World Business

 

The ultra-wealthy's biggest losers

In moving to fire Dov Charney last year, the board alleged that he violated sexual-harassment policies and misused funds.

Paul Sullivan   Why do so many ultra-wealthy people lose so much of their wealth so quickly?

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World on the cusp of historic climate deal in Paris

French President Francois Hollande, left, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, applaud French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the climate conference.

Tom Arup and Peter Hannam, Paris   The world is on the cusp of a historic agreement to tackle climate change after the organisers of the Paris summit released the final wording of a deal, mapping out compromises on the key disputes that had divided countries.

News UK dodges phone-hacking charges

Prosecutors decided that there was insufficient evidence to bring corporate charges against News UK, Rupert Murdoch's newspaper holding company in Britain.

Dan Bilefsky   The Crown Prosecution Service said that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against Rupert Murdoch's newspaper holding company in Britain.

VW's emissions cheating not a one-time error

FILE?- In this Sept. 23, 2015 file photo the silhouette of visitor pictured next to the logo of German car manufacturer Volkswagen AG at the International Motor Show IAA in Frankfurt, Germany. Volkswagen said Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, that a problem with carbon dioxide emissions is far smaller than initially suspected, with further checks finding "slight discrepancies" in only a few models and no evidence of illegal changes to fuel consumption and emissions figures. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP, File)

Jack Ewing   The German carmaker's chairman says the decision by employees to cheat on emissions tests was made more than a decade ago after they realised they could not meet US standards legally.

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Gold price drop could spur Indian jewellers

The gold price slump to a five-year low could bring big revenue to jewellers in India, one producer says.

The gold price slump to a five-year low could bring big revenue to jewellers in India, one producer says.

South African rand slumps after cabinet shakeup

Cabinet reshuffle again: South African President Jacob Zuma.

Mike Cohen   South Africa removed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with a little-known lawmaker, sparking a sell-off in the currency.

ECB head defends stimulus package after market backlash

The stars of the European Union (EU) sit on banners flying outside the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

President Mario Draghi is confident the measures unveiled will help bring inflation back to the ECB's target.

Australia backs target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees under trade-off deal in Paris

James Fletcher, St Lucia's Minister for Sustainable Development, says the 1.5 degree long-term temperature goal is sacrosanct for small island developing states.

Peter Hannam and Tom Arup   Australia will "strongly support" a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees in return for support for favourable carbon accounting.

OPEC offers no hope for end to oil slump

'Why should OPEC alone sacrifice its part in the market?'

Grant Smith, Angelina Rascouet and Wael Mahdi   OPEC signaled no respite from the global oil glut that has driven prices to a six-year low.

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Cloud over Turnbull's 5% promise after Australia struggles to get its way in Paris

Deforestation is at the centre of an argument in Paris that could affect how Australia meets its emissions target.

Peter Hannam   Without a last-ditch compromise at talks in Paris, Prime Minister Turnbull faces a dilemma of sticking to a promise to ratify the second stage of the Kyoto pact even if it might result in an unfavorable result for Australia.

Lyft partners to take on Uber in Asia

John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft, with Carl Icahn, right, the activist investor, at an event in New York.

Uber rival Lyft has formed new partnerships with two Asian on-demand ride services.

Uber valuation hits $85 billion

Latest funding has pushed Uber's valuation to $85 billion.

Eric Newcomer   The ride-sharing company is looking to raise as much as $US2.1 billlion ($2.85 billion) to accelerate its expansion across the globe.

McDonald's tax deals with Luxembourg will be investigated by EU

McDonald's said it complied with all tax rules in Europe.

Foo Yun Chee   Deal enabled the US fast food chain to escape paying taxes on European franchise royalties from 2009.

For Zuckerberg, charity is in eye of beholder

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.

Jesse Drucker   However philanthropic the intentions of Mark Zuckerberg, he isn't bound to give a penny of his $61 billion to charity despite his announcement this week.

