Business and Finance news

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told shareholders Wednesday that the two automakers potentially could generate combined revenues of euro100 billion ($141 billion) by 2014.
Marchionne expects Fiat’s revenues alone to nearly double from euro35.8 billion 2010 to euro64 billion, a target previously announced. That would leave the once-bankrupt Chrysler to contribute more than euro36 billion.
Fiat […]

WASHINGTON

Asian shares fell in early trading Monday, continuing a trend from last week that saw political turmoil in Libya pull global indexes lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average fell 0.6 percent to 10,467.8. The yen showed renewed strength, which can hurt exporters, and government data showed industrial production for January was below forecasts.
South Korea’s Kospi index […]

Bonds or

Stocks held onto gains Wednesday afternoon, with the Dow and S&P finishing at their highest levels since the summer of 2008, after the Fed kept rates steady and left its bond-buying plan alone.
The Dow finished up 8 points, or 0.1%, at 11,985.44, the highest close since June 19, 2008. Earlier in the session, the […]

Lawson Inc. Chief Executive Officer Takeshi Niinami aims to open almost 10,000 stores in China by 2020, selling drinks, food and magazines. To pull it off, the Tokyo-based executive is packing his bags for Shanghai.
As Japan’s second-largest convenience-store operator plans to boost outlets in China more than 30-fold, Niinami, 51, will spend a month […]

February marks the start of the year of the rabbit in the Chinese lunar calendar.
It may be an auspicious sign for Playboy Enterprises Inc., which opened a nightclub in Macau last month as it seeks to expand its licensing of the trademark bunny head logo on lifestyle products in Asia, its fastest growing region.
The company, […]

Walgreen Co., the largest drugstore operator in the U.S., said Wednesday that its profit jumped 18.8 percent in the fiscal first quarter on a mix of better pricing and generic drug sales.
The Deerfield, Ill., company said its profit rose to $580 million, or 62 cents per share, from $489 million, or 49 cents per share. […]

Credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Hungary’s government bonds by two notches on Monday, citing worries about public finance policies and exposure to foreign financial shocks, such as the European debt crisis.
Moody’s Investor Service said it cut the rating to Baa3 from Baa1 _ just one step above junk category _ and kept its outlook as […]

Sales of Ford Motor Co. cars and trucks rose 20 percent last month while General Motors sales were up 11 percent as the auto industry’s slow-motion recovery continued to gain traction.
Industry analysts say the numbers, combined with a strong October, show that consumers who have kept their jobs through the economic downturn are now feeling […]