International News

Bloomberg AT&T Inc.’s wait is finally over. Nearly two years after inking an $85.4 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Inc., the phone giant will learn on Tuesday whether a federal judge in Washington will grant the US Justice Department’s request to block the takeover on antitrust grounds. The decision hinges on whether the combination of AT&T’s pay-TV and mobile-phone ...

Bloomberg UK manufacturing output fell the most in 5 1/2 years in April and construction posted a smaller-than- expected gain, casting fresh doubt over the health of the economy. The pound fell. Factory production shrank 1.4 percent, the most since 2012, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had expected an increase. Building output rose 0.5 percent, well short of ...

Bloomberg After more than a year of vicious accusations and a flurry of lawsuits and counter claims, Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc’s multi-billion-dollar legal dispute is about to get serious. Hearings in the three most important markets — US, China and Germany — will soon determine whether Apple’s attempt to save itself billions in technology licensing payments by forcing one ...

Bloomberg Italian industrial production declined far more than expected in April, adding to signs of a slowdown in economic growth just as the new government tries to reassure investors on the country’s outlook. Output decreased 1.2 percent from March, when it rose 1.2 percent, national statistics institute Istat said in Rome. Economists had predicted it would fall 0.5 percent in ...

Bloomberg Some US companies anxious for exclusions from Donald Trump’s tariffs are turning to creative ways to get the president’s attention. One Texas steel pipe maker is promising that it will invest millions and hire new workers in return for a temporary break on tariffs. It’s also offering its employees cash prizes for writing the best postcards to Trump advocating ...

Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to continue improving ties between Asia’s most populous countries in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a summit in China. Xi was hosting leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the coastal city of Qingdao over the weekend. The China-led grouping includes India, Russia, Pakistan and ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s government will hold a joint conference with other officials in Beijing on June 12 to discuss the city’s involvement in China’s sprawling Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The conference will detail Hong Kong’s “full participation in and contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative, the work priorities and initiatives to be implemented for the year,” according to ...

Bloomberg If China is deleveraging, it seems someone forgot to tell the No. 2 toll-road operator of eastern Shandong province, which just bought a risky piece of debt in an effort to goose its returns. An offshore unit of Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co. subscribed for about $10 million of dollar-denominated leveraged notes linked to Future Land Development Holdings Ltd.’s notes, ...

Bloomberg A watchdog group is calling on Amazon.com Inc. to improve conditions for factory workers in China who make Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers, renewing criticisms that CEO Jeff Bezos became the world’s wealthiest man on the backs of low-paid labourers. The New York-based China Labor Watch released a report at the weekend following a nine-month investigation of working conditions ...

Bloomberg After hastily withdrawing their new messaging app amid glaring security flaws, an Indian billionaire and his penurious yoga guru partner are about to have another go at it. Acharya Balkrishna, who collaborated with celebrity yogi Baba Ramdev to build an Indian consumer goods empire, plans a formal release of the Kimbho messenger app within weeks as he tries to ...