EU Lays Groundwork for Antitrust Charges Against Google
Europe's competition regulator is said to be laying the
groundwork to move against Google in the next few weeks, setting
the stage for charges against the U.S. search giant in a
five-year-old antitrust investigation.
Playtech Buys TradeFX for up to EUR458M
Online gambling technology group Playtech announced a move into
financial derivatives trading with the acquisition of trading
platform provider TradeFX..
Marks & Spencer Reports Sales Rise
UK retailer Marks & Spencer reported a rise in fourth
quarter sales, saying its food business outperformed the market and
its general merchandise performance improved.
HSBC Monitor Says Compliance Progress Too Slow
A U.S. independent monitor said HSBC is moving too slowly to fix
some of its compliance problems, a tough assessment that comes as
the bank is grappling with other issues, including allegations it
aided tax evasion.
Kraft, Mondelez Accused of Manipulating Wheat Markets
Kraft Foods Group and Mondelez International were charged with
manipulating and trying to manipulate the prices of cash wheat and
wheat futures by the regulator of those markets.
Country Garden to Sell Stake to Ping An Insurance
Country Garden Holdings will sell a 9.9% stake to a unit of Ping
An Insurance of China, raising $813 million to fund its property
projects.
Bank of Jinzhou Plans To Raise $600 Mln in IPO
Bank of Jinzhou, a city commercial lender in northeast China, is
planning to raise about US$600 million in a Hong Kong initial
public offering in June, a person familiar with the situation
said.
Shengjing Bank to Buy Stake in Huaxin Trust
Shengjing Bank agreed to buy a 20% stake in Huaxin Trust from
Huaxin Huiton Group $512 million.
Line Refiles Paperwork for IPO
Line, the Japanese operator of a popular smartphone messaging
application, has refiled for a possible initial public offering on
the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but has no immediate plans for a listing,
according to a spokeswoman for its South Korean parent company.
RadioShack to Debut Stores Under New Ownership
After a brush with liquidation last week, a reincarnated version
of the chain will debut later in April under the ownership of hedge
fund Standard General with an assist from Sprint.
KBR Charged With Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a settlement
with KBR over allegations it used employment agreements that could
have muzzled whistleblowers, a move that marks the agency's
first-ever enforcement action of this kind.
Allegiant Travel Pilots Vow to Strike Thursday
Pilots at Allegiant Travel said they plan to strike on Thursday,
despite management and government officials saying they lack legal
authority to do so--a sudden and dramatic escalation of a running
labor battle at the small discount airline.
Bradken Rejects Takeover Bid
U.S. trading house Koch Industries has teamed up with private
equity firm Pacific Equity Partners to bid $313.6 million for
Australian engineering equipment maker Bradken.