Global business

At a crowded hall in Manhattan, Bill Ackman, an ­activist hedge-fund manager, at last laid out his case alleging that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme. Ackman has bet $1 billion shorting Herbalife's shares and spent $50 million investigating its marketing practices. During his presentation he compared the company to Enron and Nazis, but the "death blow" he said he would deliver failed to pack a punch; Herbalife's share price rose by 25 percent by the end of the day.

Deutsche Bank came under pressure after the leak of a ­letter, written in December by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, criticizing its accounting reports in America as "unreliable." It is the latest instance of a big European bank falling afoul of American regulators.

Credit Suisse reported a quarterly loss of $780 million, which it attributed to the $2.8 billion settlement it reached in May with American regulators for helping tax evaders.

AbbVie's $55 billion bid for Shire was accepted by Shire's board. The deal is the most recent example of an "inversion" takeover by an American company that reduces its taxes, and which is rousing the ire of America's politicians. The combined firm will move to Britain; AbbVie's acquisition could save it $8 billion in taxes, according to one estimate.

Microsoft attributed a rise in revenue in the latest quarter to its "aggressive move to the cloud." Sales of its cloud-based services, such as Office 365 and Azure, to companies grew by 147 percent compared with the same three months in 2013. But the Nokia handset business that Microsoft finished acquiring in April lost money and overall net income was down to $4.6 billion. Microsoft recently announced 18,000 job cuts.

At Facebook the growth of advertising on mobile devices helped push revenue up 61 percent to $2.9 billion and saw profit double to $791 million. The social network added 40 million users in the quarter, bringing the number of people who view it at least once a month to 1.3 billion. Its share price jumped to a new high.

Ackman , president of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during the Value Investing Congress in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007. Ackman, whose hedge fund has short positions on bond insurers, said he will make ‘’hundreds of millions of dollars’’ on his bets and plans to donate the proceeds to charity. Photographer: Daniel Barry/Bloomberg News ORG XMIT: MIN2013031418515334

Strong demand in China helped Apple report solid quarterly earnings. Revenue came in at $37.4 billion, with sales in China growing by 28 percent. Profit was $7.7 billion. Intriguingly, Apple's spending on R&D leapt by 36 percent, leading to speculation that its forthcoming wearable device could be something spectacular.

Netflix notched up 50 million subscribers for the first time. Its online streaming service is doing well outside its domestic market in America and it has plans to launch soon in France and Germany. The latest quarter saw a big increase in subscribers in Brazil, possibly the result of Brazilians splashing out on Internet-enabled televisions to watch the World Cup.

Tesco, the world's second-biggest retailer, removed its chief executive after issuing another profit warning. Philip Clarke started his career at the British supermarket chain by stacking shelves at 14. During his time as boss he undertook an ambitious restructuring plan, but Tesco's sales have suffered, squeezed by cheaper rivals such as Aldi and Lidl. His replacement is Dave Lewis, who heads Unilever's personal care brands.

Political economy

Spain's central bank said the country's economy grew by 0.5 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in six years. The Bank of Spain raised its forecast for GDP growth to 1.3 percent for this year and 2 percent for next.

Silvio Berlusconi's conviction for paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl was overturned by an appeals court in Milan. His lifetime ban from holding public office also was revoked. The former Italian prime minister wasn't in court to hear the judgment: He was working at a care home as part of the community-service sentence given to him in a separate conviction for tax fraud.

A judge in New York rejected a request by Argentina for a stay on a decision requiring the country to pay a small group of creditors who have been chasing it following its 2001 debt default. If the country does not reach a deal with the creditors, it will be pushed into default again, for the eighth time in its history.