International News

Bloomberg Takeda Pharmaceutical Co agreed to sell its Japanese consumer healthcare business for 242 billion yen ($2.3 billion) to Blackstone Group Inc, which plans to take the over-the-counter medication unit public in about five years. For the drugmaker, the sale could represent one of the last big pieces of its plan to dispose $10 billion in assets after its $62 ...

Bloomberg The Indonesian island of Bali will remain closed to foreign visitors for the rest of 2020 after authorities postponed a plan to welcome back international tourists from September 11 as the coronavirus continues to spread. “The Indonesian government couldn’t reopen its doors to foreign travellers until the end of 2020 as we remain a red zone,” Bali Governor Wayan ...

Bloomberg Nintendo Co added another $3 billion in market value in Tokyo on Monday with retail investors on the Robinhood app cited as helping to further boost the game maker’s popularity. Nintendo has been one the strongest-performing blue-chip stocks in Japan this year, as the pandemic, together with the release of its smash-hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons game, helped boost ...

Bloomberg Oil slipped as signs of stumbling recoveries in major economies from Europe to Asia threaten to delay a demand rebound. Futures in New York fell 1.1%, narrowing a weekly gain to just under 1%. Europe’s economy unexpectedly lost momentum this month, with the region battling to control a new spike in coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, a gauge of Japan’s service ...

Bloomberg China’s fragile economic recovery is ushering in a dangerous new phase for the nation’s $4.1 trillion corporate bond market. With the economy now strong enough for policy makers to dial back financial support but still too weak to save the most distressed borrowers, some fund managers are bracing for defaults on domestic Chinese debt to hit record highs this ...

HANNOVER / WAM Global foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is projected to plunge by 25 percent to 50 percent in 2020 due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, according to the experts. “This will threaten the world’s ability to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” leading experts from United Nations Industrial Development ...

Bloomberg India’s latest set of incentives to entice businesses moving away from China seem to be working, with companies from Samsung Electronics Co to Apple Inc’s assembly partners showing interest in investing in the South Asian nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in March announced incentives that make niche firms — electronics manufacturers — eligible for a payment of 4%-6% ...

Bloomberg Japan’s economy suffered a record contraction last quarter as a state of emergency and lockdowns in the country’s major export markets hammered consumer spending, production and exports. A recent uptick in infections threatens to slow the recovery. Gross domestic product contracted an annualised 27.8% in the three months through June from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office reported on ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s economy contracted the most in more than two decades, deepening its recession as the nation’s key drivers of trade and tourism remain hobbled by the global coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 12.2% from a year ago, the National Economic and Social Development Council said on Monday, its biggest decline since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. ...

Bloomberg China’s economic recovery continued in July with industrial growth remaining steady, even as weak retail sales undercut the rebound. Industrial output rose 4.8% in July from a year earlier, the same as in June, but lower than economists’ expectations. Overall retail sales fell 1.1%, compared to a projected 0.1% increase. The July data show that China’s recovery is still ...