Bloomberg Pakistan’s drive to sell stakes in its loss-making state-owned entities has been all but abandoned, as the government bows to threats of widespread protests over potential job losses. Former IBM executive Mohammad Zubair, the minister of state for privatization, has found his work increasingly sidelined, even as annual losses from state companies rack up at 600 billion rupees …
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Nintendo tumbles after Super Mario Run draws tepid reviews
Bloomberg Nintendo Co. plummeted in Tokyo after the debut of Super Mario Run was met by lukewarm reviews. The stock slid 7.1 percent on Monday, bringing its losses since the game’s debut last week to more than 11 percent. Nintendo’s partner DeNA Co., which helped with the game’s development, dropped 14 percent in the same period. Super Mario Run …
Read More »Ousted Chairman Mistry resigns from Tata companies amid fight with scion
Bloomberg Ousted Tata Sons Ltd. Chairman Cyrus Mistry resigned as director of group companies as the units prepared to host shareholder meetings to remove him from the boards in a brawl for control of the $100 billion group. Mistry stepped down as a director in Tata Steel Ltd. and Indian Hotels Co., and as chairman of Tata Motors Ltd., …
Read More »Japan posts trade surplus as imports fall
Bloomberg Japan posted a trade surplus for a third straight month in November as imports continued to fall faster than exports. Export values declined at the slowest pace since September 2015, with exports to China rising for first time since February. Exports fell 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier (forecast -2.3%), after declining 10 percent in October, …
Read More »China home price growth slows as property curbs dent demand
Bloomberg China’s overheated property market continued to cool in November as authorities rolled out renewed home-buying curbs to deflate a housing bubble. New-home prices, excluding government-subsidized housing, gained from the previous month in 55 of the 70 cities tracked by the government, compared with 62 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. Prices dropped in 11 cities, …
Read More »De Beers to flood its subarctic diamond mine
Bloomberg Anglo American Plc’s De Beers will flood a massive diamond mine located beneath a subarctic lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories after failing to find a buyer. De Beers will begin inundating tunnels at its Snap Lake mine in early January, it said in a statement distributed recently. In April, it put the site on care and maintenance, saying …
Read More »World’s largest iron-ore project hailed as Brazil recovery sign
Bloomberg Vale SA is betting on the world’s biggest iron-ore project as a way to become more competitive with its largest rivals. For Brazil, the $14 billion S11D mine is a rare bright spot amid the country’s longest recession on record. “This is a confident affirmation that yes, Brazil will return to growth,†Minister of Mines & Energy Fernando …
Read More »Murdoch’s foes plan proposals to restrict Fox in Sky transaction
Bloomberg Citizens who are campaigning against Rupert Murdoch’s plan to gain full control of Europe’s dominant pay-TV company are seeking to hamper the 11.7 billion-pound ($14.6 billion) deal through the UK Parliament. Hacked Off, a media accountability advocacy group formed during the phone-hacking scandal that thwarted Murdoch’s first takeover attempt for Sky Plc in 2011, is preparing to propose …
Read More »Denmark is open to sell stakes in state assets
Bloomberg Denmark’s government, which owns stakes in 27 companies including Dong Energy A/S and SAS AB, is prepared to sell off everything that doesn’t affect its ability to protect critical infrastructure. Though there are currently no concrete plans to move ahead with a specific divestment, the administration is “clearly open†to selling, Finance Minister Kristian Jensen said in an …
Read More »UK clean energy sector shrinks after govt subsidy cuts
Bloomberg The UK’s renewable and low-carbon energy sector shrank by 8.7 percent last year, partly because of cuts to subsidies. The sector, from wind farms to electric vehicles, turned over $52.5bn in 2015, provisional figures by Office for National Statistics showed. That’s lower than the 46.2 billion pound recorded in 2014. Acquisitions of capital assets fell by 39 percent …
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