International News

Bloomberg Brazil’s government plans to keep a cushion of at least 1 trillion reais ($190 billion) in cash next year to face local debt maturities as it braces for possible market turbulence in the run-up to presidential elections, according to Treasury Secretary Jeferson Bittencourt. The Treasury had a hard time in 2020, when investors concerned with President Jair Bolsonaro’s big ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said supply bottlenecks have been longer lasting than anticipated, and he expects inflation pressures to remain high in coming months before easing. “These effects have been larger and longer lasting than anticipated, but they will abate, and as they do, inflation is expected to drop back toward our longer-run 2% goal,” Powell said in ...

Bloomberg Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners is to acquire automation software developer Blue Prism Group Plc for about $1.5 billion, in yet another takeover of a UK tech company by a foreign buyer. Blue Prism recommended Vista’s bid of 1,125 pence a share in a statement on Tuesday. The offer represents a premium of about 35% to Blue Prism’s ...

Bloomberg The UK officially put the military on standby to help deliver supplies to gasoline stations in an effort to stem a crisis that’s engulfed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government. A “limited number” of army tanker drivers will be trained up in case they’re needed, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said. Non-military holders of specialized licenses that ...

Bloomberg The Spanish government has reached a deal with unions and trade groups to extend its furlough program until February 28 next year. The current job-saving scheme will be replaced in November with a new plan that gives employers more benefits if they provide training to workers, according a Labour Ministry statement. Meanwhile, the Bank of Spain expects inflation to ...

Bloomberg The ride-hailing unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co, which raised almost $600 million earlier this month, is already in talks with investors for another funding round as it seeks to make ground on dominant market leader Didi Chuxing Inc. The next round of fundraising may be completed in the first half of 2022, Cao Cao Mobility Chief Executive ...

Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a program that will create a unique digital health identity for over 1.3 billion people and allow them to access their records online, part of an effort to enhance efficiency in a healthcare system constrained by the pandemic. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, unveiled on Monday, aims to create digital health infrastructure to ...

Bloomberg Venture backers made a record number of investments in Southeast Asian startups in the first half of this year, though the value of those deals declined as investors focus on early stage deals in the region’s burgeoning internet scene. There were 393 investments across the region in the first half, topping the previous record of 375 in the first ...

Bloomberg Ninja Van, a Singaporean logistics startup, raised $578 million from investors including Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in a series E round. Existing investors B Capital Group, the venture capital firm set up by Facebook Inc co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly, a former executive at Bain Capital, and European parcel delivery company Geopost/DPDgroup, also participated in ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s finance minister said the country is committed to reopening, and that recently reimposed curbs are to ensure the health system can handle an increased number of daily cases. “Our overall strategy has not changed,” Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said. “We are committed to reopening our economy and our society progressively, but our aim has always been to do ...