U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February as harsh weather kept consumers from auto showrooms and shopping malls, tempering the outlook for first-quarter growth and a June interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve.
North America
Oil drops 9 percent on week on stronger dollar, glut warning
Global oil prices tumbled on Friday and fell 9 percent on the week, hit by a renewed rally in the dollar and a warning by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the oil glut is growing.
Union says tentative deal reached to end U.S. refinery strike
The United Steelworkers union and oil companies have reached a tentative deal to end the largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years, the labor group and people familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday.
U.S. 2015 profits forecast to grow 1.7 percent; oil, dollar are concerns
Corporate America's profit engine may be running out of steam. Wall Street analysts, expecting two quarters of declining earnings, are banking on a second-half recovery to keep 2015 from becoming the worst year for profits since the last recession.
United Technologies CEO sees $1 billion in acquisitions in 2015
United Technologies Corp's (UTX.N) chief executive officer said on Thursday that the company will spend $1 billion on acquisitions this year, "maybe a little bit more," even as he eyes bigger targets.
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In the weeks leading up to the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual stress test of major banks, a former risk executive of Deutsche Bank AG repeatedly warned senior managers of the German bank's U.S. unit that they were painting a far too rosy picture of the bank's health.
Intel Corp (INTC.O) slashed nearly $1 billion from its first-quarter revenue forecast as small businesses put off upgrading their personal computers, sending the chipmaker's shares down more than 5 percent.
U.S. stocks rose in a broad rally on Thursday, bouncing back from two days of losses, helped by weaker retail sales that paused the dollar's recent rally and tempered the outlook for interest rates.
U.S. airlines are expected to carry more passengers this spring than they have in seven years, Washington-based trade group Airlines for America said on Wednesday.
KFC, the world's largest chain of fried chicken restaurants, may face pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) said it would switch to chicken raised without human antibiotics.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) is investing $200 million in photo-messaging app Snapchat, a source familiar with the deal said, striking its latest Silicon Valley deal as the Chinese ecommerce company builds up mobile services.
With shallow pockets but a deep commitment to promote "living wages", women's advocacy group UltraViolet has peppered Target Corp (TGT.N) with cheap location-focused online ads, challenging it to match Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N) promise of $10-an-hour base pay.
A federal judge said Facebook Inc must face a nationwide class-action lawsuit seeking to force the social media company to provide refunds when children spend their parents' money on its website without permission.
Apple Inc's iTunes and App Store came back online on Wednesday afternoon after an unusually long service disruption that the company blamed on an internal technical error.
