience on the cheap is picking up.
China's bubbly stock market is making heroes out of some unlikely companies. And none more so than BYD Co. (1211.HK), in which Warren Buffett plans to take a 10 percent stake.
