At a conference in Dublin on Friday the head of Ireland's largest bank gave small business leaders the "15- second elevator pitch" he gives to U.S. executives when he is in New York or Boston.
NEW YORK-- Procter& Gamble shares approached their all-time high on Friday after the world's largest consumer goods maker said current CEO Bob McDonald is retiring and his predecessor A.G. Lafley was taking back the top spot.
*China second to U.S. in 2012 luxury retail growth. *Top brands expanding across the United States. Ephraim is the kind of man who gives luxury goods makers high hopes that the U.S. market can fuel future growth, as China runs out of steam and demand in Europe sags.
*Copper surplus forecast at 98,500 T in Reuters April poll. SINGAPORE/ LONDON, May 24- A series of copper mine shutdowns and supply logjams has prompted some analysts to scale down forecasts for a market surplus, but it would take more disruptions to swing the market into a deficit.
*Pakistan's financing needs estimated at $6 bln- 9 bln. LAHORE, Pakistan, May 24- Pakistan's new leadership expects first results of its planned steps to shore up its finances and ease a power crisis in two or three months and only then should decide whether and on what terms to seek an IMF bailout, a senior policy adviser said on Friday.
TOKYO, May 24- Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the Japanese maker of Triton pickups, the Outlander Sport SUV and iMiEV electric car, wants shareholders to approve a capital reorganisation to clear more than $9 billion of accumulated losses, and pave the way for the resumption of dividends after a 15- year gap.
*Coal producers face too much supply through 2020. Prices have slumped around 30 percent since their peak two years ago as coal flooded global markets, especially from the United States where cheap gas has cut domestic demand and led to a nearly 50 percent jump in thermal coal exports last year.
*U.S. equities recoup earlier losses, supporting oil. NEW YORK, May 23- Brent crude oil prices retraced earlier losses after falling to a three-week low on Thursday in a broader commodities selloff, riding the coattails of a late turnaround in U.S. equities to end flat.
NEW YORK, May 23- Oil prices pared losses after falling to a three-week low on Thursday in a broader commodities selloff, supported as selling in U.S. equities tapered off on the back of encouraging domestic economic data.
NEW YORK, May 23- Oil fell to a three-week low on Thursday in a broader commodities selloff as a decline in China's factory activity entrenched concern about weak demand, and worries about an early scale-back in U.S.
MUMBAI, May 23- Shares in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd fell as much as 10.7 percent on Thursday after majority shareholder Daiichi Sankyo Co said it believed former shareholders of the Indian company hid information regarding U.S. regulatory probes.
LONDON, May 23- Oil fell to a three-week low near $101 a barrel on Thursday in a broader commodities selloff as a decline in China's factory activity entrenched concern about weak demand and on worries about an early scale-back in U.S. China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May, a survey showed.
SAN FRANCISCO/ DUBLIN, May 23- Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest country, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Apple must have seemed attractive to Ireland and to Cork.
LONDON, May 23- Copper reversed the week's gains, sliding as much as 3 percent on Thursday after a survey showed factory activity in top metals consumer China shrank for the first time in seven months. China is the world's biggest consumer of industrial metals, taking 40 percent of the global supply of refined copper.
LONDON, May 23- Gold bounced back on Thursday from the previous session's losses as the dollar fell sharply and European shares dropped after weak Chinese factory activity added to concerns about a delayed recovery in the country.
*Coming Up; U.S. jobless claims 1230 GMT. LONDON, May 23- Copper reversed the week's gains, sliding as much as 3 percent on Thursday after a survey showed China's manufacturing sector contracted, but a shutdown at one of the world's biggest mines in Indonesia helped cap losses.
EPS 238.7 U.S. cents vs 239 Thomson Reuters forecast. *Main growth in Latin America, Africa. BRUSSELS, May 23- SABMiller, the world's second-biggest brewer, forecast margin expansion in the year ahead after profit grew in line with expectations thanks to a surge in earnings in Latin America and Africa.
LONDON, May 23- Oil fell below $102 a barrel on Thursday in a broader commodities selloff as a decline in China's factory activity entrenched concern about weak demand and on worries about an early scale-back in Federal Reserve stimulus. China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May, a survey showed.
*Gold reverses losses but still near two-year low of $1,321.35 Fed needs to see more from economy before scaling back bond-buying- Bernanke. SINGAPORE, May 23- Gold climbed off session lows on Thursday after weak Chinese factory activity jolted stock markets in Asia, sending investors back to the precious metal despite expectations the U.S.