COUNTRY GARDEN TO SELL 9.9% STAKE TO PING AN INSURANCE FOR $813 MILLION 

Country Garden Holdings Co. will sell a 9.9% stake to a unit of Ping An Insurance Co. of China, raising 6.3 billion Hong Kong dollars to fund its property projects. (published 0028 GMT)

 
 
SHENGJING BANK TO BUY 20% STAKE IN HUAXIN TRUST 

Shengjing Bank Co. agreed to buy a 20% stake in Huaxin Trust Co. from Huaxin Huiton Group Ltd. for 3.17 billion yuan. (published 0034 GMT)

 
 
EU LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR ANTITRUST CHARGES AGAINST GOOGLE--UPDATE 

Europe's competition regulator is preparing to move against Google Inc. in the next few weeks, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday, setting the stage for charges against the U.S. Internet-search giant in a five-year-old investigation that has stalled three times and sparked a political firestorm. (published 2311 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
MCDONALD'S TO RAISE HOURLY PAY FOR 90,000 WORKERS -- 3RD UPDATE 

fresh evidence of the rising wage pressure in the American labor market. (published 2320 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
CFTC SUES KRAFT, MONDELEZ FOR ALLEGED MANIPULATION OF WHEAT MARKET 

The U.S. commodities regulator sued giant food companies Kraft Foods Group Inc. and Mondelez Global LLC over alleged manipulation of wheat prices in 2011, marking a fresh crackdown on how companies outside the financial industry use derivatives markets. (published 2310 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
RADIOSHACK TO DEBUT STORES UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP 

Meet the new RadioShack. After a brush with liquidation last week, a reincarnated version of the chain will debut later in April under the ownership of hedge fund Standard General LP with an assist from Sprint Corp. (published 2254 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
JAMBA TO SELL 100 STORES FOR $36 MILLION -- UPDATE 

Jamba Juice-owner Jamba Inc. plans to sell about 40% of its company-owned stores to a franchisee group, the latest move by a restaurant chain to shed the costs and complications of running restaurants in pursuit of higher profit margins. (published 2234 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
GODADDY'S SHARES JUMP UP TO 34% IN MARKET DEBUT--3RD UPDATE 

Shares of GoDaddy Inc., a technology provider to small businesses, jumped 31% in their market debut Wednesday as investors piled into the company known nearly as much for its racy television commercials as it is for selling Web domains. (published 2051 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
QBE INSURANCE SAYS STRONG US DOLLAR ERODING REVENUE 

QBE Insurance Group Ltd. said Thursday a strengthening U.S. dollar would likely lead it to book lower premium revenue in 2015. (published 2208 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
BRAZIL'S PETROBRAS OBTAINS $3.5 BILLION IN FINANCING FROM CHINA DEVELOPMENT BANK 

Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Wednesday it signed a $3.5 billion financing deal with the China Development Bank, highlighting the oil giant's deteriorating financial condition in the wake of a vast corruption scandal as well as China's growing ties to Latin America. (published 2117 GMT Wednesday)

 
 
MORGAN STANLEY CEO GORMAN GETS 25% PAY RAISE IN 2014--2ND UPDATE 

Morgan Stanley paid its top executive $22.5 million for his work in running the Wall Street firm in 2014, a 25% raise from a year earlier. (published 2049 GMT Wednesday)