China is considering providing as much as 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) in government funding to build electric-vehicle charging facilities and spur demand for clean cars, according to two people familiar with the matter.The policy will be announced soon, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The people declined to provide further details of the plan such as how long the program would last or whether the chargers would be compatible with cars made by Te

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― India’s antitrust watchdog has fined 14 automakers a total of $420 million for restricting competition in the spare parts market and driving up prices, a official said Tuesday, a few days after Chinese regulators took similar action.The Competition Commission of India found domestic automakers and local units of global vehicle manufacturers guilty of “anti-competitive conduct” by curbing the number of spare parts and ordered them to “immediately cease-and-desist.” The commissio

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― Aircraft leasing firm BOC Aviation said Monday it has ordered 80 Boeing 737 planes and two B777-300ERs worth a total $8.8 billion at list prices, to meet expanding client needs as travel booms in Asia.The Singapore-based company, owned by the Bank of China, said the bulk of the orders was for 50 B737 MAX 8 planes and 30 next-generation B737-800s.The 80 planes have a value of $8.14 billion based on 2014 catalogue prices published on Boeing’s website.The orders will allow BOC Avi

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russian authorities closed the first McDonald’s restaurant outside the capital over alleged sanitary violations in a move seen as retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.Consumer safety agency Rospotrebnadzor said it had temporarily closed a McDonald’s restaurant in the southern city of Stavropol, citing unspecified sanitary violations. Russia last week shut three McDonald’s in Moscow and launched inspections of the company’s more than 400 restaurants across the

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― The head of Israel’s manufacturers’ association has urged his European counterparts not to boycott Israeli businesses, warning that such a move could hit Palestinians as well, in a letter seen Monday.The open letter to European industry leaders comes a week before Israel is due to end exports of poultry and dairy produce from its West Bank settlements to the EU.It also comes at a time of growing calls by activists for a general boycott of Israel over its alleged human rights vi

BERLIN (AP) ― Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche said Sunday it has reached an $8.3 billion deal to buy InterMune Inc., a California-based developer of treatments for lung diseases.The companies have reached an agreement under which Roche will acquire InterMune in an all-cash transaction, paying $74.00 per InterMune share, Roche said. That is a premium of 38 percent over InterMune’s closing price on Friday.The acquisition of the biotechnology company, based in Brisbane, California, “will allow R

BUCHAREST (AFP) ― Tax evasion is eating away at the heart of Romania and holding back the country, among the poorest in the European Union, in its efforts to catch up, analysts warn.The estimates for the costs of the so-called black or undeclared economy are huge: about one quarter of economic activity and one quarter of people in work are believed to be beyond the reach of tax inspectors.If all activity were taxed fully, national tax revenues would almost double.Undeclared activity exists acros

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Goldman Sachs has agreed to a settlement worth $1.2 billion to resolve claims that it misled U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about risky mortgage securities it sold them before the housing market collapsed in 2007. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, announced the settlement Friday with the Wall Street powerhouse.New York-based Goldman Sachs sold the securities to the companies between 2005 and 2007.Under the settlement, Goldma

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Bank of America has reached a record settlement of nearly $17 billion to resolve an investigation into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, officials directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday.One of the officials, who spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the announcement isn’t scheduled until Thursday at the earliest, said the bank will pay $9.65 billion in cash and provide consumer relief value