International News

Bloomberg Hong Kong introduced the city’s toughest public-gathering restrictions in months and decided to send civil servants back to work-from-home arrangements as the government steps up efforts to contain the latest wave of coronavirus infections in the Asian financial hub. Public gatherings will be limited to two people, including at restaurant tables and at sports venues, Chief Executive Carrie Lam ...

Bloomberg The splintering of the global tech supply chain that began during President Donald Trump’s watch looks set to persist under his successor. Apple Inc, the largest of the many tech giants that rely on Chinese factories to make their gadgets, will move some production of its iPads and MacBooks to Vietnam. Key assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc is considering offloading its struggling retail network in the US, a market the British bank has called one of its biggest strategic challenges. The bank’s management is looking at a complete withdrawal from its retail operations in the country, although a full exit from other businesses in the US is unlikely, according to a person familiar ...

Bloomberg The UK will ban the installation of 5G equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies Co by the end of next September. The restriction is part of an “initial” 250 million-pound ($333 million) package of measures brought in to diversify Britain’s wireless supply chain announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The stricter rules may also help fend ...

Bloomberg Italy’s government has approved a fourth stimulus package to support businesses hit by the latest restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The package is worth 8 billion euros ($9.6 billion), according to a statement published on Monday. It delays tax deadlines for companies and expands cash handouts for workers in tourism and the arts, which have been ...

Bloomberg Online shoppers in the US are expected to drop a record-busting $12.7 billion on Cyber Monday — the busiest e-commerce day of the year — presenting a valuable opportunity for retailers whose websites, customer service departments and delivery operations can withstand the period of crushing traffic. Amazon.com Inc, Walmart Inc, Target Corp, Best Buy Co and others have been ...

Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co founder Ren Zhengfei called the sale of its Honor budget smartphone division a “clean break” that should free it from US restrictions and create a new powerhouse in the world’s largest mobile arena. Ren, blasting Trump administration tactics to contain his company, assured employees in a memo Honor will rapidly resume production after regaining access to ...

Bloomberg The World Economic Forum (WEF) is looking at sites in countries less affected by Covid-19 than Switzerland to replace Lucerne for the meeting scheduled to take place next May, according to the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper. The Swiss newspaper, which didn’t say the source of the information, also published an interview with WEF founder, Klaus Schwab, who said the ...

Bloomberg The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) killed a proposal to allow in-flight voice calls via mobile phones, ending its examination of an idea that evoked fears of air rage from passengers trapped beside jabbering seat mates. The idea drew “strong opposition” from pilots and flight attendants, the agency said in a four-paragraph order. The FCC in 2013 proposed allowing ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson defended his decision to put most of England into the highest levels of pandemic restrictions even as the rate of infection across the UK fell to its lowest level since mid-August. Leading members of Johnson’s Conservative Party have said the government’s new three-tier system to contain the coronavirus when the national lockdown ends next week is too ...