Bloomberg Natarajan Chandrasekaran took over as chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company of Tata Group, pledging to improve capital allocation and boost returns from the $100 billion salt-to-software Indian conglomerate. The challenge for Chandrasekaran, or Chandra as he’s known, will be to rekindle growth and revive Tata’s weaker units after almost four months of boardroom turmoil that …

  Bloomberg Singapore plans to implement Southeast Asia’s first carbon tax starting in 2019, a move that would raise energy costs in the island nation and require more than 30 big polluters such as power plants to pay the levy. The proposal would charge between S$10 ($7) and S$20 a ton on emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse …

  Bloomberg Hong Kong property stocks extended gains ahead of the city’s annual budget speech on Wednesday, as some analysts anticipated announcements that would benefit developers. Property companies were the biggest gainers on the Hang Seng Index, with Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. climbing almost 3 percent and Henderson Land Development Co. advancing 1.4 percent, both on volume that was …

  Bloomberg After years of disappointment, a quiet revolution may be underway in the Japanese stock market. Japan’s companies have for years sat on record piles of cash — the equivalent of $2.4 trillion in September, the most in the world. The issue has been deploying those funds for shareholder benefit. A key part of Abenomics has been sharpening the …

  Bloomberg The US economy should be able to weather President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban, economists say, though any broadening of immigration and visa restrictions could hurt the labor force and productivity. Two-thirds of economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the ban, which has for the moment been temporarily suspended by the courts, will have “little to no effect” on …

  AP European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to new rules aimed at preventing multinational companies from exploiting differences in tax rates between countries in the 28-country EU and those outside the bloc. At a meeting in Brussels, ministers backed the new rules, which will target various practices whereby large corporations can take advan-tage of loopholes between the tax …

  Bloomberg US utility owners from Duke Energy Corp. to NextEra Energy Inc. are warning investors that their earnings may take a hit from tax reforms being floated in Washington. At risk is a provision corporations have enjoyed for years. It gives utilities the right to deduct what can be considerable tax expenses because of the billions of dollars of …

  Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond received a pre-budget boost as Britain posted the biggest surplus for any January since at least 2001. The 9.4 billion-pound ($11.7 billion) surplus compared with 9.1 billion pounds a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Revenue rose 5.3 percent and spending increased 5.4 percent. The figures are restated going …

  Bloomberg Air France pilots approved the carrier’s plan to carve out a new, lower-cost business to counter increasing pressure from rivals, marking a rare agreement with workers after years of contentious labor relations at the carrier. Flight-deck employees represented by the SNPL union, who account for two-thirds of pilots at the French arm of Air France-KLM Group, voted 58.1 …

  BENTONVILLE / AP Wal-Mart says fourth-quarter earnings fell nearly 18 percent, hurt by its investments in e-commerce and stores. But the world’s largest retailer saw its U.S. business accelerate during the period that covers the holiday shopping season. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said on Tuesday it earned $3.76 billion, or $1.22 per share in the three months ended Jan. …