NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 hit a record high for a seventh straight session on Friday, as continued optimism on resolving the U.S.-China trade war and strength in domestic consumer spending lifted sentiment. President Donald Trump claimed progress on issues from trade to North Korea and Hong Kong after speaking with Chinese President […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices were set for a third straight weekly gain despite a Friday fall after easing U.S.-China trade tensions lifted business confidence and the outlook for global economic growth. Brent LCOc1 was down 17 cents at $66.37 a barrel by 1311 GMT, equivalent to a weekly rise of around 1.8%, while U.S. […]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – For long-term shareholders of Netflix (NFLX.O), the end of December marks an extremely rewarding decade. Shares of the video-streaming heavyweight have surged over 4,100% since the end of 2009, making it the S&P 500’s top performer over the past 10 years. Analysts mostly recommend investors keep buying the shares, even as […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) agreed on Thursday to pay restitution and accept greater oversight to settle a multi-year probe finding that it had illegally required New York City employees to find substitutes when they needed to use sick leave. The settlement with Starbucks, which has changed its sick leave policy, was announced […]

Amazon says it plans to open a new fulfilment centre in Darlington creating more than 1,000 jobs. It adds to the 21 such centres that the online retail giant already has across the UK. The company has created 29,500 jobs in the UK since 2010. But it has been heavily criticised over alleged “exploitative” working […]

(Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) said Thursday it is issuing recalls for more than 900,000 vehicles worldwide in two separate campaigns to address brake software and fire risks. The largest U.S. automaker is recalling more than 550,000 2019 light-duty Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Cadillac CT6 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles due to potential software issues […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has added an extra year to its investigation into accountant EY’s audit of Thomas Cook, the holiday company that collapsed in September leaving tens of thousands of people stranded abroad. The FRC said on Thursday it will also consider EY’s audit of Thomas Cook’s financial statements for […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – OCBC Bank has added two senior leaders to its 24-member management committee, the lender said in a media statement on Thursday (Dec 19). Sunny Quek has taken over as head of consumer financial services, Singapore on Nov 13. Wang Ke has been appointed on Dec 9 as chief executive officer […]

Verizon customers were reporting widespread service disruptions around the country on Wednesday morning, experiencing problems making outgoing calls, texting and browsing the internet. On social media, customers using the hashtag #verizon and #verizonoutage reported that when they tried to make outgoing calls, they received the message: “All circuits are busy. Please try your call again […]

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday as investors paused after Wall Street’s record-setting spree, while FedEx eyed its worst day since September after cutting its annual profit forecast for the second time this year. U.S. parcel delivery company (FDX.N) fell 8% in premarket trading after it lowered its fiscal 2020 profit […]