Companies to remove controversial chemical from Fanta, other drinks

Nokia Oyj plans to spend $100 million backing companies that develop intelligent-car technologies, joining the likes of billionaire Elon Musk and Google Inc. in betting that future vehicles will be smarter and more connected. The investments, to be made by a new Nokia fund, are meant to support the mobile-technology company’s digital-map business, Nokia said Monday. It’ll be run by Nokia Growth Partners, the venture-capital arm that manages about $700 million. Nokia is rebuilding itself and expa

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder warned Monday that no financial institution should consider itself “above the law,” amid investigations into alleged tax evasion and money laundering by European banks.A senior U.S. official told AFP on condition of anonymity that probes of BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse are almost completed and criminal charges could be brought within “a few weeks.”And the Wall Street Journal reported that Credit Suisse was about to reach an agreement with the

WASHINGTON (AP) ― As the United States attempts to punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine, the Treasury Department is deploying an economic weapon that could prove more costly than sanctions: the Internal Revenue Service. This summer, the U.S. plans to start using a new law that will make it more expensive for Russian banks to do business in America. “It’s a huge deal,” says Mark E. Matthews, a former IRS deputy commissioner. “It would throw enormous uncertainty into the Russian banking commun

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The European Commission tweaked its 2014 and 2015 economic forecasts Monday but left intact the overall outlook for gradual recovery from a record recession.The Commission stressed again the need for all member states to stick to the reforms and measures agreed to tackle the global slump and ensuing debt crisis, saying this was vital for continued growth.The 18-nation eurozone economy will grow by 1.2 percent this year, as previously estimated, it said, while cutting its 2015 fo

PARIS (AFP) ― People with the highest incomes in advanced countries have grown disproportionately richer despite the recent financial crisis and should pay their fair share of the tax burden, the OECD said on Wednesday.The lowest wage earners have scarcely progressed and some may even have fallen behind in real terms in the last 30 years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.The gap will widen without policy action on the way tax systems work, it said, probing facts, tr

Company adds anonymous login with customizable data sharing options

NEW YORK (AP) ― A new report says taxpayers lost $11.2 billion on the government’s bailout of General Motors.The estimate comes from a quarterly report Wednesday to Congress by a government watchdog that oversees the bailout, and is up from a previous estimate of $10.5 billion.The Detroit automaker needed the $49.5 billion bailout to survive its bankruptcy restructuring in 2009. The company went public again in November 2010, and the government sold its last shares of GM in December. The report

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The International Monetary Fund board on Wednesday approved a two-year, $17 billion loan package for cash-strapped Ukraine as it seeks to regain stability following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.The IMF assistance pledged in March was hinged on economic reforms in Ukraine, including raising taxes, freezing the minimum wage and raising energy prices ― all steps that could hit households hard and strain the interim government’s tenuous hold on power.“Urgent actions were necessary

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s manufacturing activity improved in April, the government said Thursday, showing increased strength for a second straight month as the country’s broader economy slows. The official purchasing managers index was 50.4 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement, up from 50.3 in March. The index tracks manufacturing activity in China’s factories and workshops and is a closely watched indicator of the health of the economy. A reading above 50 indicates grow