The Huffington Post launched an Indian version of its news website Monday, seeking to tap the country’s exploding number of Internet users, and announced its next big goal was a Chinese edition.The AOL-owned website featuring, news, entertainment, health and blogs, has allied with the Times of India Group to launch HuffPost India, its 13th edition worldwide.It hopes to gain new readers in the world’s second-most-populous nation of 1.25 billion, where smartphones and other Internet-enabled device

DETROIT (AP) ― Honda plans to replace driver’s air bag inflators on 2.6 million more vehicles as it expands repairs to the entire U.S.The Japanese automaker is the only company to comply with demand from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to do repairs nationwide. Honda says it’s doing so to address customer concerns.Air bags made by Japanese supplier Takata Corp. can inflate with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel. At least five people have

China’s interest-rate swaps climbed to a three-month high, bonds dropped and stocks retreated after policy makers narrowed the pool of corporate debt that can be used as collateral for short-term loans. China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp. has stopped accepting new applications for repurchase agreements that involve notes rated below “AAA” or sold by issuers graded lower than “AA,” according to a statement posted on the agency’s website yesterday. The move means that about 470 billion

PARIS (AFP) ― The gap between the rich and poor in a range of countries has reached its widest in 30 years and the trend has harmed growth, the OECD said Tuesday.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a new report that most of its 34 member countries had seen a growing widening in the inequality gap.“In most OECD countries, the gap between rich and poor is at its highest level since 30 years,” the report said. “Today, the richest 10 percent of the population in the OE

NEW YORK (AFP) ― The U.S. government sued Deutsche Bank Monday for creating shell companies that allowed it to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes.The suit filed by the U.S. attorney in New York asks for $190 million in back taxes and penalties for an operation it alleged was made expressly to avoid taxes on a $100 million gain in the sale of stock.But the bank said the issue had been settled five years ago with the U.S. tax authority and that it does not understand why the governm

Amazon.com Inc., seeking to avoid shipping delays that marred last year’s holiday season, is taking more control of its delivery system by opening “sorting centers” around the country.One of those facilities is surrounded by cornfields and cabbage farms in the town of Kenosha, Wisconsin, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. Unlike the online retailer’s 50 U.S. fulfillment centers where workers gather items to be packed in boxes, the 500,000-square-foot building -- which opened in October -- takes

FRANKFURT (AP) -- BMW shook up its top leadership Tuesday, saying that CEO Norbert Reithofer would leave his post to become chairman of the board as part of ``generational change'' at the head of the German luxury automaker.The end of Reithofer's tenure as CEO, combined with the departure of a key manager for rival Volkswagen, means significant turnover in the executive team at the Munich-based maker of the X5 sport utility and the 3-Series sedan.Reithofer is to be replaced by chief production e

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s board will have a bigger responsibility weighing compensation for its next chief executive officer after Warren Buffett is no longer leading the company, said director Susan Decker.Buffett, 84, and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charles Munger, 90, have requested their annual salaries be set at $100,000 for decades. Both are among the biggest shareholders in the Omaha, Nebraska-based company.“The compensation questions for the board are really not too important today,” Decker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators are proposing that the eight biggest U.S. banks be required to further increase the amount of capital they set aside to cushion against unexpected losses.The proposed requirements are aimed at lessening the chances of future taxpayer bailouts of troubled banks, while also encouraging the behemoths to shrink so they pose less of a risk to the financial system.The Federal Reserve governors were to vote at a meeting Tuesday to advance the so-called ``capital su

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Pressure is building on Australia’s central bank to cut interest rates from their record lows as growth in the resources-driven economy, already faltering on the back of China’s slowdown, takes a further hit, analysts say.The Reserve Bank of Australia has repeatedly said it will continue to maintain a “period of stability in interest rates,” but softening GDP growth figures last week sparked a flurry of economists forecasting further monetary policy easing.That would take the cash

ZURICH (AFP) ― The Bank for International Settlements warned Sunday that global financial markets appeared to be increasingly fragile despite bullish sentiment.The Basel-based institution, considered the central bank for central banks, also voiced concern in its quarterly report about the impact of the rising U.S. dollar and falling oil prices, particularly on emerging economies.Claudio Borio, the head of the BIS monetary and economic department, highlighted events in mid-October when stock pric

PARIS (AFP) ― The French government wants shops to open on more Sundays, according to a proposed reform to be unveiled this week, but the measure is running into opposition.In a country where stores are currently subject to tight restrictions on opening hours, the move is seen as a spur to much-needed consumption in an economy badly in need of a boost.The government also believes the measure, one of a number due to be signed off by the cabinet on Wednesday before going to parliament early in 201

A Dutch court has ruled in a preliminary judgment that Uber, the ride-sharing service, must stop working with drivers who charge fares but do not possess a taxi license.The Commerical Appeals Court in The Hague sided with the Ministry of Transportation that Uber's "UberPop" service violates current taxi laws, which are under review. Use of Uber by licensed taxi drivers, or by individuals who don't seek payment, remains permissible. The court rejected a proposal by Uber to allow UberPop to operat