Bloomberg Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will defend the “rules-based” global order as he prepares for meetings in the UK and Ukraine, part of an effort to keep US allies united against China and show support for a crucial ally in the face of Russian aggression. “Our purpose is not to contain China, to hold it back, ...

Bloomberg The Philippines has protested China’s “dangerous maneuver” against its Coast Guard that patrolled and trained last month near a South China Sea shoal, with Manila’s top diplomat issuing expletive-laden remarks towards Beijing. The Chinese Coast Guard shadowed, blocked and issued radio challenges on Manila’s crew near Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on ...

Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party lost an election in a key state he visited frequently before the recent virus surge forced him off the campaign trail, adding to growing signs of a backlash over his government’s handling of the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak. In West Bengal, incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress won around 72% ...

Bloomberg President Ivan Duque withdrew a plan to raise taxes on many Colombians after it triggered days of bloody street clashes and a political crisis. Duque is giving up on some of the most unpopular ideas, such as extending the value-added tax to additional goods and services and making more people subject to income tax. Colombia needs to raise revenue ...

Bloomberg Chad’s recently reinstated Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke retained several of slain President Idriss Deby’s allies in his new cabinet, which is expected to be in power for a transition period. Tahir Hamid Nguilin retained the post of Chad’s finance minister and Oumar Torbo Djarma kept the portfolio of oil, while the mining portfolio was split off and given ...

Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron will reassess the country’s recovery plan in September, possibly adding to the 100 billion euros ($120 billion) of stimulus his government is already injecting into the economy. Such a boost would arrive just six months before presidential elections, where management of the health crisis and the growth rebound are set to be key battlegrounds. Before ...

Bloomberg Verizon Communications Inc said it’s selling its media division to Apollo Global Management Inc. for $5 billion, a move that will jettison once-dominant online brands like AOL and Yahoo. The unit will be known as Yahoo after the close of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of this year, Verizon said in a statement Monday. Guru ...

Bloomberg Switzerland’s economy is bouncing back from the pandemic-induced slump, with manufacturing sector activity at an all-time high and companies gearing up to take on more staff. The purchasing managers’ index for industry hit its highest since at least 1995 in April, with a gauge for the service sector also signaling a pickup. Monday’s data come on the back of ...

Bloomberg Denmark wants to spend a majority of the European Union’s fund for post-pandemic recovery on financing its efforts to achieve an ambitious climate target. The Nordic country has earmarked 60% of its share of the EU crisis fund on green initiatives, clearly above the 37% required by the conditions of the fund. Denmark expects an allocation of 11.6 billion ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc’s App Store had operating margins of almost 78% in fiscal year 2019, according to testimony from an Epic Games Inc. expert witness based on documents obtained from the iPhone maker. The figure comes from Ned Barnes, a financial and economics researcher, who said he obtained documents “prepared by Apple’s Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis group and produced ...