World Business Today ( 2 Dec 2015)

1.Brazil’s economy is disintegrating:
Gross domestic product fell by 4.5% in the third quarter compared with the same time frame last year, the country’s statistics bureau reported. The cumulative drop of 3.2% for the year so far is the worst since 1996.

2.Facebook’s chief executive will give away almost all of his shares:
Along with his daughter’s birth, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will give away 99% of his Facebook shares, valued at around $45 billion, to charity during his lifetime.

3.US construction spending hit an eight-year high:
The Commerce Department said that construction spending rose 1% in October from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of more than $1.1 trillion. That’s the highest level since December 2007.

4.VW sales are plunging:
The German automaker reported that November US sales fell almost 25% from a year ago. The VW brand sold 23,882 vehicles last month compared with almost 32,000 a year ago.

5.U.S. debt limit threat defanged on Wall Street:
Wall Street trembled when Republicans first began threatening to force the United States into default by not raising the federal debt limit, but after four years of fiscal standoffs, the threat looks increasingly like a bluff and the markets are calling it.

6.Pistorius Faces Murder Conviction in South African Court Ruling:
Oscar Pistorius learns whether he must return to jail Thursday when the South African Supreme Court of Appeal decides if it will change his manslaughter conviction to murder for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day two years ago.

7.Oil Resumes Decline as OPEC Ministers Gather for Policy Meeting:
Oil fell for the third time in four days as ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries arrive in Vienna to discuss production policy.Futures dropped as much as 0.9 percent to stay below $42 a barrel in New York. Saudi Arabia will consider all issues at the Friday gathering and listen to the concerns of other group members, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said

8.Transcorp hotels post N2.34 billion PAT, pursues aggressive expansion:
Transcorp Hotels Plc has posted a profit after tax of N2.34 billion in the third quarter of the year as the company continues to consolidate its position as market leader through aggressive expansion.

9.U.K. Homebuilding Grows at Slowest Pace in More Than Two Years:
U.K. homebuilding grew the least in more than two years in November, holding back expansion in the broader construction industry.A monthly Purchasing Managers Index for housing dropped to
55.2 from 59.6 in October.

10.Malaysia Pledges 45% Reduction in Greenhouse Gases by 2030:
Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, pledged to cut projected greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2030 after world leaders met in Paris to open talks on combating climate change.