HSBC (HSBA.L) pledged a new era of higher dividends on Tuesday, laying out plans to slash nearly one in five jobs and shrink its investment bank by a third to combat sluggish growth across its sprawling empire.

Shares in Europe and Asia fell on Tuesday as speculation intensified that the Federal Reserve could raise U.S. interest rates sooner than many expect, although this failed to give the dollar a significant boost.

U.S. chief executive officers have become a bit more pessimistic in their outlook for the American economy in 2015 and fewer of them expect to increase sales, investment and hiring this year, a quarterly business group survey said on Monday.

Apple launched Apple Music on Monday, a $9.99-a-month streaming music service that may not differ dramatically from competitors but comes with Apple's deep music roots, global brand and hundreds of millions of iTunes customers.

Taiwanese panel display maker Innolux Corp (3481.TW) is looking at investing in India to expand into the subcontinent with its biggest shareholder and key supply chain client Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (2317.TW), a senior executive said.

Apple is expected to unveil a new music service and better tools to build apps for its smartwatch at its annual gathering of developers in San Francisco on Monday.

The dollar held firm in early Asia on Monday, trading near 13-year highs against the yen after strong U.S. employment data bolstered expectations for an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve before year-end.

More sales of German government bonds weighed on European stock markets on Monday, while the dollar retreated after a report - later denied - that President Barack Obama had expressed concern over its strength after a year-long rally.

Pharmaceutical company Shire (SHP.L) is considering a 12 billion pound ($18.32 billion) takeover of Actelion Ltd (ATLN.VX) Europe's biggest biotech firm, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

General Electric Co is nearing an agreement to sell its private equity lending unit to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada's biggest pension fund, according to a source familiar with the matter.

American Airlines Group Inc Chief Executive Doug Parker voiced concern on Sunday about the risk that capacity growth among airlines could depress profits, but told Reuters that in contrast with past cycles, the rise in capacity "feels different."

Boeing Co (BA.N) said it expects airline passenger traffic to rise more than 6 percent in 2015, possibly close to 6.5 percent, above its long-range forecast of about 5 percent.

Japanese firms have been so busy paying top dollar in overseas acquisitions that sellers looking to offload assets in Asia now expect them to pay over the odds, according to the head of the country's biggest insurer, Tokio Marine Holdings Inc (8766.T).

Hungary has become the first European country to sign a cooperation agreement for China's new "Silk Road" initiative to develop trade and transport infrastructure across Asia and beyond, China's foreign ministry said late on Saturday.

Euro zone banks should expect another round of health checks in 2016, the European Central Bank's top banking supervisor was quoted as saying, adding that Greece's banks remained solvent.

Two leading Indian power firms will build several plants in Bangladesh to produce up to 4,600 megawatts of electricity to ease the country's prolonged power crisis, a senior official said on Saturday.

Russia will begin importing Iranian oil under a long-heralded oil-for-goods barter arrangement in the coming week, Iran's oil minister was quoted as saying, more than a year after negotiations began.

Deutsche Bank appointed John Cryan as its new CEO on Sunday after co-chief executives Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen resigned following criticism from investors.

The chairman of a Chinese company that develops online games has agreed to pay $2,345,678 for a private lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, winning a charity auction.

Internet television service Netflix plans to expand into Italy and Portugal later this year, the company said on Saturday, as part of a bid to expand its popular streaming TV service to some 200 countries worldwide within two years.

Stock investors are expected to tread carefully next week, as speculation about the timing of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike adds to concerns about valuations.

In a January earnings call with investors, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) Chief Executive Tim Cook made a confident prediction: "2015 will be the year of Apple Pay," he said.

Bigger isn't better for the world's gold miners, who are increasingly making "bite-sized" developments that carry less risk of budget disasters and fewer of the political and environmental disputes that have derailed mega-mines in recent years.

Amazon.com Inc is in a race against Google Inc to store data on human DNA, seeking both bragging rights in helping scientists make new medical discoveries and market share in a business that may be worth $1 billion a year by 2018.

Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann and his partners in private equity firm 3G Capital are considering a potential bid for Diageo PLC, the world's largest producer of spirits, the Brazilian newsweekly Veja reported on Friday.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) named the son-in-law of chairman Rob Walton as his successor on Friday, cementing the founding family's influence over the retailer as shareholders defeated a measure calling for an independent director to lead the board.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday spurned "absurd" terms of proposed aid from lenders and delayed a debt payment to the International Monetary Fund, prolonging an impasse that threatens to push Greece into default and out of the euro zone.

U.S. job growth accelerated sharply in May and wages picked up, signs of strong momentum in the economy that bolster prospects for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September.

Vodafone, the world's second-biggest mobile telecoms company, said on Friday it was in talks with Europe's largest cable operator, Liberty Global, about an exchange of "selected assets" but was not discussing a full-blown merger.

Indebted Brazilian oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) has brought in Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) to help manage a multi-billion dollar divestment plan and has already contacted major oil companies who might be interested buyers, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.