Frankfurt / AFP German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, declined in March, official data showed last week. Retailers’ sales fell by 1.1 percent in March compared with February, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. The previous month, retail sales had remained unchanged. On a 12-month basis however, business increased, edging up by ...

Bloomberg Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA agreed to sell Vietnam’s Big C grocery chain to Central Group at an enterprise value of €1 billion ($1.1 billion), extending an Asian divestment programme aimed to reduce the French retailer’s debt. Casino will receive €920 million in proceeds, the St. Etienne, France-based company said in a statement last week. The disposal will bring the total ...

  Rome / AP Armed with shovels and sacks of cold asphalt, Rome’s residents fill potholes. Defying rats, they yank weeds and bag trash along the Tiber’s banks and in urban parks. Tired of waiting years for the city to replace diseased trees, neighbors dig into their own pockets to pay for new ones for their block. Romans are starting to ...