Soft Drinks Hit 10th Year of DeclineDiet soda volumes fall sharply, bottled water makes gains

Much of the upswing was fueled by bottled water, as health-conscious Americans increasingly grab nature’s drink

Japanese Robot Maker Fanuc Reveals Some of Its Secrets

Company helps make iPhones and Teslas; greetings in a canary yellow blazer

Fanuc Chief Executive Yoshiharu Inaba said in an interview Thursday that the company would detail plans to boost shareholder returns by the end of April. Fanuc has also created, for the first time, a “shareholder relations” department.

Google CFO Gets $70 Million Pay Package

Ruth Porat awarded $65 million in stock grants to leave Morgan Stanley

Ruth Porat, who on Tuesday said she would leave her job as Morgan Stanley’s finance chief to take the same role at Google, was awarded more than $70 million worth of restricted stock and bonuses to make the switch.

Mexico’s Pemex Lands Pipeline Deal With BlackRock, First Reserve

Project will bring cheap U.S. natural gas to central Mexico

National oil company Petróleos Mexicanos has landed its first major investment since an overhaul opened the energy sector to private investors last year, with U.S.-based BlackRock Inc. and First Reserve Corp.

RadioShack to Fight for Standard General Takeover

Hedge fund’s offer has picked up crucial backing from retailer’s committee of unsecured creditors

RadioShack Corp. said an offer from Standard General LP to save much of the iconic chain is the best to emerge from an auction, beating out rival offers that would see the retailer shut down

Oil Companies Reap Large Gains After Cashing In Hedging Bets

These forms of insurance against rising prices have become a source of income

Using specialized trades with nomenclature like “three-way collars” and “butterfly spreads,” producers have long used futures, options and other financial contracts to help lock in minimum prices for oil.

But after the drop in oil from more than $100 a barrel to about $50 in a matter of months, some of these hedges have shifted from a form of insurance to a source of income

Hedge Funds: Don’t Call Us a Hedge Fund

Managers are distancing themselves from the moniker

Bank of America Defends Naming CEO Brian Moynihan As Chairman

Bank has faced some investor criticism after overriding requirement to separate roles

Bank of America Corp. defended its decision last fall to give the chairman title to CEO Brian Moynihan, saying it made the move after careful consideration and he is well suited for the job.

The Yuan Strikes Back

China has made steps toward letting the market determine the exchange rate, but the country continues to keep a firm grip on it.

U.S. Stocks Fall For Fourth Session

Stocks end lower but recover from sharpest intraday losses

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 40.31 points, or 0.2%, to 17678.23, after a short-lived rally into positive territory stalled by the afternoon.

The S&P 500 lost 4.90 points, or 0.2%, to 2056.15. The Nasdaq Composite declined 13.16 points, or 0.3%, to 4863.36

Intel in Talks to Buy Altera

Altera, a maker of chips for networks and cars, would be Intel’s biggest purchase ever

Ford, Mercedes-Benz Set Up Shop in Silicon Valley

New nexus of car industry emerges as Apple, Uber and Google push automotive ambitions

Citadel Securities to Shut Down Apogee Dark Pool in U.S.

Market maker is focusing on faster-growing off-exchange trading platform

Citadel Securities plans to shut down its Apogee “dark pool” in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter, as the U.S. market maker focuses on its faster-growing off-exchange trading platform aimed at institutional investors.

RBS Sells Coutts International to UBP

The move closes the U.K. bank’s long-running effort to part with the unit

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC said Friday it has sold its Coutts International wealth management business to Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privée, bringing a long-running effort to part with the unit to a close.

BlackBerry Posts Surprise Quarterly Profit

Cost-cutting efforts starting to pay off, but revenue falls well short of expectations

Volvo to Open Plant in the U.S.

State to be chosen in a month; car maker says labor rates are just part of it

the executive wants a North American factory to be closer to one of its prime markets, take advantage of attractive labor rates and protect against currency fluctuations.

Chevron to Sell Caltex Australia Stake for $3.6 Billion

U.S. oil company looking to sell assets as oil prices slide

U.S. oil company sheds assets to buffer its balance sheet from tumbling oil prices.

Lorillard, Reynolds to Meet with FTC Ahead of Merger Decision

Commissioners get face-to-face meeting with tobacco companies

Best Buy to Close Its Canadian Chain Future Shop

The move will cut about 1,500 jobs across Canada

it would shut down its Canadian chain Future Shop to focus attention on its namesake brand

ChemChina Won’t Rule Out Pumping Up Pirelli Offer

Chinese company says it’s committed to Italian tire maker’s autonomy

We will not try to change Pirelli. Pirelli is Pirelli

McDonald’s to Test Expanded Breakfast Hours

McMuffin lovers prompt experiment selling burgers and eggs at the same time

UnitedHealth to Buy Catamaran for $12.8 Billion in Cash- drug companies

Pharmacy-benefit manager to be merged into UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx unit

UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s deal to acquire Catamaran Corp. for about $12.8 billion in cash will bulk up its pharmacy-benefit business amid growing concern from employers and insurers about the rising costs of cutting-edge drugs.

Catamaran, the fourth-largest pharmacy-benefit manager in the U.S. by volume of prescriptions processed, will be merged into UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx unit, the industry’s third-largest and part of the company’s Optum health-services arm.

MillerCoors Caught in a Downdraft- brewing beer

Joint venture (SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co) searches for CEO as it struggles against craft beers, mismatched agendas

Prada Profit Fell 28% in 2014- Italian company

Fashion house to focus on cutting costs, strengthening existing store network

U.S. Hedge Fund PSAM (P. Schoenfeld Asset Management)Takes Aim at Vivendi’s Bolloré Again

Fund wants the company to increase shareholder returns

Facebook Woos Chinese Advertisers

Social-media firm wages campaign to draw more business from Chinese companies

Facebook Inc. is hiring in Hong Kong, has tapped a second local partner to reach advertisers and is waging a charm campaign to draw more business from Chinese companies, even though Chinese users can’t access its service. The aim is to pitch Chinese companies to the benefits of reaching Facebook’s 1.39 billion active monthly users beyond China’s borders.

IBM to Invest $3 Billion in Sensor-Data Unit

Tech giant to work with Weather Channel, others on Internet of Things projects

Blackstone Flexes Property Muscles-investment firm

Firm’s latest fund quickly raises $14.5 billion from institutions

Flexing its muscles as the world’s biggest real-estate investor, Blackstone Group LP has taken less than four months to raise a record $14.5 billion to buy properties around the globe.

it recently agreed to buy the Willis Tower in Chicago

American Express Co. awarded Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault

Use of China’s Yuan as Global Payment Currency Falls

The yuan slips to seventh place as the world’s most-used currency for international payments