Major International biz events

Here are the major International biz events of 2015

Sundar Pichai appointed Google CEO

India-born Sundar Pichai was on August appointed the new CEO of Google under a major restructuring at the technology giant, as co-founder Larry Page lauded the IIT alumnus' "progress and dedication" and said it is "time" for him to take over the company's reins.

He had joined Google in 2004 as its vice president of product management, where he led the team working on Google's Chrome browser and operating system.

Google Alphabet split

In a surprise and significant re-organisation, co-founder Larry Page in August announced the formation of a new parent company Alphabet Inc which will replace Google as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights.

Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet, which will have Page as CEO and co-founder Sergey Brin as President.

Volkswagen emission scandal

Volkswagen's admission in September that it had fitted 11 million of its diesel vehicles with devices designed to cheat official pollution tests -- revelations that have sparked global outrage and investigations across the globe.

The so-called defeat devices turn on pollution controls when cars are undergoing tests and off when they are back on the road, allowing them to spew out harmful levels of nitrogen oxide.

Takata recall

Japanese air bag manufacturer Takata Corp in May had to double a recall of potentially deadly air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles, creating the largest automotive recall in American history.

The recall involves passenger and driver-side air bag inflators in vehicles made by 11 automakers, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Greek crisis

Greece became the first developed country to fail to make an IMF loan repayment on June 30. This was followed by a host of events including Left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras witnessing a bailout rebellion that split his party and triggered a snap general election in September.

China's currency crisis (Yuan Devaluation)

Faced with sluggish economic growth and dwindling exports, China`s central bank in August announced a sharply lower daily reference rate for the yuan against the US dollar, saying it was part of moves to make its exchange rate regime more market-oriented.

China's move sent shockwaves through global markets and fuelling fears of a currency war as jittery Asian neighbours came under pressure to devalue as well.