International News

  AFP The latest European challenge to the all-powerful US credit ratings agencies doesn’t come from the continent’s financial capital Frankfurt — but Berlin, better known for raves than banking. “We want to become the European voice on the ratings market,” declares Torsten Hinrichs, chief executive of Scope Ratings. From his office overlooking the huge Tiergarten park, once the hunting ...

  AFP Embattled automaker Volkswagen will hold talks on Monday with two component suppliers, in a bid to end a stand-off over car parts deliveries that has severely disrupted production at the German giant. ES Automobilguss, which supplies cast gearbox components, and Cartrim, which makes seat covers, suspended their deliveries in August over a legal dispute with Volkswagen. VW secured ...

  Bloomberg In Carmel, Calif., Aston Martin announced the addition of a sister car to the Vanquish Zagato coupe it debuted earlier this year: the Vanquish Zagato Volante. Aston will make only 99 of the Vanquish Zagato Volante open-top cars. The lower body sills are carbon fiber; its V12 engine gets nearly 600 horsepower. Sprint time to 60mph is 3.7 ...

  AFP The German central bank’s call for people to work until age 69 has reignited a fierce debate in Europe’s fast-ageing top economy, with analysts backing it while politicians show their opposition ahead of key elections. Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was swift to condemn it, saying: “A factory worker, a shop assistant, a nurse, a care-giver would ...

  Bloomberg The crash in crude prices may have nudged Kazakhstan toward its biggest wave of privatization in history, but its wealth fund is now willing to bide its time for a recovery in oil to take hold. Samruk-Kazyna, with assets worth over $64 billion, is in no hurry to kickstart the process, waiting until oil prices recover and Russia ...

  Beijing / Bloomberg China’s diesel exports rebounded to a record in July as severe flooding in some parts of the country curbed domestic fuel demand. The world’s largest energy consumer exported 1.53 million tons of diesel last month, a 39 percent jump from June and beating the previous record in May, according to data posted Sunday on the website ...

  New Delhi / Bloomberg A surge in internet connectivity in rural India, home to some 870 million people, will lead much of the nation’s e-commerce activity to move into regional areas during the rest of the decade, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group. The number of web-connected rural consumers will more than double to 315 million by ...

  Beijing / Bloomberg China Vanke Co., the developer at the center of a battle for control, posted a 10 percent increase in first-half profit as a home-market recovery boosted sales, helping offset uncertainties over the company’s future because of the ownership struggle. Net income at the nation’s largest residential developer climbed to 5.35 billion yuan ($804 million), or 0.48 ...

  Bloomberg A two-month advance in U.S. equities ran out of steam amid signs investors are again growing skeptical of the long-awaited rebound in corporate profits. Stocks didn’t fall by much — at its close of 2,183.87, the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.01 percent over the five days — but that was enough to make it the second-worst week since ...

  Bloomberg Viacom Inc.’s controlling shareholders Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone emerged victorious in a months-long legal battle to oust Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman, reaching a settlement that will see him leave the company with a $72 million severance package. Dauman will become non-executive chairman until Sept. 13, giving him an opportunity to present to the board a proposal ...