FORD'S 2017 earnings will be hit by a delayed currency impact of at least $600 million from Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the US carmaker told Reuters, putting last year's record European profit levels beyond reach.

As with many industries now fretting over the uncertain future of US trade policy, the oil business is sizing up the potential impact of the various protectionist measures being bandied about Washington - which have sent crude markets into a tizzy.

Maligned by leftist French politicians as a symbol of the jobbing economy, Uber is making inroads in high-rise Paris suburbs, with the prospect of work luring thousands of young drivers despite difficult conditions.

Investors in India are bracing for higher taxes and fewer incentives from the government's annual budget on Feb. 1 as the focus shifts to wringing out revenues to finance giveaways and higher public investment.

Apple on Wednesday took its legal war with Qualcomm to China, filing lawsuits there accusing the chip-making giant of illegally wielding monopoly power.

India's finance minister is likely to borrow more than originally planned when he presents the budget on Feb. 1, senior aides and officials said, despite counting on revenues from a national sales tax whose launch date is still unknown.

Consumer goods maker Unilever reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales on Thursday, blaming the Indian government's withdrawal of high-value notes and a weak economy in Brazil.

Facebook Inc has hired Hugo Barra, the most prominent global executive at Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc, to lead its virtual reality business including the Oculus unit, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said.

Indian mills bought 50,000 tonnes of Australian standard wheat in recent deals for February shipment while Bangladesh purchased an equal quantity of Canadian wheat for arrival in April, traders said.

Britain's free-spending consumers again wrong-footed broad prognostications of a slowdown after June's Brexit vote, driving a robust pace of economic growth in the final three months of 2016, data showed on Thursday.

Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said Thursday its earnings plunged in 2016 on weak demand for mobile broadband networks in its developing markets, which were hit by economic slumps.

Thirty eight Bangladeshi companies will join a five-day trade fair for consumer goods—Ambiente—organised by Messe Frankfurt in Germany.

The government plans to ship 5 tonnes of rice seeds to Bhutan to help the country produce more paddy based on quality seeds, said a senior official of agriculture ministry.

US pharmaceuticals giant Johnson & Johnson on Thursday announced it was buying Europe's biggest bio-pharmaceutical firm, Switzerland's Actelion, for $30 billion (27.9 billion euros) in a deal that creates a new spin-off company.

Germany's record current account surplus is likely to shrink this year because a slowdown in global trade is dampening export growth while strong domestic demand is pushing up imports, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday.

The European Union urged China on Wednesday to make "concrete progress" in opening its markets to global investment, after Chinese President Xi Jinping decried protectionism in a speech at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Indonesia is interested in pursuing a bilateral economic partnership with the United States after the world's biggest economy abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) accord, an Indonesian official said on Wednesday.

Japan is cool to the notion of inviting China to join a pan-Pacific trade pact abandoned by US President Donald Trump, fearing such a step would boost Beijing's clout and water down what was meant to be the 'gold standard' for rules of trade.

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced Wednesday a $5.0 billion share buyback even though competition from generics ate away at sales and earnings last year.

Taiwan's economy notched up its best performance in almost two years in the final quarter of 2016, with strong demand for electronics offsetting a plunge in mainland tourists, according to official data released Wednesday.