Many of the headlines coming out of Detroit during the North American International Auto Show will be about electric vehicles – from new electric concept vehicles from Nissan and Infiniti to an emerging partnership between Ford and VW on electric and autonomous vehicles. By all means, environmentalists and others should celebrate progress in bringing more EVs to market. But they ...

For every step General Electric Co. takes towards overhauling its culture, it seems to take a step back. The troubled industrial conglomerate announced that UBS Group analyst Steven Winoker would become the head of its investor relations team. Winoker will replace Todd Ernst, who joined only six months ago from Raytheon Co. This change was needed; GE’s communications with investors ...

I’m cautious about Netflix Inc.’s financial health and the wisdom of its investors as the company finances its growth by spending on investors’ dimes. Netflix, though, has underappreciated advantages over the growing number of Netflix wannabes. That’s not to say Netflix will ‘win’ against the competition from Walt Disney Apple Inc., AT&T Inc.’s Time Warner and others. As people spend ...

Bloomberg The euro will live for at least another two decades after financial crises since the start forced governments to strengthen its foundations, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. But as the currency celebrates its 20th birthday this year, most respondents warn against complacency — particularly after populist political campaigns across the region publicly toyed with the idea of exiting ...

Bloomberg The government is feuding, the budget numbers don’t add up, questions are swirling around banks. But Italy’s stock market is on a roll. The FTSE MIB benchmark has risen 7.6 percent this year, the best performer among major European markets, helped by gains at oil services company Saipem SpA as well as from recently added member Juventus Football Club ...

Bloomberg The impending bankruptcy of PG&E Corp is threatening to foist large liabilities on five banks that have agreed to act as buyers of last resort for more than $760 million of bonds that the teetering utility issued through California government agencies. The company’s announcement that it plans to seek protection from creditors triggered a surge of selling by owners ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a second month, while keeping the door open for more policy action if needed. After hiking by 175 basis points since May, Bank Indonesia kept its seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 6 percent, as predicted by all 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Governor Perry Warjiyo said the rate was ...

Bloomberg It’s shaping up to be a sad bonus season for Europe’s battered bankers. ING Groep NV said payouts will be “significantly smaller” after the largest Dutch lender paid record fines to end a money-laundering probe. Two of France’s top banks are also weighing lower rewards after their trading units were hit by a broader downturn. At Deutsche Bank AG, ...

Bloomberg A combination of the China trade war and government shutdown could be enough to tip the US economy into recession this year, according to Torsten Slok, Deutsche Bank’s chief international economist. The stark warning comes amid emerging signs that the world’s biggest economy is slowing down as gauges of manufacturing and consumer sentiment have fallen in recent weeks. Economists ...

Bloomberg Angola’s central bank, which revoked two lenders’ banking licenses this month, will shut down more institutions if they fail to meet minimum capital levels amid an asset-quality review, Governor Jose Lima de Massano said. Bad loans have crippled the banking sector of Africa’s second-biggest oil producer after a sharp drop in crude prices in mid-2014 triggered a three-year economic ...