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'It's bulls---!', Ballmer chides Microsoft

Vocal during his tenure at Microsoft - and after: Steve Ballmer.

Dina Bass   As Microsoft fronted shareholders at its annual meeting this week, one wasn't very happy at all - its former chief executive.

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Zuckerberg gifts 99pc of his Facebook stake to philanthropy

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with their daughter Max in a picture they posted on Facebook this week announcing the initiative.

John McDuling   Becoming a dad, the tech billionaire has just upped the ante on corporate philanthropy

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Ex-wife accuses Dan Price, 'world's most altruistic boss', of beating her

Gravity Payments founder, Dan Price.

Catherine Armitage   He raised his own salary from $50,000 to $1 million. That may have been the start of his troubles.

Brazil recession deepens

Samba dancers taking a break, Ipanema Beach, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil's economy shrank 1.7 per cent in the third quarter, deepening its sharpest recession in 25 years.

Studio City fails to halt Macau casino slide

Much of the fall can be attributed to the absence of high-roller gamblers from China.

Perry Williams   James Packer's $4 billion Macau casino has failed to halt the slide in fortunes in the world's largest gambling hub.

Brazil sues BHP, Vale for $US5 billion

The lawsuit seeks at least 20 billion reais that would be administered by a private fund over 10 years to pay for the recovery.

Anthony Boadle   Brazil has filed a lawsuit against two of the world's largest mining companies for $5.2 billion to clean up the damage caused by the collapse of a tailings dam.

Gates to start multibillion clean energy fund

Bill Gates, philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, hopes to turbocharge the Paris climate talks with a massive investment.

Coral Davenport   World's richest man is expected to announce creation of biggest ever clean energy fund at the opening of the Paris climate summit.

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Brazil to sue BHP, Vale for $7b in damages

Clean-up costs of $US100 million may just be the start.

Suit to be filed on Monday, with proceeds to be used for environmental cleanup of the mine disaster.

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Seven condoms don't equal 21 orgasms, German court rules

It's amazing what courts have to rule on. German judges banned a condom maker's slogan because it could mislead consumers into expecting more satisfaction than they can get.

Karin Matussek   Condom maker told it has to get its math right when advertising its products: seven can't equal 21.

Drug lobbyists' rising discomfort over Pfizer leaving US

One of the pharmaceutical industry's top lobbyists said that Pfizer's decision to relocate from the United States to Ireland could change the course of history for the industry.

Gardiner Harris   Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has long been the most politically active drugmaker in Washington.

Judge slams VW for stalling class action

Justice Foster made an order granting Maurice Blackburn leave to file and serve the documents outside Australia.

Michaela Whitbourn and Jared Lynch   A Federal Court judge has berated Volkswagen Australia's German parent company for obstructing a class action.

China, not OPEC cuts, 'holds key to oil rebound'

Slippery slope as oil prices fall.

China has become a battleground for oil producers seeking to defend sales amid a worldwide glut.

Have business leaders lost touch with reality?

Pfizer wants to acquire Allergan because the move will lower its taxes.

Steven Davidoff Solomon   Safe in their cocoons, business leaders seem to have perhaps slightly lost touch with reality.

The $US50b windfall from the War on IS

A French Air Force Dassault Rafale F1 aircraft in the skies of Iraq.

Benjamin Katz   Europe's defence industry is set to reap a massive windfall as the terror attacks on Paris prompt governments to ramp up spending.

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Alibaba's Ma in talks to buy SCMP stake

Once the world's most profitable newspaper, SCMP has followed the path of other mastheads with falling earnings and shrinking circulation as readers shift online.

Steven Yang   Alibaba's founder Jack Ma is in talks to buy a stake in the publisher of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.

HSBC tipped to cut 2000 jobs

The reductions began last week and are expected to take two years, the source said.

Richard Partington   HSBC Holdings is eliminating 2000 jobs in its commercial bank as part of a plan to cut costs, according to a person briefed on the matter.