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TOP STORIES
Weak euro zone, Asia pin hopes on U.S. economy for global bounce
LONDON/SYDNEY - Euro zone business growth is weaker than expected this month and factory activity in Asia's top two economies remains stuck in low gear, putting the onus squarely on the United States to drive a pick-up in global growth. (GLOBAL-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 2), moved, by Jonathan Cable and Ian Chua, 650 words)
+ See also:
- CHINA-ECONOMY/PMI-HSBC (UPDATE 2), moved, by Kevin Yao, 600 words
- GERMANY-ECONOMY/PMI, moved, 390 words
- FRANCE-ECONOMY/PMI, moved, 310 words
Shares subdued by mixed China, euro zone PMI data
LONDON - World shares hover near record highs after downbeat Chinese manufacturing data put pressure on Beijing for more stimulus and the Federal Reserve signalled an increase in U.S. interest rates is still some way off. (MARKETS-GLOBAL/ (WRAPUP 5), moving shortly, by Marc Jones, 700 words)
ECB seeks steady policy course, structural reforms - minutes
FRANKFURT - ECB rate setters agreed on April 15 that the bank's 60-billion-euro per month asset buying programme was working as intended but full benefits would only be felt if governments pressed ahead with key reforms, a record of the meeting published on Thursday show. (ECB-RATES/MINUTES (UPDATE 1), moved, 400 words)
Deutsche Bank bets on Jain to deliver on investor demands
FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank has beefed up the powers of co-chief executive Anshu Jain and reduced the influence of his partner Juergen Fitschen in a management shake-up aimed at improving performance and mollifying shareholders. (DEUTSCHE BANK-AGM/MANAGEMENT-JAIN (UPDATE 3), moving shortly, by Thomas Atkins and Arno Schuetze, 640 words)
INSIGHT
New breed of food execs raised on mergers, not marketing
LONDON - The consumer goods world has long been dominated by marketing whiz kids raised through the ranks of Procter & Gamble or PepsiCo, but the executives now in demand come from a new school that values cost-cutting and mergers over marketing. (CONSUMERGOODS-EXECUTIVES/ (INSIGHT), moved, by Martinne Geller, 1,160 words)
Small food makers on fast path to U.S. store shelves, threatening big producers
NEW YORK - Small U.S. food manufacturers once toiled for decades to develop a critical mass of fans for their products. Now, an increasing number of privately-held players are going from garage to grocery store in fewer than five years thanks to an erosion of barriers to entry within the food industry. (USA-FOOD/UPSTARTS (INSIGHT, PICTURE, GRAPHIC), moved, by Anjali Athavaley, 1,235 words)
ECONOMY
U.S. jobless claims up; four-week average lowest since 2000
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly more than expected last week, but the underlying trend continued to suggest the labor market was tightening. (USA-ECONOMY/UNEMPLOYMENT, moved, 330 words)
Greek optimism about imminent deal not justified-Schaeuble
BERLIN - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble tells Reuters the Greek government's optimism about clinching a cash-for-reforms deal with its lenders in days is not backed up by negotiations and he could not rule out Greece becoming insolvent. (EUROZONE-GREECE/SCHAEUBLE (INTERVIEW, PICTURE), moved, by Michelle Martin and Gernot Heller, 330 words)
+ See also:
- GERMANY-SCHAEUBLE/ (INTERVIEW, PICTURE), moved, by Michelle Martin and Gernot Heller, 435 words
UK retail sales surge as sun brings out shoppers
LONDON - British retail sales surged in April as consumers took advantage of falling prices and unusually warm weather encouraged shoppers to buy new clothes. (BRITAIN-RETAIL/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by William Schomberg and David Milliken, 460 words)
+ See also:
- BRITAIN-MANUFACTURING/CBI, moved, 225 words
BoE's Bailey says banker accountability rules not a "witch hunt"
LONDON - New rules to make senior managers and board members of banks and insurers directly accountable for their actions are about increasing clarity, not witch hunts, Bank of England Deputy Governor Andrew Bailey says. (BOE-BANKS/REGULATIONS (UPDATE 1), moved, by Huw Jones, 375 words)
Irish unemployment falls below 10 pct for first time since 2009
DUBLIN - Ireland's unemployment rate drops below 10 percent for the first time in more than six years at the end of March, a milestone that will boost the government as it gears up for an election due in 2016. (IRELAND-ECONOMY/UNEMPLOYMENT (UPDATE 1), moved, by Padraic Halpin, 400 words)
COMPANIES
CVS Health to buy Omnicare for $10.1 bln
