International News

    Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. plans to spend years designing cars in which humans retain a large measure of control, since the goal of turning all driving decisions over to computers seems too dangerous for now. The problem, Toyota said, is that society has come to accept 39,000 traffic fatalities a year in the US, mostly due to human ...

  Bloomberg Global Logistic Properties Ltd. has begun formally reaching out to potential bidders for the $7.8 billion industrial property owner, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Singapore-based company sent out an information letter to targeted bidders at the end of last month and has asked for first-round offers by early February, according to the people. GLP attracted ...

  Bloomberg Millions of toxic smartphones end up in landfills around the world each year. Kerry Chen — founder and chief executive officer of Shanghai Yueyi Network Co — thinks he can change that, starting with China — one of the worst offenders. With Chinese consumers hardly the biggest proponents of recycling, whether it’s cars or banquet leftovers, Chen reckons ...

  Bloomberg Singapore is due to deliver a blueprint outlining strategies to boost the economy as the export-dependent nation seeks new growth engines. The Committee on the Future Economy will publish its recommendations in a few weeks time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his New Year Message, days before the government reported that growth slumped to a seven-year ...

  Bloomberg Canada consumer optimism ended 2016 with a small weekly increase, finishing above where it started the year on rising expectations for the country’s growth prospects. The sluggish economy, hampered by disappointing exports was a focal point for policymakers in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first full year in power. Trudeau expanded transfer payments and cut middle-income taxes, while Bank ...

  Bloomberg American manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in two years, reflecting firmer output and the biggest pickup in orders growth since August 2009. The Institute for Supply Management said that its index increased to 54.7, the fourth straight advance, from 53.2 a month earlier. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 53.8. Readings above ...

  Bloomberg Apple Inc. is planning to invest $1 billion in SoftBank Group Corp.’s giant new technology fund, adding its name to a growing list of interested parties and giving the iPhone maker a new avenue to tap up-and-coming technologies. Qualcomm Inc. also said it will participate in the fund, but the terms and the amount of its investment are ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG must face claims it misled US investors after installing so-called defeat devices in diesel vehicles used to cheat emissions tests. A San Francisco federal judge also rejected a request to dismiss shareholder claims against former VW Chairman Martin Winterkorn, who said investors in VW’s American depositary receipts couldn’t prove he knew the extent of the company’s ...

  Bloomberg India’s dominant services sector is set to contract for a second straight month, adding to evidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise ban on cash will trigger a sharp slowdown in Asia’s No. 3 economy. The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 46.8 in December, a report showed on Wednesday, little changed from 46.7 a month ...

  Bloomberg Heavy smog has blanketed a third of China’s cities, including its capital Beijing, with 62 issuing health alerts since Jan. 1, officials said. The hazardous air has forced hundreds of flight cancellations or delays and is forecast to linger into the weekend in some areas. The concentration of PM2.5 particles — which pose the greatest health risks because ...