Business News Headlines

By Natalie Huet PARIS (Reuters) - France's data protection watchdog ordered Google on Thursday to change its privacy policy or face fines, leading a Europe-wide push to get the Internet giant to clarify its intentions and methods for collecting user data. France's regulator, the CNIL, said Google's privacy policy violated …

By Joel Dimmock LONDON (Reuters) - Investors in Britain's largest companies have rowed back on the protests over pay which most readily symbolized public distaste over perceived corporate greed during last year's 'shareholder spring'. Research by Reuters has found that the average vote against executive pay deals at FTSE …

(Reuters) - Rite Aid Corp , the No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain, posted its third consecutive quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by sales of higher-margin generic drugs. The company earned $89.7 million, or 9 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter ended June 1, versus a loss of $28 million, or 3 cents per share, a year …

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 1,000 creditors of the European operations of failed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers will share a 3.5 billion pound ($5.5 billion) payout next week, its administrators said on Thursday. The payout means the recovery so far for creditors from one of the banking collapses at the heart of …

By Olesya Dmitracova and David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales bounced back much more than expected in May, adding to evidence of accelerating economic growth in the second quarter and easing some of the pressure on the central bank to boost the economy. The Office for National Statistics said on Thursday …

By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity weakened to a nine-month low in June as demand faltered, a preliminary survey showed, heightening the risk of a sharper second quarter slowdown and increasing the heat on the central bank to loosen policy. China's economy grew at its slowest pace for 13 years in …

LONDON (AP) — Markets were roiled Thursday by a suggestion from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that the central bank may be done with its monetary stimulus next year. While stocks and commodities took a pounding on the news, the dollar surged.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Norway's Parliament has opened up a new area on the fringe of the Arctic Ocean to offshore oil drilling despite protests from opponents who fear catastrophic oil spills in the remote and icy region.

TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. needs more time to study a key proposal from a U.S. hedge fund to spin off a part of its entertainment unit as a way to propel its fledgling revival, the chief executive told shareholders Thursday.

PARIS (AP) — France is giving Google three months to be more upfront about the data it collects from users — or be fined.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press said Thursday that it has bought a minority stake in the live video service Bambuser, boosting its ability to acquire and distribute video collected by people who have witnessed news events.

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The chief executive of ABN Amro says the Dutch bank is ready to be privatized.

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — A Hong Kong aircraft leasing company has agreed to buy 60 Airbus single-aisle jets, which have been selling well at this week at the Paris Air Show.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will vote Thursday on whether to cut federally-subsidized crop insurance that helps farmers when they lose crops or revenue.

NEW YORK (AP) — Men's Wearhouse doesn't like the way its founder looks anymore.

DETROIT (AP) — Car buyers increasingly want high-tech features like voice recognition and navigation. But they're not very forgiving of the car company when those systems fail.

Frank Lloyd Wright may have died in 1959, but his architecture is alive and well. A recent story in the Wall Street Journal revealed the cost to upkeep some of his historic homes may be more than buyers bargain for, but others clamor to invest in history.        

The judge presiding over the lawsuit against Martha Stewart and J.C. Penney ruled on Friday allowing the sale of Martha Stewart merchandise in J.C. Penney stores.