China's crude oil imports hit a record high in April as falling prices encouraged stockpiling, but coal imports plunged and shipments of other commodities generally eased on a year earlier amid a sluggish economy.
Regions
ISS recommends BMW shareholders vote against Reithofer appointment: FAS
Advisory firm ISS has recommended that BMW (BMWG.DE) shareholders should vote against the appointment of outgoing chief executive Norbert Reithofer as chairman of the carmaker's supervisory board, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported.
Troubled air bag maker Takata says to return to profit in 2015/16
Japan's Takata Corp (7312.T) said it expects to return to profit this financial year on higher Asian and U.S. sales, but the troubled company made few provisions for possible costs related to a massive global recall of its exploding air bags.
Sharp plans to use capital to wipe out past losses: source
Japan's Sharp Corp (6753.T) is considering using capital to reduce accumulated losses on its book, an accounting maneuver that would allow the loss-making electronics maker to resume dividend payment earlier, a source said on Saturday.
Chinese company treats 6,400 employees to French holiday
China's Tiens Group Co. Ltd is treating more than half of its 12,000 employees to a four-day holiday in France and has booked up 140 hotels in the capital Paris as part of the package, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.
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General Motors Co said it will fall short of its goal of having 500,000 GM vehicles on U.S. roads by 2017 that are powered by some form of electricity.
Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) is aiming to sell a 20- to 30-percent stake in its rail unit via an initial public offering in Frankfurt as early as October, said three sources familiar with the matter on Friday.
Visa Inc (V.N) is in preliminary talks to buy former subsidiary Visa Europe Ltd, in a deal that could be valued at up to $20 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
U.S. stock indexes ended more than 1 percent higher on Friday after strong jobs data indicated U.S. economic growth was picking up momentum, but not enough to raise concerns about an earlier-than-expected interest-rate rise by the Federal Reserve.
Grupo BTG Pactual SA (BBTG11.SA) could book a net gain of about 3.5 billion reais ($1.15 billion) when the recent sale of a stake in Brazilian hospital chain Rede D'Or São Luiz SA is completed, Chief Executive Officer André Esteves said on Thursday.
Energy, transport and finance deals are likely to be on the agenda as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a three-day visit to Russia, where he will attend World War Two commemorations.
BG Group said on Friday it was still happy with Shell's $70 billion takeover bid despite a recent upturn in oil prices that led the company to increase the profit outlook for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business.
Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.N) is in talks with India's Micromax Informatics (IPO-MINF.NS) to buy an about 20 percent stake in the smartphone maker, helping the Chinese e-commerce giant expand in one of the world's fastest growing markets for the devices, several people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Crude oil prices edged down on Friday, set for their first weekly decline in more than a month as concerns over a global supply glut outweighed strong Chinese crude imports.
