Bloomberg Canada’s gross domestic product shrank unexpectedly in October as factories suffered their worst month in almost three years, adding to signs the country’s outlook is worsening. Output fell 0.3%, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomb-erg expected a flat reading, but widespread declines in goods-producing industries contributed to the largest monthly drop since May. Manufacturing output ...
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UK posts worst trade performance in 3 years
Bloomberg The UK current-account deficit widened in the third quarter as Britain posted its worst trade performance in almost three years. The difference between money coming into the UK and money sent out was 25.5 billion pounds ($31.3 billion), the Office for National Statistics said. That’s equal to 5.2 percent of gross domestic product. The trade deficit widened to ...
Read More »China slaps GM with $29mn fine for antitrust violations
Bloomberg China slapped a $29 million fine on General Motors Co. for antitrust violations, a sign of the growing tensions between the US and the Asian nation. The largest US automaker is accused of setting minimum prices on some models in its SAIC General Motors joint venture. The Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission, which imposed the 201 million ...
Read More »Myanmar farmers reap rewards from 3D printing
AFP Whizzing across a blue-lit platform with a whirr and a squeak, liquid plastic emanating from its chrome tip, the 3D printer seems a far cry from the muddy, crop-filled fields that fringe Yangon. But in an industrial park south of Myanmar’s commercial hub, the advanced technology is now being used to design bespoke parts that are changing the ...
Read More »Alibaba’s on-demand services unit close to securing $1.2bn funding for expansion
Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s on- demand services unit is close to securing $1.2 billion of funding for expansion after getting backing from first-time investors including Silver Lake Management and China’s sovereign wealth fund, people familiar with the matter said. The latest round for Koubei, which deals in local services such as food delivery, will surpass a $1 billion ...
Read More »Tata investors vote to oust independent director Wadia
Bloomberg Shareholders of Tata Motors Ltd. voted to oust independent director Nusli Wadia from the automaker’s board, bringing the owner of Jaguar Land Rover closer to parent Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company of India’s largest conglomerate. About 71 percent of the investors who voted agreed to remove Wadia at a special shareholder meeting in Mumbai on Thursday, according ...
Read More »Coal traders see end of price rally as China ramps up output
Bloomberg Coal’s recovery was one of the biggest surprises in commodities this year, but it’s all poised to end as output rises from China, producer of half the world’s supply. After half a decade of declines, European prices rebounded more than 80 percent as China, also the world’s biggest consumer of the fuel, boosted imports. Benchmark month-ahead contracts will ...
Read More »India’s energy demand falling short of estimates
Bloomberg Those looking for a bright spot in the global warming picture might want to pay closer attention to India. For several years, demand for electricity in the world’s second-most populous country has trailed forecasts, data compiled by India’s Central Electricity Authority show. While the reasons for the mismatch are complex, the gap raises the prospect that India won’t ...
Read More »Taiwan holds rate as new iPhone, rising oil boost outlook
Bloomberg Taiwan held its benchmark interest rate for a second straight quarter as economic indicators show fourth-quarter strength and improving growth prospects for 2017. Policy makers held the discount rate to banks at a six-year low of 1.375 percent, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday after a meeting in Taipei. All 28 economists in a Bloomberg ...
Read More »China’s Huochebang fetches $1bn valuation
Bloomberg Truck Alliance Inc., a Uber-type service for trucks known in China as Huochebang, raised about $115 million in a financing round that valued the startup at $1 billion. The two-year-old company backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Hillhouse Capital secured the capital in a round led by new investors International Finance Corp. and All-Stars Investment Ltd. Tencent, Genesis ...
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