European shares steadied after hitting a six-month high on Thursday as strong gains in miners on merger talks between Xstrata (XTA.L) and Glencore (GLEN.L) were offset by a sell-off in defensives, with Unilever (ULVR.L) down on poor outlook.
Qualcomm Inc's quarterly profit easily beat Wall Street forecasts and the wireless chip leader raised its full-year financial targets due to growing demand for smartphones such as Apple Inc's popular iPhone.
The Columbus, Ind.-based company is expected to earn $424 million, or $2.24 per share, up from 362 million or $1.84 per share in the year earlier period, estimates carried by Thomson Reuters said. Analysts expect revenue of $4.7 billion, up from $4.1 billion in the year earlier period.
Italian luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo is close to agreeing a deal to pay a record UK rent at its Bond Street store that will break the 1,000 pounds per square foot mark for the first time.
Logitech's video conferencing unit LifeSize expects new products and a bigger sales team to boost revenue growth starting this quarter, after it reported only a 6 percent rise for October-to-December.
JPMorgan on Tuesday said its global co-head of emerging markets and head of fixed income for Asia would be leaving the company.
The iPhone 5 is likely to have the feature of Near Field Communications (NFC), according to the latest report.
Philips swung to a fourth-quarter net loss as government cuts ate into its healthcare equipment business and a slowdown in European construction activity and consumer spending hit its lighting operations.
The world's major pharmaceutical companies joined forces with governments and leading global health organizations Monday to donate drugs and scientific know-how to help control or wipe out 10 neglected tropical diseases by 2020.
A tumultuous 12 months that saw revolutions in the Middle East, a worsening debt crisis in Europe and a tsunami in Japan has set the tone for corporate activity in 2012.
Japan's second-largest refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK said on Sunday it will buy 99 percent of the shares in the Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Japanese unit, ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha, for 302 billion yen ($3.94 billion) to improve efficiency.
Demand from emerging markets and financial flows will keep crude prices high and volatile in a range from $105 to $125 per barrel in 2012, Petrobras CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli said on Saturday.
Exxon and TonenGeneral aim to complete the deal around summer, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to sell a large part of its 50 percent stake in TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK back to its Japanese refining partner in a deal that could be worth about $3.9 billion, with an announcement to be made as early as Monday, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
U.S. stocks fell on Friday after data showed the U.S. economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter, while weak earnings from Ford and continued caution over Europe's debt crisis also weighed on the market.
Roche Holding AG's rivals Sanofi SA and Novartis AG see no need to match the Swiss drug maker in buying a gene-decoding business like Illumina Inc and reckon they can do partnerships instead.
U.S. stocks were headed for a lower open on Friday after data showed the U.S. economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter, while weak earnings from Ford and Procter & Gamble and concerns over Europe's debt crisis could also weigh on the market.
Eastman Chemical is buying Solutia for $4.7 billion, including debt, in an effort to expand into the specialty plastics and chemicals market as well as the Asia-Pacific region.
Caterpillar Inc reported a 58 percent rise in quarterly earnings on Thursday that blew away Wall Street expectations and it projected strong growth for 2012 despite global economic uncertainly.
World No.2 fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (HMb.ST) said a gloomy economic outlook would keep demand subdued this year and discounting to shift unsold stock, which led to a surprise drop in fourth-quarter profit, had continued into January.
David Cameron says Doha world trade talks dead and urges 'coalition of the willing' with bilateral deals between countries.
A huge banner in Davos trumpets India's launch of a $35 tablet computer and U.S. group Medtronic Inc is hoping to launch a similar low-cost revolution in medical devices like pacemakers.
