France's floundering economy pushed car sales 6.8 percent lower year-on-year in December, while Spanish sales jumped by 21.4 percent, helped by a subsidy scheme, and also rose in Italy, according to auto industry associations.
Regions
Banco do Brasil gets central bank approval for Cielo venture
Banco do Brasil SA (BBAS3.SA), the nation's largest bank by assets, said on Friday it received approval from the central bank for a joint venture with card payment processor Cielo SA (CIEL3.SA), but it will not be able to book accounting gains from the deal.
Quindell seeks to dispose of operating division
British technology and outsourcing company Quindell Plc said it had entered into exclusivity arrangements with a third party for possible disposal of an operating division to improve its working capital profile.
Free delivery creates holiday boon for U.S. consumers at high cost
For top U.S. retailers, free delivery is now the norm. That is good news for shoppers, but not so much for investors. During the just-ended holiday season, outlets from Target to Wal-Mart to Amazon
Vuzix says received Intel investment for smart glasses
Vuzix Corporation said on Friday that Intel Corp invested $24.8 million in the company to speed up the launch of Internet-connected eyewear. Intel bought preferred stock that is convertible into common shares equivalent to 30 percent of Vuzix, Vuzix said in a press release.
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A top Federal Reserve official said on Friday she could see the U.S. central bank raising interest rates in the first half of the year, earlier than some expect, given that the economy is on a "very firm footing."
Shake Shack Inc's filing this week for an initial public offering underscores a question for investors and foodies alike: How hungry are U.S. consumers for another burger chain?
The U.S. factory sector grew at its slowest pace in six months in December, a sign that weakness in the global economy is weighing on the United States.
Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and affiliate Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS) aim to lift global vehicle sales by 2.5 percent in 2015, as capacity constraints and a weak market recovery set up the South Korean pair for their slowest expansion in 12 years.
China's growth engine looks to have ended last year on a flat note as its massive factory sector sputtered in December, though ebbing price pressures also offered scope for more policy stimulus from Beijing and across much of Asia.
Brazil's government plans to rework parts of the country's new mining code currently stalled in Congress, the new Mines and Energy Minister Eduardo Braga said on Thursday.
Brent crude LCOc1 reversed early gains to trade near $57 a barrel on Friday, as the glut of oil that has halved prices since June overshadowed investors repositioning at the start of the year for an eventual recovery.
The euro took another downward lurch on Friday, sinking to a 4-1/2 year low against the dollar on clear indications that the European Central Bank will soon embark on outright money-printing.
Euro zone politicians are not obliged to rescue Greece as the country is no longer of systemic importance to the single currency bloc, a senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was quoted as saying.
