French voters marched to the polls on Sunday in the country’s closely watched presidential election, where various political ideologies battled for the right to claim the top two spots in a runoff set for May 7. After the dust settled, centrist Emmanuel Macron and nationalist Marine Le Pen emerged as the top two vote-getters with 24 and 22 percent of the vote, respectively. At stake is France’s identity as one of the most powerful cogs in the engine of the European Union, at a time when many vot

The struggles of political pollsters to accurately forecast the outcome of votes was a major theme of 2016. Early indications of the first round of the French election show that may not be the case this time. Official results are not yet available, but Harris exit polling indicates that centrist Emmanuel Macron is seen winning 24 percent of the first round vote, with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen projected to win 22 percent of the vote, setting them up for a May runoff.

Analysts estimate that the division generated 25 percent of 21st Century Fox’s operating income last year, which was $6.6 billion. Maintaining a culture based on “trust and respect,” as 21st Century Fox promised when Mr. Ailes left, was easier said than done. Working together will be crucial if 21st Century Fox is going to navigate the shoals ahead. Consumers are canceling or forgoing cable hookups and instead subscribing to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, which 21st Century Fox co-own

Conservative candidate Francois Fillon has conceded defeat in the French presidential election and has asked his supporters to reject a far-right leadership. Fillon joined other politicians, concerned with the stability of France and the European Union, in asking voters to choose the centrist Emmanuel Macron over the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, after preliminary results showed the two will face off in the final round on May 7.

U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co will acquire C R Bard Inc, in a $24 billion cash-and-stock deal, adding Bard’s devices to its portfolio in the high-growth sectors of oncology and surgery, both companies said on Sunday. The deal comes two years after Becton Dickinson acquired CareFusion Corp for $12 billion. Bard shareholders stand to receive $222.93 in cash and 0.5077 shares of Becton Dickinson for each of their shares, the companies said. Becton Dickinson and Bard said t

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen has warned that France’s “survival is at stake” in a speech made shortly after securing the second-highest number of votes in the first round of the country’s presidential election on Sunday. France could not hope for change to come with the “heir” of current French president, Francois Hollande, said the National Front candidate whose vote count came within 2 percent of the leading candidate, the independent centrist Emmanuel Macron, according to exit polls rele

When Socialist French presidential candidate Benoit Hamon conceded Sunday after failing to qualify for a runoff, he called it a “historic blow” to his party. It marks just the latest setback for the mainstream left across Europe — a retreat that has been largely missed by media reports as they focus on far-right leaders, whether they win or lose. Hamon, part of the same party as incumbent President Francois Hollande, appears set to finish fifth in the vote based on early indications from pollste

The euro pared gains after scaling a five-month high against the dollar on Monday after the centrist candidate won the first round of the French presidential election, reducing the risk of an anti-establishment shock in the final round. The euro was up 1.1 percent at $1.0844 by midday in Asia after earlier rising as high as $1.0940, its highest since Nov. 10. Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified

Gold hits its lowest in nearly two weeks on Monday after centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron won the first round of French presidential election, boosting stocks and sparking a sell-off in the safe-haven bullion. Spot gold was down 0.7 percent at $1,275.46 per ounce by 0342 GMT, after falling to a low of $1,265.90 earlier in the session. “Gold prices have fallen sharply this morning due to the improvement in risk sentiment,” said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan. “Macron and Marine Le Pen have emerged a

Oil prices recovered ground on Monday following last week’s big losses, driven by expectations that OPEC will extend a pledge to cut output to cover all of 2017, although a relentless rise in U.S. drilling capped gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures added 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, by 0401 GMT, but were still below the $50 mark pierced on Friday at $49.88 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose 30 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $52.26 per barrel. Oil prices fell steeply last week on

