General Motors said on Wednesday that Venezuelan authorities had illegally seized its plant in the industrial hub of Valencia and vowed to “take all legal actions” to defend its rights. The seizure comes amid a deepening economic crisis in leftist-led Venezuela that has already roiled many U.S. companies. “Yesterday, GMV’s (General Motors Venezolana) plant was unexpectedly taken by the public authorities, preventing normal operations. In addition, other assets of the company, such as vehicles, h

Oil and gas stocks dropped on U.S. crude stocks data which led to a fall in the oil price. Basic resources became the worst performers in mid-morning trade as investors worry over oversupply of steel and iron ore . Rio Tinto reported late Wednesday that it was not changing its full-year iron ore shipment guidance despite lower prices. The household sector outperformed its peers in mid-morning trade on earnings reports. It jumped more than 6 percent in mid-morning trade.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday morning after the Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 200 points over the last two days. The Dow has closed lower in five of the past six sessions. On the data front, Thursday will see initial jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed index released at 8:30 a.m. On the earnings front Travelers, Verizon, Bank of NY Mellon, Blackstone and Imax are among companies set to report before the bell on Thursday. In Europe, the pan Europe

Activist hedge fund Elliott Management released the private letter written by Arconic’s former chief executive, Klaus Kleinfeld, which consequently led to his resignation, and their response to the letter and Arconic’s statement on April 17. Elliott said late on Wednesday that Arconic had created a “public frenzy” for further information and that it had no choice but to make the letter and their response public. Arconic on Monday said that Kleinfeld resigned on mutual agreement after the special

Renewable energy and clean technologies can help economies grow, create jobs and make money — which could help to make America great again, said Bertrand Piccard, one of the two pilots who flew a solar-powered plane around the world. So in that sense, if you want to make America great again, you have to go to renewable energy and clean technologies,” said Piccard, chairman of Solar Impulse, referencing President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan. Last month, Trump signed an executive order aimed at

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States was looking at ways to pressure North Korea over its nuclear program as North Korean state media warned the Americans of a “super-mighty preemptive strike” and said don’t “mess with us.” Reclusive North Korea regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the United States and has shown no let-up in its belligerence after a failed missile test on Sunday, a day after putting on a huge display of missiles at a parade in Pyongyang. U.S.

Wells Fargo & Co’s largest investor, Warren Buffett, has likely already voted his shares to support the bank’s recommendations at its contentious annual shareholder meeting next week, a representative told Reuters on Wednesday, which include reinstating most of the board’s directors. The prominent billionaire’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, owns nearly 10 percent of Wells Fargo and Buffett personally owns shares as well. Many investors follow Buffett’s lead because of his decades-long tr

The White House said Tuesday it is reaching out to the Vatican to set up a possible meeting President Trump and Pope Francis, little more than a year after they clashed over Trump’s proposed anti-immigration wall between the United States and Mexico. “We will be reaching out to the Vatican to see if an audience with the pope can be accommodated,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told AFP that, “as of the end of last week we had not had an official request for

The 39-year-old could become the youngest ever president of France. If opinion polls prove to be correct, Emmanuel Macron will get enough votes this Sunday to dispute, and win, the runoff vote on May 7. The former investment banker served as economy minister in the last Socialist government and has promised a Nordic-style economic model for France – making spending cuts of 60 billion euros ($64.4 billion) while also implementing a stimulus package of 50 billion euros. Macron is perhaps the most

The first round of the French presidential election due to take place this weekend is seen as a close race, with centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen neck and neck in the polls. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon might be slightly behind in opinion polls, but has also stepped up the plate, after turning in strong performances during televised debates. Meanwhile, center-right Francois Fillon remains in the race despite falling behind in polls after coming

Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey donated $100,000 to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee using shell companies named after parts of a Nintendo game, according to a report by American magazine Mother Jones. Facebook bought Oculus – the maker of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset – in 2014 for $2 billion. When asked by a Twitter user why he donated to Trump’s inauguration, Luckey replied that it was for the same reason other large companies did. It was revealed earlier this year that

To do this, Apple puts Apple Watch straps inside a jar containing artificial sweat it has made and simulates human body temperature. Its analysts then monitor the samples “to ensure that nickel and other allergens and irritants stay where they belong”, the company said in its annual Environmental Responsibility Report. The U.S. technology giant also tests other products that come in contact with the human body. Apple did not say how it does this or whether it makes artificial saliva to test it.

It is programmed to conduct scientific experiments after reaching the now-crewless Tiangong 2, China’s second space station. China launched the Tiangong 2 precursor facility in September and the station’s 20-ton core module will be launched next year. The completed 60-ton station is set to come into full service in 2022 and operate for at least a decade. China was excluded from the 420-ton International Space Station mainly due to U.S. legislation barring such cooperation and concerns over the C

The company’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives told VICE news that Apple doesn’t know how it will be achieved. It has a robot called Liam which is able to disassemble products and recover components that can be recycled. The company is also encouraging customers to return products through its Apple Renew recycling program. But Apple said that seven major suppliers have now pledged to power their Apple production entirely with renewable energy by the end of next year.

By the time August rolls around, there will be about 350 fewer J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Sears and Kmart stores at shopping centers across the U.S.For some of those properties, the loss of these stores could be the final blow that puts them out of business. Yet in other instances, the vacancies will provide landlords an opportunity to reinvent the space for more in-demand tenants — allowing them to charge a higher rent, to boot. From growing retail chains to dining and entertainment, here are some of

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ secretary general suggested in a press conference that oil producing nations were edging ever closer to rebalancing the market. OPEC agreed to slash output by around 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) from January 1 for six months in order to remove a supply glut. Eleven other non-OPEC countries, including Russia, subsequently agreed to limit supply by half as much. Barkindo described the oil market as “robust”, adding the numbers look “very enco

In March, the firm took an online poll of 500 adults with children ages 5 years and under. By contrast, these millennial parents report spending approximately $10,000 a year on child care expenses — which accounts for about 12 percent of income, according to the study. They’re also devoting more than 30 percent of their income to housing costs. “There’s a lack of education about life insurance,” said Yaron Ben-Zvi, co-founder and CEO of Haven Life. Here’s how to figure out whether you have enoug

Reining set the goal of building a $1 million portfolio by age 35 and started working to save and invest, rather than working to spend. He did it thanks to one simple habit: He automated his finances, he writes on his blog. That not only saved him money but saved him time and simplified his life. “You can start with as little as $50,” Reining writes. “The key is to start saving for retirement rather than doing nothing because you’ll be better off than mostly everyone else.”

The per capita consumption of soda drinks, including energy drinks, fell to about 642 8-ounce servings last year, the lowest level since 1985, when the Beverage Digest began tracking consumption trends, the publication said on Wednesday. Soda makers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been relying on smaller pack sizes and premium packaging to drive margins in developed markets. They are also making more non-carbonated drinks as well as reformulating drinks to lower sugar levels and launch sugar-

Bobbi Brown, who left her namesake cosmetics company late last year, is taking on a new challenge that’s been baffling a retail industry ravaged by e-commerce: how to create compelling reasons to bring shoppers back to brick-and-mortar stores. The founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics was appointed creative consultant at Lord & Taylor this week, kicking off the partnership with a concept store-within-a-store called justBOBBI. Retailers have to be creative “in order to bring the customer back,” she sa