Reuters Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it will shrink its board by three members to 12, bringing it closer to US corporate norms in a move the largest US retailer hopes would allow it to respond more nimbly to rapid market changes. The change will take place after Wal-Mart’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 3, it said in a statement. …

  PARIS / Reuters French retailer Fnac said on Thursday it would offer 145 pence per share to buy Darty , Europe’s third-largest electronics retailer, trumping an offer from Conforama, part of South African retail conglomerate Steinhoff. Fnac had originally proposed a takeover offer for Darty last year but Conforama emerged as a rival bidder in March, with an offer …

  Shanghai / AFP China’s homegrown regional jet should have made its first commercial flight weeks ago, but the ARJ21 has still not flown any fare-paying passengers, dealing yet another setback to the country’s ambitious plans for domestically produced planes. Chengdu Airlines received the aircraft from manufacturer the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) in November, already years behind schedule, …