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Thursday, December 28, 2017

Wall Street rises as financials, tech advance

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher in light trading on Thursday, buoyed by gains in financial stocks and as technology stocks continued to slowly recover from a losing skid.

With lineup widening, Apple depends less on iPhone X

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In years past, demand for Apple Inc's latest flagship phone was critical to the company's results over the holiday shopping quarter.

Citigroup to pay $11.5 million fines, compensation over errant stock ratings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc will pay at least $11.5 million in fines and restitution to settle charges it displayed the wrong research ratings on more than 1,800 stocks, causing many customers to own shares they never would have bought, a U.S. regulator said on Thursday.

IAG is remaining bidder for insolvent airline Niki: source

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - British Airways owner IAG is negotiating exclusively with Niki's insolvency administrator to take over the collapsed Austrian airline, a source close to the process said on Thursday.

SoftBank tender for Uber stake succeeds at discounted price: WSJ

(Reuters) - A consortium led by SoftBank Group Corp will buy a more than 15 percent stake in Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] after existing investors in the ride services company agreed to sell shares at a price that values the startup at $48 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

GM wins ruling that could narrow ignition switch litigation

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Thursday won a court ruling that could reduce the private litigation it faces over flawed vehicle ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths and triggered a big recall.

VW to try to block emissions audit in constitutional court

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG said on Thursday it would petition Germany's constitutional court in an effort to overturn the appointment of a special auditor to investigate the actions of management in the "Dieselgate" emissions scandal.

Apple, Epson face French legal complaints over allegedly shortening life of products

PARIS (Reuters) - Smartphone maker Apple and Japanese printer company Epson are facing legal complaints in France over allegedly speeding up the aging process of their products to stimulate demand.

Oil prices stay near high on strong U.S. refinery runs, China data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday but stayed close to their highest in 2-1/2 years, as data showed strong demand for crude imports in China and on increased refining activity in the United States that drew more crude from inventories.

Exclusive: Apple and Amazon in talks to set up in Saudi Arabia - sources

RIYADH (Reuters) - Apple and Amazon are in licensing discussions with Riyadh on investing in Saudi Arabia, two sources told Reuters, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's push to give the conservative kingdom a high-tech look.