Reuters Business Today: April 14, 2017

Click to View in Browser Friday, April 14, 2017 U.S. retail sales, inflation data highlight weak first quarter growth WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales fell for a second straight month in March and consumer prices dropped for the first time in just over a year, underscoring the magnitude of the loss of economic growth momentum in the first quarter. Uber's revenue hits $6.5 billion in 2016, still makes large loss (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] generated $6.5 billion in revenue last year and its gross bookings doubled to $20 billion, the ride-hailing service said on Friday. Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars: DMV (Reuters) - Apple Inc has secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, which allows it to conduct test drives in three vehicles with six drivers, the state Department of Motor Vehicles said on Friday. Sao Paulo judge rules Uber drivers are employees, deserve benefits SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A judge in Brazil's biggest city ruled this week that a driver using the Uber [UBER.UL] ride-hailing app is an employee of the San-Francisco-based company, threatening its business model in one of its biggest markets. Abbott agrees to buy Alere at lower price from earlier offer (Reuters) - Diversified healthcare company Abbott Laboratories on Friday agreed to buy Alere Inc at a lower price than it had previously offered, after raising concerns about the accuracy of various representations, warranties and covenants made by Alere in the earlier agreement. HSBC to pay $2 million to resolve U.S. civil loan fraud lawsuit (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc has agreed to pay about $2 million to settle a civil fraud lawsuit that alleged the bank improperly attempted to get reimbursement from the federally backed U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on bad loans it knew were based on fraudulent or potentially fraudulent information. Netflix scorecard to test mettle of tech rally SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The longevity of the technology stocks rally is on the line next week as Netflix Inc kicks off the earnings season for a sector that has mushroomed to account for more than a fifth of the U.S. stock market's value. Takata rescue talks extended, even as bankruptcy risk looms TOKYO (Reuters) - Potential rescuers of Japan's Takata Corp have extended talks, already in their 14th month, for a deal to take over the air bag maker at the heart of the auto industry's biggest safety recall, people briefed on the process said. Fiat Chrysler CEO rows back on merger search, says focused on plan AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne rowed back on his search for a merger on Friday, saying the car maker was not in a position to seek deals for now and would focus instead on following its business plan. VW says has bought, fixed more than half of polluting 2.0-liter diesels in U.S. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG said on Friday the company has bought back or repaired more than half of 475,000 polluting 2.0-liter diesel vehicles under a U.S. government settlement, just six months after it launched the largest-ever automotive repurchase offer. Related Video Apple may join Foxconn in bid for Toshiba's chips Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars Counterparties is a curated snapshot of the best finance news and commentary around the web. Register Today News you can use with actionable, timely advice for managing your financial life, including retirement, taxes, real estate, education and more. Register Today » » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2017 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add newsletters@email.reuters.com to your address book. Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook