SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian retail sales climbed to record highs in April as consumers spent big for the holidays, though surging inflation and rising interest rates are steadily sapping spending power. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed retail sales rose 0.9% in April to a record A$33.9 billion ($24.09 billion), matching…
By Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) – Oil prices eased slightly in early Asian trade on Friday, after surging to a two-month high in the previous session as investors focused on signs of tight global supply. Meanwhile, a top Hungarian aide said the country needs 3-1/2 to 4 years to shift away from Russian crude and make…
By Ananya Mariam Rajesh (Reuters) – Costco Wholesale Corp reported a fall in gross margins on Thursday, hit by soaring freight and labor costs across the United States, sending shares of the membership-only retailer down 2% and overshadowing an otherwise upbeat quarterly report. U.S. companies across the board have been struggling with higher costs due…
By Erwin Seba HOUSTON (Reuters) -The United Steelworkers union (USW) on Thursday afternoon signed a tentative agreement to end a nine-week-old strike at Chevron Corp’s Richmond, California, refinery, the company said. Terms of the agreement were not immediately available. It is subject to ratification by members of USW Local 12-5 representing the 500 workers who…
(Reuters) – Ernst & Young is evaluating options to improve their audit quality, Chief Executive Carmine Di Sibio said on Thursday in an internal memo seen by Reuters, at a time when the Big Four accounting firms are often blamed for their lack of independence. The memo was sent in response to a report by…
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The United Steelworkers union (USW) on Thursday afternoon signed a tentative agreement to end a nine-week-old strike at Chevron Corp’s Richmond, California, refinery, said sources familiar with the negotiations. The terms of the tentative agreement were not immediately available. The agreement is subject to ratification by the membership of USW Local 12-5,…
By Chavi Mehta and Krystal Hu (Reuters) – Broadcom Inc said on Thursday it will acquire cloud computing company VMware Inc in a $61 billion cash-and stock deal, the chipmaker’s biggest and boldest bid to diversify its business into enterprise software. The acquisition is the second biggest announced globally so far this year, trailing only…
(Reuters) – The Illinois Secretary of State’s office implemented a stay on Carvana Co’s temporary suspension, allowing the online used-car retailer to do business in the state under strict guidelines, a state official said on Thursday. Carvana would be required to post a $250,000 bond to guarantee payment of any fines or fees incurred by…
(Reuters) – Gap Inc cut its annual profit forecast on Thursday, becoming the latest U.S. retailer to come under pressure from soaring costs and poor demand in the face of decades-high inflation. It now expects fiscal 2022 profit between 30 cents and 60 cents per share on an adjusted basis, compared with $1.85 to $2.05…
By Lindsay Dunsmuir (Reuters) – The world is moving rapidly toward increasing use of digital payments and an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could help safeguard its global dominance as other countries issue their own, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said on Thursday. “I don’t think we should be taking the global…
