BERLIN / AP German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stressing as she awaits Donald Trump’s inauguration that the world’s problems need solving in cooperation, rather than by each country individually. Asked at a news conference Saturday about protectionist tendencies in the U.S., Merkel said she will seek a dialogue with the new president. “I don’t want to get ahead of that, ...
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Iraqi forces push onto Mosul University grounds
MOSUL /Â AP Iraqi forces have secured less than a quarter of Mosul University as they face stiff resistance from IS fighters in the battle for control of the city, according to senior Iraqi commanders overseeing the advance. Convoys of Iraqi Humvees snaked through the sprawling university compound in eastern Mosul, pausing for artillery and airstrikes to clear snipers perched ...
Read More »Palestinian leader meets with pope ahead of Paris summit
VATICAN CITY / AP Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads into a meeting on Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend’s Paris peace summit. Among other things, Abbas is expected to raise with Francis the Palestinian concern about a possible move of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Palestinians strongly ...
Read More »We’re going to run out of company names
The news this week that Yahoo! Inc. will be rechristened ‘Altaba Inc.’ elicited a lot of groans. “Apparently Yahoo renamed itself after an antihistamine,” tweeted New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac. The name “sounded more like infantile babble than the remnants of a once-promising internet giant,” wrote Fortune’s Lucinda Shen. The reason for the renaming is that Yahoo’s ...
Read More »In China M&A, hostile forces loom large
China followers know that stability is highly rated. Hostile takeovers, like divorces, are never smooth and the few that have made headlines recently sent shock waves through markets in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Beijing sent a shush message last month regarding Baoneng Group’s attempt to take control of China Vanke Co., a developer that was until last year ...
Read More »Cyberwar has gone public, and that’s risky
Compared with the alleged Russian hacks of the Democratic National Committee and other US targets, another important cybertheft that has also been tentatively attributed to Russia is getting far less attention. The revelations are much less titillating than those that have made headlines recently — they aren’t even understandable to most people — but they may be part of ...
Read More »SpiceJet orders 100 Boeing planes valued at $22bn
Bloomberg Boeing Co. won a $22 billion deal from budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd., notching the planemaker’s largest-ever order from an Indian airline and strengthening its hold in a market dominated by Europe’s Airbus Group SE. The order includes 100 of Boeing’s 737 Max single-aisle jets and renegotiated terms for 55 previously ordered aircraft, SpiceJet said in a statement. The ...
Read More »Ryanair to start new London services
Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc’s pessimism about the impact of last year’s Brexit vote on the UK economy appears to have eased, with the Irish company planning to add nine new routes from London’s Stansted airport this summer and deploy a dozen more aircraft across the country. Europe’s biggest discount airline will serve Copenhagen three times daily and Naples daily, ...
Read More »United to trim management ranks
Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc. expects to cut some management employees as it deepens efforts to reduce bureaucracy and catch up with the profit margins of industry leader Delta Air Lines Inc. The third-largest US carrier will “continue to finalize the remainder of our management team†after overhauling its roster of corporate officers last year, according to a memo ...
Read More »Wal-Mart to shake up online team
Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is overhauling its e-commerce team and elevating executives from its recently acquired Jet.com business, aiming to better challenge Amazon.com Inc.with more selection and lower prices. The changes are meant to make Wal-Mart more “customer-centric,†Jet founder Marc Lore, who is now CEO of Wal-Mart’s e-commerce operation, said in a memo Friday that was obtained by ...
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