Industrials

Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, on Friday announced that he will step down as chairman of his business empire later this year but stay on as a senior adviser. He will be succeeded by his eldest...

The imposition of a 25 percent US tariffs on steel imports has raised fears of a global trade war but steel producers outside North America believe they can weather the storm without too much disruption to...

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska plans to step down from his roles at aluminum giant Rusal and energy firm En+ Group, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. Deripaska has decided to relinquish direct operational control...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is weighing a range of options, including tariffs and quotas, to address steel and aluminum imports that he said were unfairly hurting US producers.  During a meeting at...

Samsung Electronics’ ailing chairman, Lee Kun-hee, was named by South Korean police on Thursday as a suspect in an 8.2 billion won (US$7.5 million) tax evasion case that involved the use of bank accounts held by...

A South Korean appeals court on Monday suspended a jail sentence handed down to Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee, setting him free after a year’s detention amid a corruption scandal that brought down the former...

US securities regulators are probing a massive insurance charge recently announced by General Electric Co., the latest blow to the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate as it struggles to reverse steep declines in some of its units...

General Electric Co. is considering breaking itself up after a sharp shortfall in profits last year, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing chief executive John Flannery. Flannery said the Boston-based group is re-evaluating its strategy and...

Andrew Ng, co-founder of some of Alphabet Inc.-owned Google’s most prominent artificial intelligence projects, launched a new venture with iPhone assembler Foxconn to bring AI and so-called machine learning onto the factory floor, Reuters reports. Consumers...

General Electric Co. said it is axing 12,000 jobs at its global power business, the struggling industrial conglomerate’s latest effort to shrink itself into a more focused company, Reuters reports. The US company launched the cuts...

Leading Chinese automakers like Geely and Great Wall Motors have set their sights on the mid-range market, which used to be dominated by mainland joint ventures with international car brands. China’s high-end car market is largely...

General Electric Co.’s new chief executive, John Flannery, on Monday outlined steps that will turn the giant industrial conglomerate into a smaller, more focused company. Flannery said he will pare GE down to three core businesses: power,...

Zhongwang USA, an investment firm backed by Chinese tycoon Liu Zhongtian, has called off its planned acquisition of US aluminum maker Aleris Corp. after failing to win US government approval, Reuters reports. The companies said the US$2.33...

General Electric Co. faces the risk of losing its membership of the elite 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average, given its dwindling share price and the likelihood that its new chief executive will dramatically slim down its sprawling...

China is working to set a timetable to phase out the production and sale of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, in a move that will accelerate the push into the electric car market led by companies such as BYD...

Air pollution in China typically gets worse in the winter months as residents in north China use coal for heating. Chinese authorities issued a notice recently that require Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and nearby regions to take...

China has pledged to cut average concentrations of airborne particles known as PM2.5 by more than 15 percent year-on-year in the winter months in 28 northern cities to meet key smog targets, the environment ministry said....

General Electric Co. has completed its buyout of Baker Hughes Inc., merging it with its own oil and gas equipment and services operations to create the world’s second-largest oilfield service provider by revenue, Reuters reports. The...

US President Donald Trump will demand action by the Group of 20 leaders to reduce excess capacity and other distortions in the global steel market, according to a top White House economic adviser. Trump will use the...

DuPont and Dow Chemical Co. have won US antitrust approval to merge on condition that the companies sell certain crop protection products and other assets, Reuters reports, citing a court filing. The asset sales required by...