The Trump administration charged Volkswagen AG with defrauding U.S. investors, the latest fallout from an emissions scandal that has plagued the German carmaker for years. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday said Volkswagen and former CEO Martin Winterkorn issued over $13 billion in securities, despite knowledge among executives that the firm was illegally circumventing federal emissions laws. (China Daily)

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg made his public comments about the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and restated the commitment to safety. Muilenburg said the company was 'taking actions to fully ensure the safety of the 737 MAX', adding that a software upgrade for its 737 MAX aircraft was coming 'soon.' (China Daily)

Cainiao Network Technology, the Alibaba-owned courier aggregator, signed a new strategic partnership with national postal service of Spain on Wednesday to speed up the country’s cross-border transportation of goods. Under the new agreement, Cainiao and Correos will help small and medium-sized Spanishenterprises to accelerate parcel delivery within Europe, the company said in a press release. (China Daily)

Disney has closed its $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment business, putting 'Cinderella,' ''The Simpsons,' ''Star Wars' and 'Dr. Strange' under one corporate roof. The deal is likely to shake up the media landscape. Among other things, it paves the way for Disney to launch its streaming service, Disney Plus, due out later this year. It will also likely lead to layoffs in the thousands, thanks to duplication in Fox and Disney film-production staff. (China Daily)

Huawei topped the list in corporate patent applications at the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2018, WIPO said on Tuesday. The telecom behemoth last year made a record number of 5,405 published Patent Cooperation Treaty applications, followed by Mitsubishi Electric (2,812), Intel (2,499), Qualcomm (2,404) and ZTE (2,080). (National Business Daily)

Google on Wednesday received a new fine ticket of 1.5 billion euros (1.69 billion US dollars) from the European Union (EU) for breaching anti-trust rules. The decision was made due to Google's 'illegal misuse of its dominant position in the market for the brokering of online search adverts,' said European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, in a press release. (National Business Daily)

Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo announced on Saturday that like other major vehicle producers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, they will lower the sticker prices of their cars sold in China in response to the nation's value-added tax (VAT) cut. That cut will take effect on April 1. (National Business Daily)

JD Digits is stepping up efforts to build intelligent cities in cooperation with local authorities across the nation, a move that will further integrate big data, artificial intelligence and internet of things into the real economy. It announced the intelligent city brand named JD iCity in Beijing on Thursday, which marks the company as a close industry digitalization partner and intelligent total solution provider for China's urban development. (National Business Daily)

Porsche, the high-end brand of German automaker Volkswagen, will recall more than 50,000 vehicles sold in the Chinese market because of possible safety hazards. Staring March 25, Porsche's China sales company will recall 15,942 cars in China, including 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster models manufactured between March 2, 2016 and Feb. 14 this year, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). (Global Times)

Ford Motor Co. is shifting its previously announced investments in its Michigan plants that will produce the next-generation of electric cars and autonomous driving vehicles, ultimately driving what the carmaker expects will be hundreds of new jobs. As part of a prior $11.1 billion investment in emissions-free cars, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company's Flat Rock Assembly Plant will manufacture the “next-generation battery electric flexible architecture,” it said on Wednesday. (Global Times)

Bayer fell sharply Wednesday after a U.S. jury found the Roundup weed killer to have been a substantial factor in a California man's cancer. It's the second case that has gone against manufacturer Monsanto, which was acquired for $63 billion last year by the German company. Bayer's shares dropped 10 percent to 62.70 euros on the Frankfurt exchange. (Global Times)

FedEx Corp. reported lower profit Tuesday as its ground-shipping unit struggled with higher costs, and the company cut its forecast of full-year earnings. Its shares fell more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. (Global Times)