International stocks trading in New York closed higher Tuesday,
with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts
rising 0.9% to 146.19. The European index added 1% to 146.04, the
Asian index climbed 0.7% to 141.52, the Latin American index
increased 0.4% to 256.21 and the emerging markets index rose 0.7%
to 256.63. Among the companies with shares that actively traded
were VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP) and Siemens AG (SI, SIE.XE).
VimpelCom shares dropped on the news that the
company--Amsterdam-based, but with a lion's share of income derived
from Russian subscribers under the Beeline brand, making it the
number six mobile network operator globally--will not be paying a
final 2013 dividend, said Sergei Libin, an analyst at Raiffeisen
Bank. Shares dropped 13% to $10.14.
Siemens' profit rose in the fiscal first quarter thanks to
smaller charges and orders jumped, the German industrial
conglomerate said Tuesday. Shares rose 1.4% to $134.21.
Brazilian banking giant Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB,
ITUB3.BR, ITUB4.BR) is in advanced talks to take control of
CorpBanca SA (BCA, CORPBANCA.SN), Chile's fifth-largest bank by
assets, according to The Wall Street Journal which cites people
close to the talks. Itau shares edged up 0.2% to $12.39, while
CorpBanca shares rose 0.1% to $19.39.
Royal Philips NV (PHG, PHIA.AE) said Tuesday that it remains
cautious about the prospects for 2014, as it swung to a net profit
in the fourth quarter of 2013. Shares edged down 0.1% to
$35.87.
Vodafone Group PLC (VOD, VOD.LN) investors Tuesday voted to
approve the mobile giant's landmark $130 billion sale of its 45%
stake in Verizon Wireless, the biggest wireless operator in the
U.S., to joint-venture partner Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ).
Completion of the deal will return a windfall $84 billion, or 71%
of net proceeds, to Vodafone shareholders, with more than
two-thirds of that sum in the form of stock. Vodafone shares rose
1% to $37.17.
Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG,
LLOY.LN) both announced job cuts Tuesday, the latest drive by
British banks to slash costs amid stagnating revenues. Lloyds said
it would cut around 1,000 jobs as the part state-owned bank pushes
on with a three-year cost cutting plan. Meanwhile, Barclays is set
to cut several hundred investment banking jobs, according to a
report in The Wall Street Journal, which cites a person familiar
with the matter. Barclays shares rose 2.6% to $18.32, while Lloyds
shares climbed 3.7% to $5.55.
Italian eyewear maker Luxottica SpA (LUX, LUX.MI) said Tuesday
its 2013 preliminary net sales grew around 3% at current exchange
rates compared with the previous year to 7.3 billion euros ($9.97
billion), boosted by a strong performance in the wholesale division
and in emerging markets. Shares rose 2.7% to $53.01.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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