Workers at Airbus plants in France, Germany and Spain staged strikes and protests Friday, maintaining a united front against a restructuring plan the troubled aircraft maker said would slash 10,000 jobs across Europe. Thousands joined Friday's protests at Airbus facilities around the continent, following a similar movement last week by at least 12,000 workers. The actions hit a company reeling f.. more

European shares dipped on Friday with banks under pressure on worries about the U.S. economy, but M&A talk boosted stocks including consumer products maker Unilever and oil and gas group Repsol. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended 0.07 percent lower at 1,454.9, below the day's high of 1,462.1 but above a low of 1,447.2. Earlier, stocks trimmed losses after U.S. core consumer prices, exc.. more

Takafumi Horie, who rattled corporate Japan with his celebrity lifestyle and brash takeover bids, was found guilty and sentenced to two years and six months in jail Friday for his role in a securities fraud at his former company Livedoor. The sentence handed down by the Tokyo District Court was a harsh contrast with punishments typically meted out to Japanese executives convicted of white-collar .. more