American Funds Sells Stock Targeted by Activists

The Associated Press reports that American Funds has sold nearly all its stock in a Chinese oil company that anti-genocide activists are targeting because of the company''s ties to Sudan. Three of American Funds'' biggest mutual funds owned a combined $190 million in PetroChina shares last fall. But new quarterly reports show the total was $2.7 million as of Dec. 31, a 99 percent reduction in PetroChina holdings. The sales come after American Funds shareholders in November rejected a measure by Investors Against Genocide. The group wants funds to screen out investments linked to genocide in hot spots like Sudan, where PetroChina operates.