International News

Bloomberg Sprint Corp. has started preliminary conversations to merge with T-Mobile US Inc., the latest attempt to consolidate in a market watched closely by US regulators, according to people familiar with the matter. Executives of both SoftBank Group Corp., Sprint’s largest shareholder, and Sprint itself have had informal contact with T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom AG about a transaction, said the ...

Bloomberg Home Capital Group Inc. said it’s seeking new sources of funding to counter a run on deposits and warned a failure of the Canadian lender would have “significant knock-on effects” in the mortgage market. The struggling lender has “breathing room” to stabilize finances and pursue options following an C$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion) plunge in deposits and a 60 percent ...

Bloomberg What is taxing for some in India has become brisk business for others. With seven weeks to go before the nationwide Goods and Services Tax is implemented, Indian companies are rushing to bring in experts to help prepare their accounting and information technology systems for the tax-system overhaul. That’s created a windfall for international professional services firms, including PricewaterhouseCoopers ...

Bloomberg China National Building Material Group, the nation’s biggest cement maker, aims to capitalize on a surge in business opportunities from President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” initiative as projects spur an infrastructure boom in the region, according to its chairman, Song Zhiping. “If you want to get rich, build a road first,” Song said in a Bloomberg Television interview ...

Bloomberg China’s biggest-ever foreign acquisition frenzy is ending almost as dramatically as it began. After stunning the world with a record $246 billion of announced outbound takeovers in 2016, Chinese dealmakers are now struggling to cope with tighter capital controls and increasingly wary counterparties. Cross-border purchases plunged 67 percent during the first four months of this year, the biggest drop ...

Bloomberg India plans to develop roads in neighboring countries as it seeks to strengthen its position in South Asia amid the growing influence of China. State-owned National Highways Authority of India plans to build roads abroad even as it falls short of construction targets at home and seeks to raise funds overseas to finance local projects. “There are lots of ...

Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co. forecast a surprise drop in annual profit on expectations for higher raw material costs and a stronger yen, and as price competition increases in the US and China. Operating profit will probably fall 7.7 percent to 685 billion yen ($6 billion) in the fiscal year through March, compared with the average analysts’ estimate for a gain ...

Bloomberg Growth in the euro area will be slightly stronger this year than previously forecast, the European Commission said, adding that some risks to the outlook have eased following the defeat of populist parties in France and the Netherlands. The commission sees the 19-nation economy expanding 1.7 percent this year — up from 1.6 percent forecast in February — and ...

Bloomberg While dealing with Volkswagen AG’s legal woes over the last 1 1/2 years, Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller was able to claim that he was not personally caught up in investigations. That has now changed, potentially complicating his efforts to turn the page on the biggest scandal in the German automaker’s recent history. Mueller, brought in at the height ...

Bloomberg For a guy who just lost about a quarter of his net worth, Snap Inc. co-founder Evan Spiegel exuded confi- dence on his first earnings conference call, explaining away the company’s shortcomings and even throwing shade at his bigger — and far more successful — social media rival, Facebook Inc. Facebook has been copying some of Snapchat’s most popular ...