Japanese stocks rose, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average recording its highest close since last year’s earthquake, as trading companies gained on higher crude prices. Utilities fell after Citigroup Inc. reduced its recommendation on the companies.
Mitsui & Co. (8031), a trading house that counts commodities as its major source of profit, increased 0.9 percent. Fanuc Corp., an industrial robot maker, rose 2 percent after Citigroup boosted its share-price estimate on the outlook for higher demand. It was the biggest contributor to the Nikkei’s advance. Kansai Electric Power Co. slumped 4.2 …

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) will buy TNT Express NV (TNTE), Europe’s second-largest express delivery company, for 5.16 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in the biggest deal in the U.S. company’s 105-year history.
UPS, the world’s largest package-delivery company, secured the purchase after raising its offer to 9.50 euros a share in cash, the companies said in a joint statement. TNT’s management and supervisory boards recommend shareholders accept the deal, they said in the statement.
The combination of Atlanta-based UPS with TNT will put the company on equal footing in Europe with Deutsche …

Starbucks Corp will open the first store in its new Evolution Fresh juice bar chain on Monday, its biggest move outside coffee and one it hopes will boost the company’s position in the $50 billion health food sector.
The juice bar business is, however, fragmented and intensely competitive and some analysts say the Evolution Fresh shops could have lower margins than Starbucks’ coffee shops.
With Starbucks yet to detail how many juice bars it plans to open, the popularity of its first shop, located in Bellevue, Washington, an upscale city just east …

Apple Inc, the world’s most valuable company, will discuss on Monday what it plans to do with its $98 billion cash hoard, raising expectations it may meet demands to pay a dividend for the first time since 1995.
Just days after its stock touched $600 per share, Apple issued a short press advisory saying it would hold a conference call on Monday to discuss the outcome of discussions about its cash balances.
The maker of the iPhone, iPad and iPod has $98 billion in cash and securities, equal to about $104 a …

Sergio Marchionne earned $3.34 million, or 2.56 million euros, as chairman of Fiat Industrial in 2011, the construction equipment and commercial truck manufacturer said in a report.
Marchionne received a salary of $1.6 million, or 1.25 million euros, and a bonus of $1.6 million, or 1.26 million euros, according to Fiat Industrial’s compensation report.
Hired in 2004 to rescue Fiat, Marchionne engineered a turnaround of Italy’s most-prominent manufacturer before Europe ran headlong into a recession that has dramatically curtailed car and truck sales.
Last year, Marchionne oversaw the separation of Fiat Industrial and …