LUXEMBOURG, Sept 30 (Reuters) – A 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) European Union antitrust fine was based on flawed calculations, Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google said on Thursday, urging Europe’s second-highest court to scrap or reduce what it said was not an appropriate penalty.

Google was fined for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals and cement its dominance in general internet search from 2011, in the largest penalty meted out to any company found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.

“The fine that was imposed, a staggering 4.34 billion euros, was not appropriate,” Google’s lawyer Genevra Forwood told the five-judge panel of the General Court on the fourth day of a week-long hearing, which is taking place three years after the European Commission sanctioned the company.

Continue reading “Google tells court ‘staggering’ $5 bln EU antitrust fine flawed”

SHANGHAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) – China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is in danger of losing momentum as opposition in targeted countries rises and debts mount, paving the way for rival schemes to squeeze Beijing out, a new study showed on Wednesday.

President Xi Jinping launched BRI in 2013, aiming to harness China’s strengths in financing and infrastructure construction to “build a broad community of shared interests” throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America.

But Xi’s “project of the century” is now facing major challenges and significant backlashes abroad, according to a study by AidData, a research lab at the College of William and Mary in the United States.

Continue reading “China’s Belt and Road plans losing momentum as opposition, debt mount -study”

BERLIN, Sept 30 (Reuters) – German car parts maker Continental (CONG.DE) announced plans for a restructuring that will combine from the start of next year business activities around connectivity, mobility, and high-performance computers, it said on Thursday.

Its tires business and the ContiTech division, focused on rubber technologies, will become independent group sectors, while its Automotive Technologies branch will split into five business areas including a new focus on smart mobility and user experience, a statement said.

The restructuring is a further step by Continental to reorganise its business after spinning off its powertrain unit Vitesco (VTSCn.DE) in mid-September.

Continue reading “Continental restructures technology unit, downsizes board”

Sept 30 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Mazda Motor Corp’s (7261.T) joint venture factory in the United States will hire 1,700 additional employees as it ramps up production, the companies said on Thursday.

Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, which has started making the 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross model, expects to have 4,000 workers in total by next year, when production of the yet-to-be-announced Mazda vehicle will also begin.

The JV expects to produce 150,000 future Mazda crossover vehicles and 150,000 Toyota sport utility vehicles annually.

Continue reading “Toyota, Mazda’s U.S. joint venture to hire 1,700 additional employees”