Business

Starboard Value said on Friday that it sold nearly three quarters of its stake in eBay Inc during the second quarter when the activist investment firm also ended its proxy fight at the ecommerce company.

Oil prices edged lower on Friday on worries that demand would recover more slowly than expected from COVID19 pandemic lockdowns, while rising supply also overshadowed optimism over falling crude and fuel inventories.

Trading on Wall Street was subdued on Friday as doubts crept in about a new U.S. stimulus bill, while the S&P 500 hovered below record highs as a swathe of domestic data showed the economy was still smarting from the COVID19 pandemic.

Gold fell on Friday, on track to post its worst week since March, as an uptick in U.S. Treasury yields and a logjam over a U.S. stimulus bill to help the coronavirushit economy dented the metal's allure.

Chinese discounts for physical gold scaled yet another record peak versus global spot rates this week as the COVID19 pandemic continued to choke retail appetite, with even a price dip failing to lure consumers in India.

The reserves had crossed the half-a-trillion mark for the first time in the week ended June 5, 2020, after it had jumped by USD 8.223 billion to USD 501.703 billion.

U.S. productivity rose at a 7.3% rate in the second quarter, the largest quarterly increase since 2009. Labor costs also jumped, rising 12.2%.

Americans increased their retail purchases by 1.2% in July, with solid gains in appliances and clothing, restoring sales to their level before the viral pandemic erupted in March.

The company on Thursday reported a doubling of its net income at Rs 2,076 crore in the June quarter boosted by an inventory gain of Rs 565 crore and a marketing gain of Rs 1,003 crore.

Not yet 30, Beijing office worker Li thought she was already on her way up China's private property ladder with two apartments bought and rented out. Then came the new coronavirus, jobless tenants leaving town and a rent falloff.

Asian shares fell on Friday and European stocks were set to open lower after lacklustre Chinese economic data and worries about a delay in U.S. fiscal stimulus discouraged some investors from taking on risk.

Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials are expected to recommit to a Phase 1 trade deal during a review on Saturday, even though China's promised purchases of U.S. exports are far behind schedule.

National Australia Bank Ltd on Friday urged customers at high risk of default on their loans to sell their properties sooner rather than later, as it reported ballooning credit impairment charges during the quarter.

Gold fought for traction on Friday as a jump in U.S. Treasury yields forced investors to reassess their positions again after a steep retreat from a record peak earlier this week, which put bullion on course for its first weekly fall since early June.

China's retail sales unexpectedly fell in July from a year ago while the comeback in factory output was slower than forecast amid signs the recovery in the world's secondlargest economy remains fragile.

The S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Thursday after briefly trading above its record closing high level for a second day, and the Dow also fell in the wake of a disappointing forecast from Cisco Systems Inc .