August 06, 2020 - Biz in 60

Toyota reports surprise profit despite sales plunge Toyota has reported a surprise quarterly profit of 131-million- dollars, despite a global auto sales slump due to the pandemic. That marks a 98-percent plunge in operating profit in the April to June quarter. But it still beat analysts' expectations thanks to a strong recovery in China. Rivals Volkswagen, General Motors and Renault all suffered steep losses during the same period. Germany charges Audi executives over 'dieselgate' Three former board members and a senior executive at Audi have been charged in connection with the 'dieselgate' scandal. German prosecutors say the four are accused of fraud, indirect false certification and criminal advertising. Last year, former chief executive Rupert Stadler was also charged with fraud for his involvement in the emissions-cheating scandal. TikTok to open $500M data centre in Ireland Popular video-sharing app, TikTok, is planning to open its first European data centre in Ireland worth around 500-million- dollars. The Chinese-owned firm says the centre will speed-up loading times and safely store European user data. The announcement comes at a time when President Donald Trump has threatened to ban TikTok's operations in the US over security concerns.