Bloomberg The chief executives of 18 automakers asked President Donald Trump to reinstate a US Environmental Protection Agency review of fuel efficiency regulations through 2025 that they say was unfairly cut short during the final days of the Obama administration. In a February 10 letter, executives including Mary Barra of General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co.’s Mark Fields and ...
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Swiss reject tax reform, threatening country’s competitive edge
Bloomberg Switzerland shot down the government’s plan to reform corporate taxation, a decision that risks hurting its appeal as a place for multinational companies. After opponents said the reform was a series of “complicated tax tricks,†voters opposed it by 60 percent to 40 percent, according to projections on broadcaster SRF. Polls had suggested the electorate was evenly split ...
Read More »Coca-Cola tries to slim down business, not just drinks
Bloomberg Coke is trying to slim down its business, not just its sodas. The Atlanta-based company said its profit fell 55 percent as global sales volume dipped and it booked charges related to getting out of the manufacturing and distribution of its drinks. Coca-Cola Co. has been selling those operations back to independent bottlers around the country and plans ...
Read More »UK lawmakers urge more reporting rules for large private firms
Bloomberg Large private companies should have to meet the same corporate governance and reporting requirements that apply to publicly traded firms, a panel of lawmakers recommended, citing the collapse of the department-store chain BHS Group Ltd. BHS, formerly known as British Home Stores, went out of business in April 2016 with a pension deficit of at least 570 million ...
Read More »Snap’s IPO investors to have no say on executive pay
Bloomberg Investors buying into Snap Inc.’s much-anticipated initial public offering won’t have any say on how much the company pays its executives. Snap will not be subject to the say-on-pay provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, the company said in an updated deal prospectus. The act was put in place after the 2008 financial crisis to help investors throttle outsized ...
Read More »Freebies herald rural India spending spree
Bloomberg India’s politicians are promising everything from smartphones to pressure cookers in a free-for-all that could signal the start of a spending spree in the country’s hinterland. In Uttar Pradesh, a state of 200 million people voted in legislative elections on Saturday, parties including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party offered a range of freebies — which have ...
Read More »South Korean investigators to again summon Samsung heir
SEOUL / AP South Korean prosecutors investigating the corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye said on Sunday that they plan to summon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong again as they look into bribery allegations between Park and the country’s largest busi- ness group. Lee, the billionaire vice chairman of technology giant Samsung Electronics, will be summoned along with two ...
Read More »As young move away, traditional craft dies out in Nepal
THIMI / AP For generations, the residents of the ancient Nepali town of Thimi supplied the rest of the Himalayan country with everything from tiny clay lamps used in temples to massive grain storage jars. Locals still mix clay and throw it on potters’ wheels, then leave pots to dry and harden in the sun. But not for long. ...
Read More »Toyota, Suzuki to work together in green, safety technology
TOKYO/ AP Japanese automakers Toyota and Suzuki, which began discussing a partnership in October, said they would work together in ecological and safety technology — a rapidly growing area in the industry. Toyota Motor Corp., the maker of the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, and Suzuki Motor Corp., which specializes in tiny cars, announced the decision, ...
Read More »Microsoft can pursue suit over US sneak-and-peek searches
Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. persuaded a judge not to let the US government out of a lawsuit alleging the company’s free-speech rights are violated by a law that blocks it from alerting users to the clandestine interception of their e-mails. The judge said Microsoft has at least made a plausible argument that federal law muzzles its right to speak about ...
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