International News

Bloomberg Royal Philips NV Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten said the Dutch manufacturer of medical equipment remains on the hunt for companies to buy as it hones focus on the health-care sector. “We are interested to do bolt-on acquisitions,” he said in an interview on Monday with Bloomberg TV after publishing quarterly earnings. “Deals done last year were bolt-on, ...

Bloomberg Growth in Europe’s largest economy unexpectedly picked up in April, reversing a slowdown at the start of the year. A Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing and services rose to 55.3 from 55.1, IHS Markit said on Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the measure would drop to 54.8. “Growth of Germany’s private sector steadied in April, to arrest the ...

Bloomberg British outsourcing firm Capita Plc’s shares pared some of this year’s heavy losses, rising as much as 14 percent in London, after the company announced a restructuring aimed at saving hundreds of millions of pounds. Capita, which provides customer-service functions for the likes of Marks & Spencer Group Plc and is responsible for collecting BBC license fees, is targeting ...

Bloomberg Economic momentum in the euro area kept a steady pace in April after softening earlier in the year, in a sign that growth in the region is set to continue albeit at a slower pace. A composite Purchasing Managers’ Index remained unchanged at 55.2, IHS Markit said on Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a decline to 54.8. While ...

Bloomberg US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s considering a trip to China amid a trade dispute with Beijing that finance chiefs warn could derail the global economic upswing. Mnuchin said he’s “cautiously optimistic” of reaching an agreement with China that bridges their differences over trade. “A trip is under consideration,” Mnuchin told reporters in Washington at the IMF’s spring ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s banks, blindsided by rising funding costs due to the city’s costly defense of its currency peg, are clamping down on popular fixed-rate mortgages. Bank of East Asia Ltd. is no longer accepting applications for these home loans “due to recent movements in interest rates,” the lender said in an emailed reply, more than two months before it ...

Bloomberg India’s ambition to build up its defense industry through a $250 billion program has sent shares of a state-owned metalmaker rocketing just days after a lukewarm trading debut. Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd., which makes specialty steel and is the country’s only producer of titanium alloys used in aerospace, has seen its market value surge 88 percent to 32 billion ...

Bloomberg Chinese online healthcare platform Ping An Good Doctor, a unit of the country’s biggest insurer by market value, will start taking investors’ orders for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as HK$8.8 billion ($1.1 billion). The Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. subsidiary is offering about 160 million shares at HK$50.80 to HK$54.80 apiece, according ...

Bloomberg When China released its key economic indicators, the statistics agency was quick to highlight how the country’s domestic consumption had propelled growth in the first quarter, offsetting external risks as trade tensions escalate. Yet for the country’s publicly listed companies, foreign business has never been so important. The percentage of sales that mainland-listed companies get outside their home country ...

Bloomberg A top European Union official reiterated the bloc’s demand for a permanent exemption from the US’s steel and aluminum tariffs, as a temporary reprieve is set to expire on May 1 and fears mount that escalating trade tensions could threaten the global economy. European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU is in close contact with US authorities ...