International News

  Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent, fueled by a gain on an investment in Dow Chemical Co. Net income increased to $6.29 billion, or $3,823 a share, from $5.48 billion, or $3,333, a year earlier, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said in a statement. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, were $2,665 a ...

  Bloomberg One of Mexico’s largest business groups is working on a bargaining chip ahead of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement: finding alternatives to the US for grain imports. The Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, one of the nation’s top business chambers, is examining countries such as Brazil and Argentina to add new sources for soy, corn and ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s government can’t waive Oi SA’s debt with a local regulator and state-run banks, the communications minister said, denying the phone carrier a lifeline that would have helped it pull out of the biggest bankruptcy in the country’s history. “The govt can’t let go of resources, they are public resources, debt with thepublic administration,” Science and Technology Minister ...

  Bloomberg Heads of two of India’s largest drug makers said integration of electronic systems to prevent quality lapses in factories is going slower than expected, as the industry looks to adapt to increased scrutiny from regulators in the developed world that have resulted in sanctions and slowed sales. “This is a much more digital world than where pharma companies ...

  Bloomberg Iron ore’s having a reality check on rising doubt that the exuberance that lifted prices to the highest since 2014 is entirely rational given the outlook for additional supply, the record stockpiles in China and statements of caution from some of the world’s biggest miners. Futures in China fell on Friday, with Australia’s central bank saying it expected ...

  Bloomberg Across America’s orchards and crop fields, a shrinking supply of migrants has already driven pay up faster than in the broader workforce. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy may turbocharge that trend. Wages for US fieldworkers rose 36 percent over the past decade through the conclusion of last year’s harvest in October, compared with 27 percent among non-farm employees, ...

  Bloomberg After striking deals in Russian oil and Congolese copper mining, Glencore Plc has set its sights on the US grain-trading industry. The company sold half of its agriculture division to two Canadian pension funds for $3.1 billion last year to fund an aggressive debt-reduction plan. Now, with cash levels rebounding and support from new partners for acquisitions, the ...

  Bloomberg Canadian satellite technology firm MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. agreed to acquire DigitalGlobe Inc. in a cash and stock deal worth C$3.1 billion ($2.4 billion), doubling the company’s size and giving itself new access to lucrative US government customers. DigitalGlobe shareholders will receive $17.50 in cash and 0.3132 MDA shares representing a premium of about 18 percent of ...

  Bloomberg The UK government should stop intervening in power markets and better manage its carbon budgets in order to curb the cost of tackling climate change and boost energy security. That’s the conclusion of a report by a panel of lawmakers in the House of Lords, which says government policies to encourage investment in low carbon energy have all ...

    Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s provisions for the diesel-cheating scandal rose to 22.6 billion euros ($23.9 billion), as the German carmaker continues to tally damages from the worst crisis in its history. The company took a charge of 4.4 billion euros in the fourth quarter, more than double the total from the previous nine months, to reflect a settlement related ...