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Bloomberg Total SA boosted cash flow in the first quarter as record hydrocarbon output and so-aring sales of liquefied natural gas compensated for a drop in crude prices. The French energy giant’s earnings are the latest sign of the industry’s recovery from a deep downturn, with Total benefiting from the start of giant LNG projects from Australia to the Arctic ...

Bloomberg Nintendo’s muted forecast for its financial performance in the current fiscal year stunned investors and analysts, sending shares sliding. The company’s stock tumbled as much as 5.1 percent after it forecast operating profit of 260 billion yen ($2.3 billion) this year, well short of the 350.2 billion yen average of estimates. Analysts were particularly befuddled by the forecast that ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s effort to create an ecosystem to support startups is gaining ground, with the city-state now home to more than 150 venture capital funds. L’Oreal SA, Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp are among more than 100 entities running incubator and accelerator programs, according to Enterprise Singapore, the government agency spearheading enterprise development. Venture funding has increased to $10.5 billion ...

Bloomberg Wealth-management group iFast Corp posted a 37.5 percent slide in profit before tax for the year as poor financial markets and investments for growth take their toll. Singapore-based iFast reported a $1.37 million profit, from S$2.99 million a year earlier, according to a company filing. The fintech company said it expects revenue and profitability to improve in the second ...

Bloomberg Barely three months into his tenure, Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard plans to propose merging the French carmaker with alliance partner Nissan Motor Co under a holding-company framework, according to people familiar with the matter. Each company would own about a 50 percent stake in the holding company and have equal board representation, one of the people said, asking ...

Bloomberg Three months after groundbreaking, Tesla Inc is rushing to complete its multibillion-dollar factory on the outskirts of Shanghai to capitalise on growing demand in the world’s largest electric-car market. Foundations for the facility have been laid, and construction workers are erecting walls and other structures for the factory, which could eventually rival production from its US assembly plant. Tesla ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp.’s cloud computing business fuelled quarterly sales and profit that topped analysts’ estimates, boosted by several new deals with large corporate clients. The company’s shares rose as much as 5.1 percent in New York, briefly pushing its valuation across $1 trillion before pulling back slightly. The move nosed the software maker ahead of Apple Inc. as the world’s ...

Bloomberg The shareholder rebellion at Bayer AG is poised to worsen after its supervisory board ignored an unprecedented no-confidence vote against the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann. Several top investors of the German chemicals and drugs giant are frustrated with directors’ decision to back Baumann and his strategy that led to the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto, according ...

Bloomberg Daimler AG said its financial targets have become harder to achieve after a tough start to the year, forcing the auto manufacturer to step up efforts to drive down costs. The Mercedes-Benz maker’s first-quarter profit slumped 16 percent after a decline in deliveries combined with the rising cost of developing new models. While earnings met analyst estimates, Chief Executive ...

Bloomberg Advertising giant WPP Plc reported a fall in first-quarter sales after its agencies in North America lost work with top clients, in another reminder of the challenge facing Chief Executive Officer Mark Read. Revenue less pass-through costs, WPP’s measure of organic sales growth, fell 2.8 percent, the London-based company said in a statement, in line with the average estimate ...