The world's chief executives are shrugging off worries around global volatility and are increasingly confident their businesses will grow in the next year.

In a protest to show that Switzerland's new rules on Swiss-Made are too lenient, a luxury watchmaker has built what it calls a 100 per cent Swiss timepiece, composed only with locally produced natural resources, such as a strap of cowhide rather than alligator leather, plus a more unusual ingredient: cheese.

Income inequality is so now lopsided that eight men now own the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world.

A small Australian pharmaceutical company is raising eyebrows in Washington DC and with the US media after it was linked to powerful players in Donald Trump's inner-circle.

"I want to make a good impression and want to be more handsome."

• Opinion

Wall Street's biggest banks are in a bright spot after years of massive layoffs and pay cuts. The same cannot be said for the largest asset managers.

• COMMENT

Pharma investors and companies need to stop assuming Republicans can rein Donald Trump in and prepare for the policy fight they thought they'd mostly be able to avoid for at least four years.

US President-elect Donald Trump said pharmaceutical companies were "getting away with murder" in what they charged the government for medicines, and promised that would change, sending drugs stocks sharply lower on Wednesday.

Volkswagen took a major step toward resolving one of the darkest chapters in its history Wednesday, pleading guilty to an emissions-cheating scandal and agreeing to pay $US4.3 billion ($5.8 billion) in criminal and civil charges as the US announced charges against five new individuals.

Donald Trump plans to transfer all his business assets into a trust and putting his two sons in charge, a Trump lawyer said.

Beijing's sustained efforts to tackle excess steel production capacity has sent steel and iron ore futures in China upwards for a third day in a row to hit their strongest mark in three weeks.

Jack Ma got plenty of good press out of his meeting with the President-elect.

Toyota will invest $US10 billion ($14 billion) in the United States, company president Akio Toyoda says, days after US president-elect Donald Trump criticised its planned factory in Mexico.

Yahoo boss Marissa Mayer plans to leave the board if the sale of its main internet assets to Verizon is completed, while the investment company that will be left will change its name to Altaba.

It's best known as the maker of M&M;’s, Snickers and Dove, but a $10.5 billion deal will make pet care Mars' biggest business.

A senior Volkswagen manager has been arrested in the US and charged with fraud over the cheating of US emissions tests.

While wealth inequality has fallen across countries, within countries it has increased.

Mercedes-Benz is expected to reach its goal of becoming the largest premium car maker four years early.

Uber will share its data - starting with Sydney, Manila, Washington and Boston - in a bid to make good with city planners.

Martin Shkreli photoshopped his face onto a picture of Lauren Duca and her husband, as well as repeatedly tweeted about his love for her.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will invest $US1 billion in new US car manufacturing as President-elect Donald Trump pressures the auto industry.

A finance app has unveiled a special feature that alerts investors when president-elect Donald Trump has tweeted about a public company.

The Dow came within one point of 20,000 for the first time ever on Friday and the Nasdaq and S&P; 500 reached record highs, extending their two-month Trump rally.

Kimbal Musk - Elon's brother - just opened a shipping container farm compound in New York City.

Following the pounds' drop, increased costs for sourcing products such as Italian olive oil have made the branches "quite unsustainable," a spokeswoman said.

• COMMENT

Trump's cosying up to Vladimir Putin is straight out of the Nixon/Kissinger realpolitik playbook, seeking to befried Russia to better contain China, the country he sees as the biggest threat to the US as the world's biggest economy.

The promise of production cuts from OPEC and its partners sent oil rallying in 2016. Now traders want proof they're delivering on those vows. It won't come easy.

Shares of Toyota Motor Corp fell more than 3 per cent on Friday after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose heavy taxes on the automaker if it builds its Corolla cars for the US market at a plant in Mexico.

It hasn't been a great time to be a man without a job. The jobs that have been disappearing globally, like machine operator, are predominantly those that men do. The occupations that are growing, like health aide, employ mostly women.