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Chairman Piech's grip on Volkswagen weakened by row with CEO

BERLIN/HAMBURG (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) Chairman Ferdinand Piech’s iron grip on the German carmaker has been severely weakened following a dramatic confrontation with senior board members last week that nearly resulted in a push to oust him, sources told Reuters. Piech, patriarch of the family that founded Volkswagen and a dominant figure at the automaker for more than two decades, triggered a leadership crisis at the Wolfsburg-based firm by criticizing

Oil slide slashes first-quarter profit, not investment plans at Saudi's SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corp faces heavy pressure on its profits due to cheap oil but will keep investing globally to boost capacity in key areas, its acting chief executive said on Sunday after the company reported a 39 plunge in first-quarter profit. SABIC , one of the world’s largest petrochemicals groups and Saudi Arabia’s biggest listed firm, said net profit sank to 3.93 billion riyals ($1.05 billion) in the three