International News

Bloomberg The plot to reverse Brexit is missing a key ally: UK business. Companies have been among the most outspoken critics of the split from the European Union, and many have much to lose from the divorce. But as a group of lawmakers tries to engineer a second referendum, business leaders are recoiling. Worse than Brexit is prolonged uncertainty. “Business ...

Bloomberg The euro area’s economic expansion is standing on increasingly shaky ground after reports showed German investor confidence tumbling to its lowest level since late 2012 and the risk of a recession in the nation jumping. The sentiment gauge from ZEW showed more investors now see a worsening in Europe’s largest economy than forecast an improvement, a mood swing that ...

Bloomberg UK wages are rising at their fastest pace in almost three years, raising the prospect of an end to the squeeze on living standards. Annual pay growth excluding bonuses accelerated to 2.8 percent in the three months through February, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Inflation averaged 2.9 percent in the same period and is forecast to ...

Bloomberg Sanofi plans to sell its European generic-drug unit to buyout firm Advent International Corp. for 1.9 billion euros ($2.4 billion) as part of a broader move by Chief Executive Officer Olivier Brandicourt to focus resources on biotechnology and new medicines. Advent has made a binding and fully financed offer, and the companies are in exclusive negotiations, Paris-based Sanofi said ...

Bloomberg US new-home construction rose by more than forecast in March on a rebound in multifamily starts, giving a boost to first-quarter economic growth, government figures showed on Tuesday. The results show a tight job market, improved finances and consumers’ elevated confidence to purchase big-ticket items are supporting construction. That means homebuilding probably contributed to economic growth for the second ...

Reuters UnitedHealth Group Inc on Tuesday posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates, fuelled by growth in its core insurance and health-services businesses and raised its earnings forecast for the year. Shares of UnitedHealth rose 1.3 percent to $233.25 in premarket trading. The largest US health insurer has been adding more physicians through a series of acquisitions, helping ...

Reuters Johnson & Johnson reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year sales forecast, helped by growing demand for its cancer drugs. J&J’s pharmaceuticals sales rose 19.4 percent to $9.84 billion, driven by sales of its cancer drugs such as Darzalex, Imbruvica and Zytiga that rose 45 percent to $2.31 billion in the quarter. J&J raised its ...

Bloomberg Yet another Chinese technology company is headed for an initial public offering (IPO). Meilishuo, the online fashion retailer backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., is in talks with several investment banks about a US initial public offering that could value the startup at about $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The women-focussed online retailer hosted a bake-off ...

Bloomberg Honda is finally planning to open its newest factory in Brazil, idle since it was built in 2015. But not for the reason they originally intended. The carmaker built the Itirapina, São Paulo, plant for 1 billion reais ($290 million) with the plan of doubling its capacity in the country. Instead, the automaker will transfer operations to the facility ...

Bloomberg Ola, Uber Technologies Inc.’s fiercest Indian competitor, wants to roll out 10,000 electric three-wheeled rickshaws within a year and a million battery-powered vehicles by 2021. The startup run by ANI Technologies Pvt said it’s in policy discussions with several state governments, and is talking with potential partners from automakers to battery producers. It aims to build out an existing ...