BLOOMBERG Starbucks Corp said Laxman Narasimhan has assumed the role of chief executive officer, two weeks earlier than planned. Narasimhan, 55, has also joined the company’s board of directors, Starbucks said in a statement. He began working at the coffee giant in October and has spent the last few months getting to know the operations at more than 30 stores, ...

BLOOMBERG Auto sales in Europe increased for a seventh straight month, aided by strong growth in the UK and Spain and improving supply chains. Registrations jumped 12% in February to 902,775 vehicles, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said. Sales of battery-electric vehicles surged 34%, expanding more than any other type of powertrain. Shortages of semiconductors and other components are becoming ...

BLOOMBERG The national-security and mental-health risks posed by TikTok are shared by other social media platforms, according to an advocacy group that’s urging Congress to also hold US companies accountable ahead of high-profile testimony from TikTok’s chief executive officer. The Tech Oversight Project, a nonprofit, says Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Apple and Amazon.com employ the same harmful business practices as ...

BLOOMBERG Chinese President Xi Jinping touted close ties with Russia on the second day of his state visit to Moscow on Tuesday, inviting Vladimir Putin to make a return visit later this year. “It fits the historical logic that Chinese leaders take Russia as a primary choice for their overseas visits,” Xi said, adding that China and Russia are each ...

BLOOMBERG Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida travelled to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, becoming the final Group of Seven leader to visit the nation since Russia launched its invasion over a year ago. Kishida was greeted by Ukrainian officials on arrival in Kyiv on Tuesday. The Japanese premier will make clear his support for Ukraine during the visit, ...

BLOOMBERG The French government survived two no-confidence motions late Monday to enable the immediate adoption of President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pension reform bill without holding a full vote in parliament. In a tighter than expected count, the first motion got 278 votes, only nine short of the 287 needed to topple Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. The second got 94. “We ...

BLOOMBERG Hard-line Brexiteers in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party said parts of the UK prime minister’s new Brexit deal are “practically useless,” while reserving judgment on whether they’ll rebel in a vote on Wednesday. EU law will remain supreme in Northern Ireland, new trading arrangements won’t work as billed by Sunak and a proposed veto mechanism for the application of new ...

BLOOMBERG Nordea Asset Management AB bought financial stocks in Asia amid this month’s global rout in the sector, as it remains optimistic about their earnings growth prospects. |“We have added to our insurance holdings in Asia,” Hilde Jenssen, Nordea’s head of fundamental equities, said in an interview in Singapore. “It’s clear when half a trillion is wiped off in market ...

BLOOMBERG European shares rallied for a second day and US futures pointed to a firmer open for Wall Street as steps to shore up the financial system helped restore confidence. The Stoxx Europe 600 jumped as much as 1.4%, buoyed by a 3.5% jump in an index of banking shares. Futures for the S&P 500 climbed after a report that ...

DUBAI / GULF TIME REDTAG, the Middle East’s leading value-fashion and homeware brand, announced its Ramadan offerings, which include a new line of modest festive wear, free gifts, and vouchers. The limited-period offers will run between March 19 and April 22, bearing REDTAG’s promise of uncompromising value and embodying its time-honoured tradition of specialised offerings during Ramadan. Starting March 19, ...