U.S. factory activity failed to gain steam in April after slowing for five straight months and demand for automobiles softened, suggesting the economy was struggling to find momentum after growth almost stalled in the first quarter.
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Oil off 2015 highs on record Iraq exports, strong dollar
Oil prices eased off 2015 highs on Friday after Iraq said its crude oil exports hit a record in April, and on pressure from a stronger dollar.
Shell signs $15.3 billion bridge loan
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has agreed a 10.07 billion pound ($15.28 billion) bridge loan from a group of relationship banks backing its 47 billion pound takeover of smaller rival BG Group (BG.L), the company announced on Friday.
LinkedIn follows Twitter, shocks social media investors
Another day, another shock for investors in social media stocks. Shares of LinkedIn Corp, operator of the most popular social network for professionals, fell 20 percent in early trading on Friday, wiping out more than $6 billion of market value, after the company slashed its full-year forecast.
U.S., UK, China manufacturing all in slow lane
Manufacturing activity growth remained sluggish in some of the world's major economies in April, suggesting that global economic growth remains "moderate and uneven," as the International Monetary Fund described it in its World Economic Outlook in April.
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Expansion in the U.S. manufacturing sector weakened in April as growth in output and new orders fell, according to an industry report released on Friday.
Royal Dutch Shell is pushing ahead with plans to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean near Alaska this summer despite opposition from environmental groups.
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) on Thursday unveiled Tesla Energy - storage systems or batteries for homes, companies and utilities that will expand its business beyond electric vehicles and tap into a fast-growing area of the energy industry.
Most top credit rating agencies say they would not cut Greece's rating to default if it misses a payment to the International Monetary Fund or European Central Bank, a stance that could keep vital ECB funding flowing into the financial system.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives who are trying to end the decades-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports said on Thursday they were gaining support after a Democrat joined the Republican-led effort. Representative Henry Cuellar became the first Democrat to sign on to a bill launched in February by Representative Joe Barton, a Republican and fellow Texan.
Oil rounded out its best monthly gain in six years on Thursday, with the two global benchmarks for crude rising between 20 and 25 percent in April, helped by a weaker dollar and bets that a supply glut would ease.
The euro zone ended four months of deflation in April with consumer prices unchanged from year-ago levels, removing the threat of persistent price declines as energy costs pushed up in the month.
In the 1980s when Sony and Toshiba were setting the agenda in the global TV and memory chip markets Japan was bristling with confidence as a hub of technological innovation.
U.S. crude oil hit a five-month high on Thursday as the dollar slipped to its lowest since February and as more evidence emerged of a gradual balancing of the U.S. domestic market.
