Bloomberg Rio Tinto Group and its largest shareholder Aluminum Corp. of China have terminated their joint venture established to find copper deposits, as global mining companies tighten exploration budgets. Chinalco Rio Tinto Exploration Co., a joint venture between Rio and Aluminum Corp., also known as Chinalco, was launched in 2011 to seek out deposits in China and had plans ...
Read More »International News
Optimism reigns in India as CEOs, consumers look beyond China
Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi has something to cheer about even as economists slash India’s growth forecasts. A clutch of studies and surveys published around the World Economic Forum show that perceptions about India’s outlook are improving, closing the gap with China. The results will be heartening for Modi, who’s under fire at home for his shock currency withdrawal ...
Read More »New US FDA chief should have medical experience
Bloomberg President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Food and Drug Administration should have a medical background, and the agency should continue evaluating new medications’ effectiveness, drugmaker executives said in comments indicating opposition to two candidates for the regulator’s top post. Trump’s FDA chief should be a doctor or physician-scientist with experience in clinical care and medical research, ...
Read More »Rolls-Royce ends bribery settlements in US, UK, Brazil
Bloomberg Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc won approval from a UK judge for its settlement with British prosecutors as the US Justice Department unsealed a parallel agreement with the company in Ohio the day after the company announced it would pay $800 million in total to resolve bribery probes in both countries as well as Brazil. In London, Judge Brian Leveson ...
Read More »London mayor urges businesses to join drive against hard Brexit
Bloomberg London Mayor Sadiq Khan will urge business leaders to warn their governments of the threat posed to Europe by the “hard Brexit†advocated by UK Prime Minister Theresa May in her speech. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Khan, who is a member of the opposition Labour Party, was expected to say that securing “privileged†access ...
Read More »Europe oil firms, UK retailers may see 2017 restructuring
Bloomberg Oil companies and UK retailers are the sectors most likely to come under financial stress in Europe this year, even as central bank stimulus keeps borrowing costs near historic lows, according to S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. With the European Central Bank committing to an asset-purchase program until at least December, leveraged companies can refinance their debt ...
Read More »US railroad profit rebound plays catch-up to 2016 stock surge
Bloomberg With US railroads forecast to report their first earnings growth since 2015, a stock rally that began in anticipation of the profit rebound is looking overdone. An index of major carriers has jumped more than 55 percent since sinking to a three-year low Jan. 25, more than doubling the S&P 500 Index’s return. The surge pushed railroad stock ...
Read More »Qualcomm accused of forcing deal on Apple to thwart rivals
Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc. forced Apple Inc. to use its chips exclusively in return for lower licensing fees, unfairly cutting out competitors, the US said in a lawsuit against the biggest maker of mobile phone chips. Qualcomm’s exclusive deal with Apple was detailed in a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing the chipmaker of illegally maintaining a monopoly for semiconductors used ...
Read More »US consumer prices rise on shelter, gas
Bloomberg The cost of living in the US climbed for a fifth month on the back of shelter and fuel prices, pushing inflation closer to the Federal Reserve’s goal. The consumer-price index rose 0.3 percent in December, matching the median projection of economists, after a 0.2 percent gain the previous month, Labor Department figures showed on Wednesday in Washington. ...
Read More »Apple to raise UK app store prices to counter weakened pound
Bloomberg Apple Inc. is raising App Store prices in the UK as much as 25 percent, bending to the pound’s drop in value following the country’s vote to leave the European Union. Apps that cost 79 pence ($1.20) will increase to 99 pence, according to a notification sent to app developers today, seen by Bloomberg. Apps that costs $2.99 ...
Read More »