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Facebook sinks on first day without underwriter support

Facebook stock sank on Monday in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters, leaving some investors down nearly 25 percent from where they were Friday afternoon.

Barclays to sell $6.1 bln BlackRock stake

British bank Barclays said it is to sell its 19.6 percent holding in US asset manager BlackRock, worth $6.1 billion and which it has held for almost three years.

Opel CEO to face heat from workers over likely plant closure

The head of General Motors unit Opel will face workers' concerns on Monday over reported plans to shut one of its four German plants as the automaker pulls production of the Astra, its best-selling model, from the country.

Wintershall gets another Argentina gas, oil permit

Germany's Wintershall , the oil and gas arm of chemicals group BASF, said it has been awarded a new exploration permit for gas and oil in the Ranquil Norte area of Argentina, where it says it is the fourth biggest gas producer.

Deutsche Bank to run sale of Hypo Alpe SEE assets

Nationalised Austrian lender Hypo Alpe Adria has launched the sale of its southeastern Europe banking network by picking Deutsche Bank to run a deal it hopes will raise at least 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion).

More international company news

Alibaba buys back 20 percent stake held by Yahoo for $7.1 billion

Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40 percent stake in his Alibaba Group from Yahoo Inc for $7.1 billion, in a deal that moves the Chinese e-commerce leader closer to a public listing.

DaVita to buy Healthcare Partners for about $4.4 billion

DaVita Inc, the biggest US operator of dialysis clinics, said it agreed to acquire HealthCare Partners for about $4.42 billion in a cash and stock deal.

Premafin to ask shareholders to delay meeting

Italian holding company Premafin will ask shareholders to postpone their meeting on Monday slated to approve a capital increase for a planned merger with Unipol, after parties failed to agree on merger terms over the weekend.

Wanda to buy AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion

China's Dalian Wanda Group agreed to acquire AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion, becoming the biggest theatre operator in the US by revenue.

Spain to kick off banking sector audit

Spain, under pressure from the European Union to accelerate its bank clean-up, will name independent auditors on Friday to probe bad loans and property holdings in the financial sector and determine how big a state bailout is needed.

Russia Sberbank sees sale certainty after government formed

Europe's second largest lender Russia's Sberbank will see some certainty over the planned privatisation sale after the new Russian government's lineup is announced on May 21, CEO German Gref said on Saturday.

Google says it won China's approval for Motorola deal

Google said on Saturday that Chinese authorities have approved its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings, th e last regulatory hurdle to a deal that would allow the world's No. 1 Internet search engine to develop its own line of smart phones.

ZTE confirms security hole in US phone

ZTE Corp, the world's No.4 handset vendor and one of two Chinese companies under U.S. scrutiny over security concerns, said one of its mobile phone models sold in the United States contains a vulnerability that researchers say could allow others to control the device.

China's towering metal stockpiles cast economic shadow

When metals warehouses in top consumer China are so full that workers start stockpiling iron ore in granaries and copper in car parks, you know the global economy could be in trouble.

Glencore tightens grip on global zinc market

Commodity trader Glencore is tightening its grip on the global zinc market by moving material to inaccessible locations, forcing industrial users to pay high physical premiums for a metal that is in surplus.

Paddy Power happy to take long term view on Italy

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power brushed aside any concerns that the deepening euro zone crisis could hurt its entry into the Italian online market, saying it was taking a term long view it was confident would pay off.

Wal-Mart posts strong profit as US sales jump

Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as its Walmart US division showed a 2.6 percent rise in sales at stores open at least a year, and as warm weather and an earlier Easter enticed shoppers to spend.

RBC, Credit Suisse among bidders for BofA wealth units

Royal Bank of Canada and Credit Suisse are among suitors who have put in initial bids to buy the non-US wealth management business of Bank of America in a deal that could be worth about $2 billion, sources said.

General Motors chooses UK over Germany for new Astra

General Motors Co opted to build the next generation of its Astra compact in Britain, leaving its plant in Bochum, Germany in danger of closure as it revamps the business to counter more than a decade of losses in Europe.

HSBC says getting bank in shape, euro zone a worry

HSBC is making good progress on its turnaround plan and showing "significant traction" on factors it can control, although the euro zone crisis and increased regulation are creating stiff headwinds, its chief executive said on Thursday.

ICAP in talks to buy PLUS stock exchange

ICAP, the world's largest interdealer broker, is in talks to buy the stock exchange unit of struggling PLUS Markets Group in preparation for new rules that will push more of the broker's business on to exchanges.

UK says GM workers agree deal on Astra production

General Motors will build the next generation of its Astra compact in Britain, rather than in Germany, after workers at its plant in Ellesmere Port, northwest England, agreed to a new labour deal overnight.

Vedanta gives rosy outlook

India-focused miner Vedanta gave a sturdy outlook for commodity markets, bucking the trend among peers, even as aluminium losses, a weak rupee and higher interest payments hit profit.

Bankia customers pull out over 1-billion euros

Customers of troubled Spanish bank Bankia, nationalized last week, have taken out over 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) from their accounts over the past week, El Mundo newspaper reported on Thursday.

3i names new CEO to address company performance

British private equity firm 3i Group has promoted Simon Borrows to chief executive as it looks to turn around its lacklustre performance and boost its flagging share price.

Samsung Life says won't bid for ING Asia insurance biz

South Korea's Samsung Life Insurance said on Thursday that it had decided not to bid for ING Groep's Asia-Pacific insurance operation, saying the sales method was not in line with its strategy.

Virgin Atlantic to stop Kenya flights by Sept

British airline Virgin Atlantic plans to withdraw flights between Nairobi and London by September due to low passenger numbers, high fuel costs, and increasing aviation taxes in Britain.