International News

  Bloomberg Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai wants to gut Obama-era net neutrality rules, but even he says the matter is best left to someone else: the lawmakers in Congress. Broadband companies AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. support Pai’s initiative but also want Congress — rather than his agency — to step in and end a ...

  Bloomberg Activity in euro-area manufacturing and services accelerated more than initially estimated as growth in the region’s three largest economies converged. A composite Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 56.8 in April from 56.4 in March, IHS Markit said on Thursday. An April 21 flash report was for an increase to 56.7. The spread between gauges for the rates of ...

  Bloomberg Being a big drug company isn’t what it used to be. The largest drugmakers are finding it more difficult to charge high prices for a range of medications, their latest quarterly results show. That’s raising the pressure to pump up sales volumes and find lucrative new treatments for niche markets. “You had an environment in which you could ...

  Bloomberg Growth in Britain’s services sector unexpectedly strengthened in April, giving the economy a solid start to the second quarter after a weaker-than-forecast performance at the start of the year. IHS Markit’s index rose to 55.8 in April from 55 in March, defying expectations for a decline to 54.5. Its measures for manufacturing and construction published earlier this week ...

  Bloomberg China is breaking out its mouthpieces — and wallet — as it seeks to soothe investors in the face of tighter financial market regulations. The central bank-run Financial News urged stock investors not to overreact to tougher regulations in front-page commentary on Wednesday. The monetary authority will prevent swings in liquidity from exceeding tolerable levels, the official Xinhua ...

  Bloomberg Raja Mukherji, head of Asia credit research at Pacific Investment Management Co., has turned less bullish on the region’s dollar bond market, as record offerings raise the risks presented by weaker borrowers. “We don’t have a table-pounding buy on Asian credit today like we did last year, especially not for high-yield bonds,’’ said Mukherji. Asia dollar bond valuations ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission plans to look more closely at corporate asset valuations, according to Chief Executive Officer Ashley Alder. Assets such as coal mines or residential property are valued by independent appraisers and their conclusions are used to justify prices paid by companies. It’s time for a “fresh look” at the issue, Alder said at ...

  Bloomberg The first peek into China’s economy this quarter shows momentum cooling slightly as a real-estate frenzy and months of producer-price gains may have peaked. Confidence of small- and medium-sized enterprises, a gauge of manufacturing based on satellite imagery and a steel sentiment index edged down in April. International financial market experts remained confident in the future of the ...

  Bloomberg Auto workers may be getting some extra time off around Independence Day, but they won’t be celebrating. They’ll know it means sales are weak and that profits — and profit-sharing checks — could be shrinking. Manufacturers used to shut plants for a week or two in July for maintenance and to keep inventories in check. As sales boomed ...

  Bloomberg The euro area maintained its growth momentum at the start of 2017, strengthening the case of those pressuring the European Central Bank to sketch out an end to extraordinary stimulus measures. Gross domestic product rose 0.5 percent in the first three months of the year, according to an initial estimate published by the European Union’s statistics office on ...