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Striking rail workers burn tracks, protesting a move to delay retirement until age 62. (Reuters)
Protesters blockaded Marseille’s airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon on Thursday ahead of a tense Senate vote on raising the retirement age.
A quarter of the nation’s gas stations were out of fuel despite President Nicolas Sarkozy’s orders to force open depots barricaded by striking workers.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper weighed in on miner BHP Billiton’s $39 billion bid to take over Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. on Wednesday, calling it a proposal by an Australian-based company to take over an American-controlled company.
The Conservative government has until Nov. 3 to decide whether to approve the bid for Potash, the world’s biggest fertilizer producer. Ottawa is required to determine whether the bid would be a net benefit for Canada. Get the full story »
Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. look set to drift further apart as the U.S. carmaker plans to wind down its stake in the Japanese company, leaving Mazda freer to make decisions, but possibly in need of a new partner down the line.
Ford is set to sell most almost all of its stake in Mazda, which stands at 11 percent, a source told Reuters Saturday. Trading house Sumitomo Corp. and other Japanese business partners of Mazda were in talks to buy the shares, the source said. Get the full story »
Boeing Co., in cooperation with Air China Ltd. and others, plans to test a commercial-jet biofuel in China produced from a locally grown plant by the middle of 2011-part of an effort to commercialize cleaner fuels world-wide and bolster China’s potential as a biofuel provider.
Boeing first tested a biofuel on a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 jet in early 2008 in London. It has since conducted similar tests a few more times, each time experimenting with different types of biofuels on different engines. The China demonstration flight, expected to be conducted by May or June next year, would be Boeing’s sixth such demonstration flight using a biofuel, said a Boeing executive, Al Bryant, in an interview Monday with The Wall Street Journal. Get the full story »
News that China’s Sinochem will not launch a counterbid for Potash Corp., removes one of the biggest potential obstacles to BHP Billiton’s $39 billion offer for the Canadian fertilizer giant.
The fate of Potash is far from certain, however, as other white knights may emerge, and BHP faces regulatory hurdles on the one hand and demands from Potash for a higher bid on the other. Get the full story »
The Obama administration faces a tough call Friday whether to label China a currency manipulator, a move long demanded by many U.S. lawmakers but also a potentially big wrench in an important relationship. Get the full story »
Russia is exploring the creation of a regional wheat futures market and this month held talks with senior executives at CME Group Inc., according to a senior official at the Chicago-based exchange operator.
The planned venture would add another global platform for trading alongside Chicago and Paris, serving the fast-growing “bread basket” of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, which has become an increasingly important source of European food imports. Get the full story »
The dollar fell sharply against a broad range of currencies Thursday as prospects for Asian economic growth contrasted with the likely need for more stimulus in the U.S.
A monetary-tightening move overnight by the Monetary Authority of Singapore accelerated the dollar’s slide, knocking the greenback to long-term lows against rivals in Asia, Europe and North America before regaining some poise in New York trading. Get the full story »
United Airlines said Wednesday it had gained federal approval to begin daily flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai in little more time than it takes to fly between the two cities.
The speedy review of United’s request, completed a day after the Chicago carrier asked for permission to launch the new China service next year, is in contrast to the lengthy lobbying battles over access to China’s booming market that played out during the 1990s and in the 2000s.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation had needed just six days to approve a request by American Airlines to fly from Los Angeles to Shanghai. Get the full story »
Leading airlines have called on Europe and the United States to cap export credits on the sale of passenger jets at 20 percent in the latest ripple of a growing spat over multi-billion-dollar subsidies.
U.S. and European airlines say their Gulf rivals get subsidies and export credits that allow them to grow at a breakneck pace and take market share. Get the full story »
Like rival American Airlines, United Airlines wants to expand its reach into China and has asked federal officials for permission to begin daily flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai starting in May 2011.
The new service would expand United’s reach in Asia’s booming air travel market, which has rebounded from the recent global recession faster than the U.S. and Europe.
Chicago-based United also seeks to take advantage of additional flights between the U.S. and China that will become available in 2011 under a recent trade agreement that loosened the tightly regulated market for air travel between the two countries. Get the full story »
Arcelor Mittal steel workers protest pension reforms that would delay retirement until age 62, in Marseille, France. (Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)
French trade unions began a fresh wave of strikes against pension reform on Tuesday, testing the resolve of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government as the unpopular bill edges closer to becoming law.
Rail services, flights and sea ports ran below capacity as the unions kept up their battle against a plan to make people work longer for their pensions, including raising the minimum retirement age to 62 from 60. Get the full story »
Rival bidders may be looking to derail BHP Billiton’s $39 billion bid for Canada’s Potash Corp., with China’s Sinochem and a Canadian pension fund working on plans, according to newspaper reports. Get the full story »
PepsiCo Inc.’s third-quarter net income rose 12 percent on strong sales gains in drinks and Frito-Lay snacks abroad, but shares fell after the company lowered the top end of its guidance because of investments to expand its presence overseas. Shares fell $2.01, or 3 percent, to $65.10 in heavy volume Thursday.
