International stocks trading in New York closed mostly higher on
Friday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary
receipts rising 0.2% to 154.23. The European index slipped 0.2% to
155.16, the Asian index added 0.5% to 142.35, the Latin American
index rose 2.2% to 291.17 and the emerging markets index climbed
1.1% to 280.26. Among the companies with shares that actively
traded were InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG, IHG.LN) and Royal
Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS, RBS.LN).
Shares in InterContinental rose after it announced a $750
million special dividend and said it could move to sell more
hotels. The company posted strong sales growth in the first three
months of 2013. Shares of the U.K.-based hotel operator, whose
brands include Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn, rose 7.6% to
$36.90.
Investors hailed Royal Bank of Scotland's best quarterly results
since 2007, sending shares higher after the bank reported a surge
in net profit. The 80% government-owned bank's results were
bolstered by a 65% fall in bad debts across its loan book as the
British economy continued to improve. Shares rose 7.9% to
$11.21.
Brazilian state-run energy group Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR,
PETR3.BR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, reported a slight increase in
oil production for March, despite the temporary shutdown of a major
platform. Shares jumped 6.2% to $14.61.
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN, AZN.LN) on Friday rejected an improved
takeover offer from Pfizer Inc. (PFE) worth more than $106 billion,
saying the proposal substantially undervalued the company and
putting the onus back on Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read to either
raise his bid again, go directly to shareholders, or walk away.
AstraZeneca shares edged down 0.1% to $81.02.
Norway's Statoil ASA (STO, STL.OS) said Friday a drilling
campaign around the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea had
discovered less oil than expected, and that it is considering
cheaper infrastructure options. Shares edged up 0.6% to $30.66.
HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC, HSBA.LN, 0005.HK) is rejiggering the
structure at the head of its investment bank to better cover the
different regions in which it operates, according to an internal
memo seen by The Wall Street Journal. Shares edged down 0.4% to
$51.07.
Deutsche Bank AG (DB, DBK.XE) is asking U.S. clients of its
operations in Belgium to close their accounts with the German
banking giant and transfer them to rivals in a move to comply with
new U.S. rules. Shares slipped 0.9% to $43.80.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, LLOY.LN) announced the retirement
of Deputy Chairman David Roberts and said it has decided to appoint
Anita Frew as deputy chairman. Shares rose 1.5% to $5.53.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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