International News

  Bloomberg General Motors Co. will begin producing self-driving cars at a Michigan factory — and testing them on the state’s roads — in a step toward building the vehicles on a large scale, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said. “We believe GM will be one of the first automakers to build high-volume autonomous vehicles in an assembly plant,” Barra ...

  Bloomberg After the worst French wheat crop in decades this season, the European Union’s largest producer looks set to return to global export markets. Output of soft wheat is expected to jump by about a third to 37.7 million metric tons in the season starting July, according to estimates from Tallage, publisher of the Strategie Grains report. That will ...

  Bloomberg Tata Motors Ltd., the $22 billion producer of Jaguar sports cars and Land Rover sport utility vehicles, is shaping up as a key battleground in the fight for control of India’s biggest conglomerate. Tata Group is facing opposition to its plan to remove Cyrus Mistry from the automaker’s board after Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s property developers are fast falling out of favor among investors as surging mortgage costs and punitive taxes threaten to choke home sales. A gauge of real estate companies traded on the city’s stock market has tumbled 13 percent this quarter, with developers accounting for half of the biggest losers on the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which ...

  Bloomberg Australia’s economy recorded its biggest monthly jobs gain this year, led by full-time employment, while a higher participation rate also signaled a healthier labor market. Employment jumped 39,100 from October, more than double economists’ forecast for a 17,500 gain. October jobs gain was upwardly revised to 15,200 from 9,800. Jobless rate rose to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent. ...

  Bloomberg General Motors Co.’s joint venture in China with SAIC Motor Corp. is being investigated by the government for possible anti-trust violations, according to people familiar with the matter. Any action by the National Development and Reform Commission, which is conducting the probe, may be subject to changes, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the ...

  Bloomberg Takata Corp.’s selection of a bidder is running behind schedule as the shortlisted companies embark on a more thorough review of the air-bag maker behind the biggest auto safety recall, according to people familiar with the matter. The successful bidder may only be named some time in the January-to-March quarter, the people said, asking not to be identified ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG gained market share in Europe for the first time since its diesel-cheating scandal erupted in September 2015, a sign that the German manufacturer is regaining consumer trust. The region’s biggest automaker accounted for 24.8 percent of car sales in November compared with 24.6 percent a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said ...

  LONDON / AP The eurozone economy is ending 2016 robustly and inflation pressures are growing, a key survey showed on Thursday, in a combination that suggests the European Central Bank’s stimulus efforts are working. Financial information company IHS Markit said its purchasing managers’ index, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing and services sectors, held at 53.9 points in ...

  Bloomberg Germany’s economy ended 2016 on a strong footing, with a key index suggesting growth accelerated in the fourth quarter. IHS Markit said its composite Purchasing Managers Index was at 54.8 this month after a reading of 55 in November, capping the economy’s strongest three-month period since the second quarter of 2014. That indicates economic growth picked up from ...