Akzo Nobel, the Dutch maker of paints and coatings, confirmed on Monday it was in talks to buy U.S. coatings maker Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. Akzo said in a statement the companies were in “constructive talks” but there was no guarantee they would come to a successful conclusion. It said it would dispose of its […]

Icelanders voted in favor of a left-leaning four-party coalition in parliamentary elections, a final vote count showed Sunday, although it remained unclear who would get a mandate to form the next government. The left-leaning coalition of the Left-Green Movement, the Social Democrats, the Progressive Party and the Pirate Party won 32 seats in the 63-member […]

The Spanish government said Saturday it would welcome the participation of sacked Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in regional elections to be held in December. Government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo told Reuters TV in an interview that if Puigdemont wanted to continue in politics, “which is his right, I think he should prepare for next […]

EasyJet has strengthened its position in Germany by agreeing to buy part of Air Berlin’s operations at Berlin Tegel airport, ending uncertainty over the fate of the failed airline’sremaining assets. EasyJet said late Friday it would enter into leases for up to 25 A320 aircraft, acquire take-off and landing slots, and offer jobs to staff, […]

Spain has sacked the chief of Catalonia’s regional police force, Josep Lluis Trapero, as the government in Madrid takes control of the autonomous region to block its push forindependence. Madrid dismissed the Catalan government, took over the administration and called a new election after the region’s parliament declared independence on Friday. There have been doubts […]

Volkswagen engineers told top managers that diesel emissions manipulations went far beyond issues in the United States two days before the carmaker made a public announcement to that effect in 2015, Der Spiegel reported Friday. Volkswagen (VW) admitted on September 20, 2015, to installing secret software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to […]

Major oil CEOs called on OPEC to extend output cuts beyond March next year on Friday, arguing “huge volatility” in the energy market meant it would be imperative for the cartel to try to put a floor under prices. OPEC members are reportedly forming a consensus around extending their production cutting deal with other crude […]

North Korea was behind a cyber-attack that derailed Britain’s state-owned health service’s IT systems, the U.K. government said Friday. “I think we should perhaps remember that this attack, we believe quite strongly, that this came from a foreign state,” U.K. Security Minister Ben Wallace said. Asked which foreign state he believed was involved, Wallace said: […]

Two religious men have been acquitted of criminal damage at a U.K. defense site after arguing they acted for the greater good. Reverend Daniel Woodhouse and Samuel Walton broke into a BAE Systems site in northern England in January. After being caught before reaching any hardware, they said they were trying to disable Tornado jets […]

Spain’s constitutional crisis was back in the spotlight Friday with two crucial votes taking place in both Barcelona and Madrid. The regional parliament of Catalonia is due to vote Friday on whether it should declare independence. And given that the region has a majority of pro-independence lawmakers “it appears more likely than not” that it […]