Confidence among Japan's big firms remained unchanged from three months ago, a closely-watched central bank survey showed, but sentiment on the outlook soured for the first time in three quarters as trade frictions and global growth concerns hurt the business mood.
The French government is seeking candidates to replace Renault's embattled boss Carlos Ghosn, sources told Reuters, as board members began to voice doubts about keeping him in office following his indictment in Japan for suspected misconduct.
The battle between Nissan Motor Co Ltd and its ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn in Brazil's courts escalated on Thursday after the Japanese carmaker sued his sister alleging "unjust enrichment" and his lawyers alleged Nissan could have planted evidence.
Renault said on Thursday an audit launched in the wake of Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn's arrest in Japan had so far found no irregularities with his pay at the French carmaker.
Japan Post Holdings Co is planning to invest about $2.6 billion in Aflac Inc , aiming to become the largest shareholder in the U.S. insurer, a person familiar with the matter said.
A British government letter to Nissan two years ago offering reassurances about Brexit, which helped secure a major investment from the Japanese carmaker, is still considered too sensitive to release, a Reuters freedom of information request revealed.
Italian construction group Salini Impregilo and Japan's IHI Corporation have made non-binding bids for troubled Italian builder Astaldi , a source said on Thursday citing a document.
French energy company Total said it has agreed to sell a 4 percent stake in its Australian Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to Japanese partner Inpex for $1.6 billion, following cost overruns.
Japan's government has no plan to ask private companies to avoid buying telecommunications equipment that could have malicious functions, such as information leakage, its top spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said on Thursday.
ABB is in talks with Japan's Hitachi about the Swiss engineering group's power grid business, which it may sell to focus on more profitable divisions.
The U.S. Senate delivered a rare double rebuke to President Donald Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blame the Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.