International News

  Bloomberg Bosses of Britain’s public companies rarely look forward to facing off with their shareholders, but the run-up to this year’s annual general meeting season is provoking a particularly strong sense of anxiety. Executive pay is high on the political agenda, with the government wrapping up a consultation exercise on the issue just last month and Prime Minister Theresa …

  Bloomberg General Motors Co. is trying to make up for lost time with its redesigned Chevrolet Equinox. While the largest US automakers’ competitors have pumped out new and refreshed sport utility vehicles to cash in on the booming segment, GM soldiered on with an Equinox that last underwent major changes seven years ago. Equinox deliveries slumped 13 percent in …

  Bloomberg Detroit was once known as a city where a working-class family could afford to own a home. Now it’s a city of renters. Just 49 percent of Motor City households were homeowners in 2015, down from 55 percent in 2009 and the lowest percentage in more than 50 years. Detroit isn’t alone, of course: The rate of US …

  Bloomberg The proportion of Californians making electric cars their new set of wheels has stayed flat for years even though incentives make some models basically free to lease, a trade group told state regulators that may toughen up already-stringent rules. With state rebates, federal tax credits and manufacturer discounts, the effective monthly payments in California for zero-emission vehicles including …

  Bloomberg The chief negotiator of a 16-nation Asia trade pact expressed hope that talks can be concluded this year if member nations refrain from introducing elements of a separate deal derailed by US President Donald Trump. Iman Pambagyo, trade negotiating committee chief for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, said that governments had the political will to conclude the deal …

  Bloomberg Japan’s exports rose the most in two years in February, after a lull in January that was due to the Lunar New Year celebrations in Asian trading partners. Exports rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier (median estimate 10.1 percent), according to government data. Imports increased 1.2 percent (estimate 1.3 percent). The trade surplus for February was 813.4 …

  Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd. posted fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates amid a surge in costs and rising competition in the mobile gaming market. Net income rose 47 percent to 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in the three months ended December, the Shenzhen-based company said on Wednesday. That compares with the 11 billion-yuan average of analyst estimates compiled by …

  Bloomberg Toshiba Corp. bondholders, who have seen their investments tumble in recent months, have a new reason to worry: they may be paid only after banks in the event of a default. The concerns surfaced after people familiar with the matter said the Tokyo-based company is offering stock holdings and real estate as collateral to lenders as it seeks …

  Bloomberg Iron ore is getting battered. After rounds of warnings that this year’s rally may be overdone, the raw material is in retreat as doubts gather about the strength of demand in China as steel sells off and record port stockpiles put a spotlight on rising supplies. In China, futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange sank into a bear …

  Bloomberg The UK drew more venture-capital investment last year than the next four European countries combined, mitigating concerns that Brexit is hurting British startups’ fundraising. Venture-capital firms plowed 6.8 billion pounds ($8.5 billion) into Britain last year, according to an annual study released on Wednesday from Tech City UK, a London-based organization that promotes the country’s digital economy. That’s …