Volkswagen executive committee member says no alternative to CEO Mueller

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen Chief Executive Matthias Mueller's position is not in danger, a member of the carmaker's executive committee said after a committee meeting that discussed the CEO's progress in clearing up its diesel-emissions scandal.

"We discussed many issues at VW yesterday, not only Mr Mueller. We are very conscious that there is no alternative. The question does not arise," said Joerg Hofmann, who is deputy chairman of the six-man supervisory board committee.

"The impression he gives is that he is working in a very serious and results-oriented way on the problems. People like to speculate but there is neither cause nor reason to express doubt on this issue."

Hofmann was speaking on Wednesday at a news conference of the IG Metall trade union, of which he is president.

A Volkswagen spokesman said on Tuesday that Mueller had the backing of top players on the supervisory board, dismissing rumors that support for him is crumbling due to his handling of the emissions crisis in the United States.
Mueller was appointed to the role last September after the emissions scandal broke.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Keith Weir)

Sumber : reuters.com

Goldman sachs earnings, revenue top expectations

Goldman Sachs reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations on Wednesday.
The company posted quarterly earnings of $4.68 a share, compared to $4.38 a share in the year-earlier period.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $7.27 billion, against the comparable year-ago figure of $7.69 billion.

Analysts had expected Goldman Sachs to report earnings of about $3.53 a share on $7.07 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

Goldman Sach's results come amid a string of bank earnings over the past several weeks. Bank of America topped Wall Street's expectations Tuesday, as did Morgan Stanley . However, JPMorgan Chase last week reported a 6.6 percent drop in quarterly profit as legal costs exceeded $1 billion in the wake of government probes, leading Chief Executive Jamie Dimon to claim banks were "under assault."

Goldman Sachs shares were trading near their 52-week low on Tuesday after the broader market has suffered a rocky start to the year.

In September, Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein revealed that he is fighting lymphoma. Blankfein, 61, planned to "work substantially as normal, leading the firm" while undergoing treatment. The veteran Wall Street boss, who steered the U.S. investment bank through the financial crisis, has kept a fairly low profile since his diagnosis.

— Reuters contributed to this report.

Sumber : CNBC.com