International News

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s desire to nurture more “global players” has turned Berlin’s gaze towards Brussels and to reshaping European Union rules that clamp down on mergers and technology giants. Merkel, facing her final years as German leader, has criticised the EU for focussing too much on competition in narrow European national markets at the expense of the bigger ...

Bloomberg Telecom Italia SpA’s board of directors may seek the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Amos Genish as early as this week, Il Messaggero newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. Directors backed by both Vivendi SA, the carrier’s biggest shareholder, and US activist Elliott Management Corp., which owns the second-largest stake, have agreed to call an extraordinary ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s deepening recession will continue through the first quarter before the economy sees a sustained and gradual recovery, the International Monetary Fund said, while outlining a long list of threats to that rebound. “The bottom — the floor — is going to be in the first quarter,” mission chief Roberto Cardarelli told journalists in Buenos Aires. “We believe the ...

Bloomberg All-male boards at the UK’s biggest companies are nearing extinction, a sign that government efforts to increase gender parity are paying off. Just five companies in the FTSE 350 Index have no women at the top table, down from eight in 2017, according to data from the annual Hampton-Alexander Review that will be released in full on Tuesday. The ...

Bloomberg US consumer debt posted the smallest increase in three months as credit-card loans fell, suggesting Americans had limited appetite to spend beyond their means, Federal Reserve figures showed. Total credit rose $10.9 billion in September from the prior month, compared with the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey for a $15 billion increase. That followed an upwardly ...

Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is looking beyond borders to turn its annual Singles’ Day shopping celebration into a global phenomenon. This Sunday, the Chinese internet giant is including sales from Lazada, the online shopping mall it controls. Southeast Asia’ biggest web retailer is becoming a key part of Alibaba’s plan to fuel growth, on top of the company’s efforts ...

Bloomberg Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s rating has been placed on review for downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service on concern the cash flow generation at India’s second-biggest mobile phone carrier will remain weak. The Baa3 issuer and senior unsecured rating of the company has been placed on review for a cut, Moody’s said in a statement. The review also reflects Bharti Airtel’s ...

Bloomberg Streamcast Group, a firm whose technology enables streaming services and boosts networks in emerging markets, is considering an initial public offering as soon as next year, people familiar with the matter said. The company is aiming to list in London, though it’s also considered other venues, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. ...

Bloomberg Nike Inc. and LVMH, which have long struggled against knockoffs of their famous products, praised China’s efforts to fight intellectual property theft. US President Donald Trump has cited IP violations, including the counterfeiting of major brands, as justification for imposing tariffs on Chinese exports. But executives at the two companies were more charitable at the China International Import Expo ...

Bloomberg DowDuPont Inc. sought to reassure investors that its planned spinoff of one of the world’s biggest plastic makers will be unscathed by a groundswell of global concern about pollution. Jim Fitterling, who will lead the new company as chief executive officer, waved away worries that protests against plastic trash will weigh on the new stand-alone operation’s growth plans. He ...