International News

Bloomberg Aston Martin may consider an initial public offering as early as next year as the British maker of James Bond’s cars seeks to capitalize on the success of Ferrari NV’s listing to lure investors, people familiar with the matter said. The century-old carmaker, whose owners include Investindustrial SpA, could list in London, said the people, who asked not to ...

Bloomberg It’s been a year since US rules went into effect enabling anyone — not just the ultra-wealthy — to buy a slice of a startup. Turns out, few are interested. Investors sprinkled about $38 million across 142 companies since May 2016 when Title III of the JOBS Act allowed equity crowdfunding for non-accredited investors, according to data from industry ...

Bloomberg Asian governments are watching with some anxiety the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement as the Trump administration kicks off a review of the pact. “All of us are keen to know whether America is committed to have an open, liberal trading environment,” Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed said in an interview on the sidelines of the ...

Bloomberg Ant Financial, China’s largest provider of internet financial services, will continue investing in mobile-payment providers around the world to boost offshore revenue and buttress itself from rising competition and tighter regulation at home. Controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, the Hangzhou-based firm will announce more “partnerships” this year with a focus on Asia and is also “actively assessing” other markets, ...

LONDON / Reuters Indian gold imports will drop back sharply after jumping in the first quarter, the World Gold Council said on Wednesday as the launch of a new tax regime and restrictions on refiners’ ability to import gold dore take their toll. Full-year imports will be little changed from 2016’s 524 tonnes, gold industry-funded WGC’s managing director for India ...

Bloomberg Tata Steel Ltd. plans to grow “very aggressively” in India, riding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of record infrastructure spending, after moving closer to a possible joint venture in Europe that will help stem losses there. “We will be growing very significantly or growing very aggressively as far as India is concerned,” Group Executive Director for Finance Koushik ...

Bloomberg Japan’s economy advanced for a fifth straight quarter, the longest expansion in a decade, supported by continued strength in exports. Domestic demand rebounded, but economists question whether this strength will continue. Gross domestic product increased by an annualized 2.2 percent in the three months ended March 31 (estimate +1.7 percent), accelerating from a revised 1.4 percent in the previous ...

Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s investments in blockbuster video and gaming content are paying off — big-time. China’s largest internet company posted record quarterly sales and profit that topped all analysts’ estimates as blockbuster titles including Honour of Kings drove a billion-plus users on WeChat and QQ to spend on game items. Chairman Pony Ma’s strategy of stockpiling rights to hit ...

Bloomberg Australia’s jobless rate fell in April, adding to the previous month’s strong employment gains, reinforcing expectations that the central bank won’t cut interest rates further. Employment rose 37,400 from March; economists forecast 5,000 gain Jobless rate fell to 5.7%, the lowest since January, vs 5.9% estimate. Full-time jobs fell 11,600; part-time employment rose 49,000. Participation rate held at 64.8% ...

Bloomberg The Philippine economy expanded less than economists forecast last quarter as government and consu-mer spending weakened. Stocks and the peso fell. Gross domestic product increased 6.4 percent from a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in Manila on Thursday, after expanding 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter. The median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for ...