North America

Banks across North America are doing what they are supposed to do. They are lending more money and making more money. 

The Starbucks brand will be impacted by COO Johnson taking the top slot from CEO Howard Schultz, adding to pressure on the company.  

GM sloughs off its European brands to focus on Asia and US markets, boosting PSA Group to second-largest automaker in Europe 

CSX is only the latest example of shareholder activists pushing for change in leadership. 

Donald Trump's policy plans put him in conflict with traditional Republicans in Congress and the states--in this case, his plans to impost tariffs to shape trade. 

ExonMobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson went overnight from dark-horse candidate to president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of State. If confirmed, Tillerson might prove to have the toughest position in the new cabinet as he wrestles with strife around the world and a new relationship with Russia.

Justin Trudeau's government wants to boost infrastructure spending, but without using tax dollars, so it's establishing a bank to attract private money. 

Tim Sloan, new CEO of Wells Fargo, will likely close branches and seek growth online, but even that may not be enough to help the San Francisco-based bank change direction in the wake of its cross-selling scandal. 

Caterpillar, the US-based leader in the machinery and engine industry, announced that in January Doug Umpleby, a longtime Caterpillar executive, will succeed Doug Oberhelman as the company’s CEO. He will be challenged by slow growth worldwide. 

US: Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, an American pharmaceuticals company, finds herself at the center of one of the biggest pharma controversies in recent years: price-gouging.

Will bringing in an outsider revive the brand with fresh insight or cause it to stumble on the turns?

In potentially the biggest foreign corporate takeover ever by a German company, Bayer seeks to buy Monsanto for 62 billion. Werner Bauman gets into agribusiness.

Jennifer Tory, group head, personal and commercial banking at RBC, discusses the bank’s ongoing quest to blend its digital and physical channels for clients.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has a change of heart regarding US sanctions against her country. 

The EU hit Apple with a tax bill, but it's not the only company in regulators' sights. McDonalds, Facebook, Google and Amazon are being called on the carpet about tax practices too.

HUMAN RESOURCES | Performance appraisals drive everyone nuts, but many US companies are doing them more often. 

US | Wal-Mart’s decision to buy Jet.com, a fast-growing e-commerce company, for $3.3 billion is being viewed as a shrewd move for both companies—one that strengthens their ability to compete with Amazon. 

Frontier Markets Report: Cuba
Obstacles and contradictions mar Cuba’s environment for foreign direct investment, but its market offers a wealth of opportunity.

Aaron Brickman, senior vice president for strategy and development at the Organization for International Investment (OFII), a nonprofit trade association, also founded SelectUSA, a federal program to promote foreign direct investment in the US. He visited Global Finance to discuss the state of FDI worldwide.

A squeeze on earnings and a rise in funding costs have persuaded many US companies to commit less cash to buying back their own shares this year.