International News

May pledges right-to-buy plan to boost UK social housing

Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May pledged a new right-to-buy program for social housing in an effort to boost home-building by local authorities and help alleviate a growing shortage of low-cost housing. Councils and housing associations will be offered government funding to build homes along with permitting help from the Homes and Communities Agency, the Conservatives said in a statement. ...

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World’s biggest container line reduces bond-market reliance

Bloomberg The world’s biggest container shipping company and Denmark’s largest issuer of corporate bonds may rely less on debt markets in the near future. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has ample liquidity and plans to cut capital expenditure, both of which reduce the need for new bond sales, according to Chief Financial Officer Jakob Stausholm. He also pointed to the century-old conglomerate’s ...

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Faster German growth affirms euro-area pickup

Bloomberg German economic growth accelerated to the fastest pace in a year last quarter, underpinning assessments by Mario Draghi and the European Commission that the region’s recovery is getting stronger. The 0.6 percent expansion, up from 0.4 percent in the previous three months, was helped by a surge in investment, a slight increase in consumer spending and a pickup in ...

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Fox ready to make concessions to win nod for Sky bid

Bloomberg 21st Century Fox Inc., trying to seek government approval for its $15 billion deal for control of Sky Plc, is prepared to make concessions to UK regulators who are scrutinizing its suitability as a media owner, according to people familiar with the matter. The film and television company is willing to negotiate over remedies if necessary, including changes to ...

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India’s 2030 all-electric car target ambitious: IEA

Bloomberg India’s potential plan to sell only electric cars by the end of next decade would require nearly eight times the global stock of such vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency. The country would need to sell more than 10 million electric cars in 2030, compared with the almost 1.3 million on the road worldwide in 2015, the agency ...

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India panel pushes commercial use of first GM food crop

Bloomberg An Indian environment ministry panel recommended to the government that it allow cultivation of a genetically-modified mustard variety, taking it closer to becoming the country’s first GM food crop for commercial production. The federal government will make a final decision in this regard, said Amita Prasad, an additional secretary with the environment ministry and chairman of the Genetic Engineering ...

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China’s bonds decline for seventh week

Bloomberg China’s 10-year government bonds fell for a seventh week, building on the longest run of declines since 2013, amid concerns the nation’s deleveraging campaign will drive borrowing costs up further. The yield on 10-year sovereign debt climbed eight basis points this week to close Friday at 3.65 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the longest streak since ...

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Fintech firm backed by China movie stars plans IPO

Bloomberg QuantGroup, a financial technology company backed by Chinese movie stars, is planning a US initial public offering that could raise about $200 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Beijing-based firm has asked banks to pitch for a role on the potential offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. ...

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China’s rag trade sees south Asian invasion at Canton trade fair

Bloomberg At Area 15.1 of the sprawling Canton Fair in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, exhibitors from India, Pakistan and Turkey touted their wares to global buyers last week. Their presence at the gathering synonymous with China’s rise as the world’s manufacturing powerhouse illustrates the nation’s shift from sweatshops producing cheap jeans and towels toward branded goods with better ...

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Anthem ends battle for Cigna after court deals blow to pact

Bloomberg Anthem Inc.’s nearly two-year effort to buy rival insurer Cigna Corp. is officially dead. Anthem said that it won’t appeal a Delaware judge’s ruling late that Cigna can walk away from the $48 billion health insurance merger. That leaves the companies to fight over who’s to blame for the deal’s collapse. “The only surprise here is that it took ...

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