International News

Bloomberg Foxconn Technology Group grew into the world’s largest electronics manufacturer for hire by churning out best-selling products such as iPhones, Kindles and PlayStations. Now, it’s deploying that power to bring cryptocurrencies to the masses. A subsidiary of Foxconn has agreed to help develop and produce a blockchain phone from Sirin Labs, according to the startup. The new device, called ...

LONDON / Reuters Britain’s financial watchdog said that firms offering services linked to cryptocurrency derivatives must meet all relevant rules in the regulator’s handbook or could face sanctions. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not currently regulate cryptocurrencies. But it said that dealing or arranging transactions in, advising on or providing other services related to derivatives referencing cryptocurrencies or tokens ...

LONDON / Reuters Britain recorded its strongest productivity growth in more than a decade in the second half of 2017, helped by a strong fourth quarter, but economists said the improvement was unlikely to prove a turning point for one of the economy’s key weak spots. Productivity growth in most advanced economies has been poor since the 2008 financial crisis ...

Bloomberg Revelations that data belonging to as many 87 million Facebook Inc. users and their friends may have been misused became a game changer in the world of data protection as regulators are looking to raise awareness about how to protect information. Elizabeth Denham, the UK privacy regulator leading the European investigations into how user data ended up in the ...

BERLIN / Reuters German industrial output fell by the most in more than two years in February and the sector is losing momentum, the Economy Ministry said, as factories in Europe’s largest economy throttle back in the face of the rising threat of protectionism. Output fell by 1.6 percent after rising by a revised 0.1 percent in January, data from ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. said it has hired technology executive Jon McCormack as a vice president working on software. McCormack previously led software for HP Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he was an executive in Google’s Advanced Technology and Products group. He spent several years at Amazon.com Inc. as chief technology officer of the devices group and a ...

Bloomberg The US and China played down the prospect of a diplomatic breakthrough to resolve their escalating trade dispute as the White House considers what demands it will present to the Chinese. Serious talks “have not really begun yet,” Larry Kudlow, head of the White House National Economic Council, told Bloomberg TV. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a CNBC interview, ...

Bloomberg A corporate court allowed lenders to proceed with selling some assets of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd. to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., but ordered that the proceeds be held in an escrow account until it decides on a dispute with a minority shareholder. The latest decision marks a partial victory for RCom a day after India’s top court vacated ...

Bloomberg Binani Cement Ltd. lenders will entertain a local tycoon’s last-minute $1.1 billion bid for the insolvent Indian company, people with knowledge of the matter said. The committee of creditors decided at a meeting it would be willing to support the proposal, which would see Binani Cement sold to billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s UltraTech Cement Ltd., according to the people. ...

Bloomberg The Philippines could be the most at risk in Southeast Asia from the worsening trade conflict between China and the US. About 16.9 percent of the Philippines’ shipments abroad are part of China’s value chain; goods that serve as inputs to China’s exports, according to RHB Bank Bhd. That compares with 11.4 percent for Malaysia and just 2.2 percent ...