Britain to toughen oversight of foreign exchange trading

In an effort to protect the integrity of London as a financial hub, Britain’s treasury chief is set to propose new criminal sanctions covering foreign exchange trading, the latest global market to be hit by scandal.

George Osborne will use his annual speech on the state of the economy to promise tougher oversight of global financial markets that are based in the British capital and have been allegedly manipulated by banks. These markets cover global currency values, interest rates that affect mortgages and credit card rates around the world, and the price of commodities like gold.

Intel raises projections for revenue in quarter and 2014

Intel raised revenue projections, saying sales of computers for businesses have been stronger than expected.

The world’s largest chipmaker is now forecasting revenue of $13.4 billion to $14 billion in the second quarter. The Santa Clara, California, company had expected $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion in revenue. Intel also expects stronger profit margins.

It also said it expects revenue to grow for all of 2014. In January, Intel said its sales would be about the same as last year’s $52.71 billion.

Analysts were forecasting $13.02 billion in revenue for Intel during the second quarter, according to FactSet. Their projections called for $53.07 billion in annual revenue.

Ford lowering estimates for fuel economy on six models

Ford is lowering its fuel economy estimates for six vehicles in the 2013 and 2014 model years, including the Fiesta subcompact and hybrid and the plug-in hybrid versions of the Fusion sedan.

The mileage on most labels will fall between one and five miles per gallon. The biggest change is for the Lincoln MKZ hybrid, whose combined city and highway fuel economy has been reduced by 7 mpg to 38 mpg. Also affected are the C-Max hybrid and C-Max Energi.

Ford will compensate 215,000 buyers with payments of between $125 and $1,050. Most of those customers are in the U.S.; about 15,000 are from Canada and elsewhere.

Ford says it found the errors as part of an internal audit.

Businesses boost stockpiles of goods amid healthy sales

U.S. businesses increased their stockpiles in April by the largest amount in six months, signaling business optimism that future demand will keep rising.

Business inventories rose 0.6 percent in April after a 0.4 percent gain in March, the Commerce Department reported. It marked the 11th consecutive increase in stockpiles and was the biggest advance since October. Total business sales were up a solid 0.7 percent in April.

The encouraging sales gains are expected to prompt businesses to keep ordering more goods to restock their shelves. That rising demand should help boost factory production and fuel the overall economy.

— From news service reports

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