Bloomberg Monsanto Co. may have to wait months to gain approval in Argentina for a patent on its latest genetically modified soybean technology, another setback for the world’s largest seed company in its years-long quest to collect royalty payments from the country’s farmers. Monsanto’s Intacta soybean seed still lacks full patent approval from the Argentine regulator, Argentina’s Science and ...

  Bloomberg President Barack Obama touted a new rule from his administration that’s aimed at making it harder for people to hide money in the U.S. — but it came under quick criticism from a group of organizations pushing for greater financial transparency. Parts of the rule, which will require financial institutions to identify account holders hidden behind shell companies, ...

  Bloomberg Puerto Rico’s economic recession is poised to worsen as residents continue to leave the island, threatening to deepen the fiscal crisis that’s pushing the island to default on a growing share of its $70 billion of debt. The Planning Board, which calculates the island’s economic growth, released its fiscal 2017 forecast, estimating a 2 percent drop in gross ...

  Bloomberg Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said it’s working on plans to eliminate as many as 300 more management posts as the maker of engines for Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co.’s biggest jets steps up a cost-cutting drive amid sputtering first-half earnings. The UK company, which has already announced the elimination of 200 senior positions in two tranches, is in ...

  NEW YORK / AP Those smiley door greeters are back at Wal-Mart. The US’ largest retailer said in a blog post this week that it’s bringing back door greeters to a majority of its 5,000 stores by mid-summer to improve customer service. For stores which have been selected as higher risks for thefts, Wal-Mart will position a “customer host,” ...

  Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted a 39 percent surge in revenue as China’s dominant e-commerce operator shrugged off a slowing economy with promotions to woo cash-rich consumers. Asia’s largest internet company posted better-than-expected sales of 24.2 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in the March quarter and said it will start providing annual forecasts. Alibaba shares jumped 4 percent to ...

  Bloomberg HNA Group Co., the acquisitive owner of China’s fourth-largest airline, has approached the biggest shareholder of CWT Ltd. to express interest in a possible bid for control of the Singapore logistics company, people with the exact knowledge of the matter said. The Loi family that controls CWT will discuss HNA’s interest in coming days and could enter exclusive ...

  San Francisco / AFP Online retail colossus Amazon has boosted its fledgling air cargo service as it moves to gain more independence from freight firms for delivery of online purchases. Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings will provide air cargo services to Amazon, which also obtained an option to buy a stake in the New York-based company, the companies said in ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong property stocks were downgraded by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which predicts a 20 percent decline in home prices as borrowing costs rise. The drop will be “driven chiefly” by a potential 150 basis points to 200 basis points increase in interest rates and the “limited prospect of any loosening of government cooling measures in the near ...

  Bloomberg The Qatar Investment Authority( QIA) is in advanced talks to buy the luxury St. Regis hotels in New York and San Francisco from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., according to people with knowledge of the discussions. The properties may be worth as much as $1 billion, though they could sell for less, said the people, who asked ...