“Euro/dollar has gapped much higher because we do not have the worst case scenario for the market. We may knock the level of $1.10 or possibly even $1.11 but this trade may fade as Le Pen is still there. This is going to keep traders on the sidelines,” ThinkMarkets’ Chief Market Analyst Naeem Aslam said in a note. “(I)t may be premature to be seduced by the ‘ooh la la’ headlines of the French polls … (as) the final outcome of the French elections remains fairly wide open,” Varathan said in a n

Working for a big tech company can come with some pretty amazing perks: Free food, unlimited paid vacation, travel stipends — and don’t forget super cool offices. What might surprise some people is that many of the most impressive tech office spaces aren’t in Silicon Valley. These designs are far from the gray walls and cubicles that are a staple of most office decor. From the Emerald City to the Empire State, here are 8 of coolest tech offices around.

ZHENGZHOU, China — Here in China’s heartland, in the capital of its Henan province, some of the country’s most powerful leaders are meeting. That’s an invite-only group composed of 55 Chinese billionaires, at last count. Unlike many of the moneyed elite from other developing countries, who accrued wealth from a privatization land-grab, almost all of China’s entrepreneurs started from scratch. In fact, even before the Chinese government officially acknowledged the benefits of private companies, h

The euro’s spike to a five-month high after the results of France’s first round of presidential voting came in as expected was already fading in early Asia trade Monday. Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen were headed to a runoff in France’s presidential election, set for May 7, matching expectations for the first round outcome on Sunday. Polls forecast that pro-European Macron will roundly defeat anti-European Union Le Pen. The euro had been weighed by uncertainty hea

Xi told Trump that he hopes all sides exercise restraint over the issue of North Korea and that China opposes anything that runs counter to U.N. Security Council resolutions, state media said on Monday. Xi said during a telephone call with Trump that all sides should avoid doing anything to worsen tensions, state television reported. Tensions have risen sharply over North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs. The United States has ordered the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike gro

A top executive in China’s all-important agriculture sector is “hopeful” that U.S.-China trade will continue to flourish, despite tough talk that has come from both sides. “But more recently, we saw [Chinese President Xi Jinping’s] visit to the U.S., and this 100-day trade cooperation with Trump and the U.S., and as such, it makes us hopeful going forward.” Trade tensions have flared between the U.S. and China lately, including for agricultural products. Last fall, the U.S. filed a complaint to

Run to the FireFields was CEO of Ford’s Mazda subsidiary in his late 30s, a stunningly fast ascent. Pull this off this a few times, and you’re likely to get a reputation for making the bosses look good. Be Sure the Sleeves Match the CuffsSeveral times in his career, Fields needed to get a new team working quickly toward a common goal. Because if the sleeves don’t match the cuffs, people just think you’re trying to manipulate them.” It’s a tailoring metaphor that works: If the sleeves don’t match

But in another consensus-confounding turn, value stocks have badly lagged growth shares – just as bond yields have dropped and market volatility has been muted, contrary to the popular predictions. Russell 1000 Value vs. Russell 1000 Growth:(Rising line means value outperforms and vice versa. ) But that year was the last of seven straight years of value leadership, while before 2016, growth shares had paced the market for several years. So now the crucial unknowns: Is the market giving investors

“if your job is replaced by a machine or by some form of automation, the minimum wage is zero. The man who was President Donald Trump’s first choice for Labor Secretary explained to CNBC that “you’ve got two pressures coming in to retail businesses. The bulk of jobs at fast food restaurants are lower paid, often minimum wage positions. Last December, Trump nominated Puzder for Labor Secretary, yet Puzder withdrew from consideration under pressure on February 15th. “People need these entry level

Yes, the five big tech companies—Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft—are more powerful collectively than the tech industry has ever been. It’s also easy to argue, as Matt Stoller does in the Business Insider piece, that innovation in the tech industry is in a lull. Yet what both of these facts actually demonstrate is that the tech industry is one of the nation’s most vibrant, subject to constant competition and disruption—precisely the opposite of the market characteristics