Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc’s bid to buy into one of the UK’s most successful startups may get caught up in antitrust authorities’ fear that they made mistakes in the past. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has until Wednesday to decide whether to continue a two-month-old probe that froze Amazon’s bid of around $500 million for a minority stake in food-delivery ...
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Berlin builders hit streets over rent freeze
Bloomberg Berlin’s effort to protect tenants from steep rent increases has antagonised other participants in the property industry. Three convoys of construction lorries, along with landlord representatives, converged on Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to protest against a plan to freeze rents in the city for five years. Around 1,500 people registered to take part in the event involving an estimated 240 ...
Read More »Sanofi to buy US biotech firm Synthorx for $2.5bn
Bloomberg French pharma giant Sanofi agreed to buy US biotech company Synthorx Inc for $2.5 billion, almost triple its market value, accelerating a push into cancer under new Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson. Sanofi will pay $68 a share in cash for Synthorx, the companies said. Shares of the unprofitable San Diego-based company closed at $25.03, having surged 40%. The ...
Read More »EU fuels Indonesia trade tensions with 5-year biodiesel tariffs
Bloomberg The European Union imposed five-year tariffs on biodiesel from Indonesia to counter alleged subsidies to producers in the country, a move that could prompt the Indonesian government to retaliate. The EU duties on Indonesian exporters of this type of biofuel, which is made from vegetable oils and animal fats for use in diesel engines, range from 8% to 18%, ...
Read More »China clampdown on illegal meat puts $2b trade at risk
Bloomberg China’s crackdown on illegal meat imports has left India, one of the biggest exporters of buffalo meat, scrambling for a new buyer. China has adopted stricter border controls due to African swine fever, meaning Indian buffalo meat exports into China that usually flow through Vietnam has all but stopped. Indian exporters are now hoping Indonesia can more than triple ...
Read More »India’s Rcom to lose cable unit in setback for revamp efforts
Bloomberg Indian telecom operator Reliance Communications Ltd will lose control of its undersea cable unit GCX Ltd after a Delaware Court approved a creditor-supported Chapter 11 plan for the subsidiary, in a setback to its own closely-watched bankruptcy process. The plan that got the nod this week will grant ownership of GCX to its own creditors in exchange for a ...
Read More »Japan to restart JIC, seeks 100 billion yen in budget
Bloomberg Japan is planning to restart operations at Japan Investment Corp and will seek a budget of about 100 billion yen ($921 million) for the public-private fund, Nikkei reported. The budget for JIC, which stopped activity in late 2018 because of a rift between the fund and the government over salaries, could come from Japan’s fiscal investment and loan program, ...
Read More »Firms pay $2,500-an-hour to avoid China blacklist
Bloomberg China Railway Construction Corp deployed thousands of workers over four years to build part of a coal-carrying line from Inner Mongolia to Jiangxi province — about the same distance as midtown Manhattan to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The project cost about 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) in total and was heralded by state media in 2018 as ...
Read More »Samsung takes on iPhone ‘with camera’
Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co’s response to Apple Inc’s much-improved iPhone 11 cameras is going to be a giant photographic arsenal strapped to the back of its 2020 flagship phones. The Korean company is preparing the biggest overhaul to the cameras on its flagship phones for next year, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Its upcoming Galaxy S11 will ...
Read More »Nissan gives 2-day furlough for US workers
Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co ordered a furlough of employees for two days at the beginning of January, the latest cost-cutting move as US sales continue to slide. Nissan North America is closing US offices on January 2 and 3 to “optimise business performance and competitiveness,†the company said in an emailed statement. In a memo to employees, North America Chairman ...
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