Drugstore operator CVS Health Corp will acquire pharmacy service provider Omnicare Inc for $10.1 billion to expand its pharmacy services to assisted living and long-term care facilities serving the senior patient population. (OMNICARE-M&A/CVS HEALTH (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, 360 words)
Best Buy profit beats on strong demand for TVs, smartphones
Best Buy Co Inc, the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales, helped by strong demand for large-screen TVs, smartphones and appliances. (BEST BUY-RESULTS/, moved, 100 words)
Royal Mail sees tough parcel market, focuses on costs
LONDON - Intense competition in the parcels market from rivals including Amazon will leave Britain's Royal Mail reliant on cost controls and efficiency improvements to underpin profits this year. (ROYAL MAIL-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Neil Maidment, 465 words)
Tesco paid new boss 4 mln pounds in first six months
LONDON - Britain's biggest retailer Tesco paid new chief executive Dave Lewis 4.1 million pounds ($6.4 million) in the six months after luring him from consumer goods group Unilever and tasking him with turning around the firm. (TESCO-PAY/, moved, 390 words)
Raiffeisen Bank International profit nearly halves
VIENNA - Raiffeisen Bank International's (RBI) first-quarter profit fell by nearly half, showing the impact of a squeeze on the bank's income even though bad debt charges fell. (RAIFFEISEN BANK-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Michael Shields, 500 words)
Zurich Insurance says has $3 bln for shareholders or M&A
FRANKFURT - Zurich Insurance Group AG raises the prospect of returning more cash to shareholders, saying it has $3 billion in extra capital it will either hand back to its owners or spend on acquisitions by the end of next year. (ZURICH INS GROUP-OUTLOOK/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Jonathan Gould, 355 words)
EU banking watchdog calls for tighter security for online shopping
LONDON - Banks should provide customers with the means to create one-off passwords from August to make buying over the Internet safer, European Union banking regulators say. (EU-BANKS/INTERNET, moved, by Huw Jones, 315 words)
VW works council boss calls for cuts to management board
BERLIN - The head of Volkswagen's works council wants a pared-down management structure at the carmaker, he told a German magazine, as the company takes stock after the ouster of Chairman Ferdinand Piech. (VOLKSWAGEN-MANAGEMENT/, moved, 320 words)
Deutsche Telekom to consider partner for T-Mobile US - CEO
COLOGNE - Deutsche Telekom will consider any partner that can improve profitability at its U.S. operations, its chief executive told the company's annual shareholders meeting. (DEUTSCHE TELEKOM-US/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 255 words)
Shares in Monte Paschi extend losses ahead of cash call pricing
MILAN - Shares in Monte dei Paschi fall ahead of a board meeting expected to price new shares in a 3 billion euro ($3.4 billion) cash call at a large discount. (MONTEPASCHI-CASHCALL/PRICING, moved, 335 words)
Booker to buy two grocery chains in push for local shoppers
Booker Group Plc, Britain's biggest cash-and-carry wholesaler, has agreed to buy the Londis and Budgens chains to expand its network of grocery and convenience stores and tap into changing consumer habits. (BOOKER GROUP-M&A/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Roshni Menon, 400 words)
Telecom Italia says to sell 40 pct of tower unit in IPO
MILAN - Telecom Italia says it will sell up to 40 percent of its Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane (INWIT) tower unit in an initial public offering on the Milan bourse. (TELECOMITALIA-TOWERUNIT/IPO, moved, 100 words)
Goldman Sachs asks shareholders to 'like' tech push in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO - In Goldman Sachs Group Inc's latest move to bolster its street cred as a cool, tech-savvy bank, it is holding its annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco. (GOLDMAN SACHS-ANNUALMEETING/, moved, by Olivia Oran, 750 words)
McDonald's shareholders to weigh director-nomination rules
LOS ANGELES/BOSTON - McDonald's Corp shareholders will vote Thursday on a proposal that would make it easier to nominate directors to the board of the fast-food chain, which is in turnaround mode after losing customers and sales to competition and after internal missteps. (MCDONALD'S-INVESTORS/PROXY, moved, by Lisa Baertlein and Ross Kerber, 390 words)
Corporate jet makers eye revival led by North America
GENEVA - Business jet makers, hit badly by the financial crisis, expect an upturn in mature economies such as the United States will encourage companies to once again buy new corporate planes or replace ageing jets, executives said this week.
(AEROSPACE-BUSINESSJETS/, moved, by Cyril Altmeyer, 530 words)
