Caracas, Venezuela / AFP Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a three-month state of emergency late Friday to face “threats from abroad,” as his emboldened opposition geared for a vote to oust him from office. In an address to the nation, Maduro said he had signed a new state of emergency decree “to neutralize and defeat foreign aggression,” which he ...

  Bloomberg Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett is backing a group bidding for Yahoo! Inc.’s Internet assets, people familiar with the matter said. The consortium, which includes Quicken Loans Inc. founder Dan Gilbert, is in the second round of bidding for Yahoo’s assets, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the bidding process is private. Buffett ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s real joined a selloff in global currencies against the dollar as newly appointed Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles refrained from giving details on how to tackle the nation’s ballooning fiscal deficit. The real erased its gain for the week as the U.S. currency climbed after retail data re-ignited speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this year, ...

  Buenos Aires, Argentina / AFP Assets belonging to former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner were frozen after she was charged with damaging national finances by manipulating the Central Bank’s exchange operations during her last months in office. Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio said it was “evident that the then president gave instructions — which without a doubt were developed jointly — to ...

  Guatemala City, Guatemala / AFP Business chiefs from across Central America made a joint plea to the region’s political leaders to ratify a WTO agreement aimed at reducing poor infrastructure and other barriers to trade. “There is consensus in the Central American private sector that the governments of the region urgently need to take action so all Central American countries ...

  Bloomberg Tesla Motors Inc., the electric-car maker run by billionaire Elon Musk, hired Audi AG’s Peter Hochholdinger to help oversee production as it seeks to boost vehicle output about 10-fold by 2018. Hochholdinger will be vice president of vehicle production, Tesla said. He’ll be expected to boost production of Model S and Model X cars while building a manufacturing ...

  Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd. is fighting to prevent travellers from switching to Emirates Airline, which is offering luxuries like on-board shower, while budget carriers are chipping away at the coach class. The result: The lowest yield from passengers in six years. Yields, or the revenue earned from a passenger for flying a kilometer, was 10.6 Singapore cents in the ...

  Bloomberg The US government hopes to expedite the hiring of more than 500 security screeners to stem the long wait times expected at airports this summer. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants to get those new workers in place as soon as possible, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who oversees the agency, said in a press conference at Washington ...

  Bloomberg Stung by competition from ultra-discount carriers, American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. are striking back with cheap, no-frills tickets of their own. By year-end, the pair plans to lure budget travelers with basic-economy fares — inexpensive tickets that don’t include typical benefits like an assigned seat before you get to the airport. Taking a cue ...

  Bloomberg Asia’s biggest aircraft lessor is seeking to raise $1.1 billion to fund an expansion as the region is poised to become the world’s top air travel market in about two decades. BOC Aviation Ltd., the Singapore-based company that has more than 100 planes leased out to airlines around the world, will sell new and existing shares at HK$42 ...