International News

Bloomberg Officials from the US and South Korea said further talks were needed to revise their free-trade pact, a negotiation straining ties between the allies as they grapple with Kim Jong Un’s growing nuclear-weapons threat. The US presented proposals to improve auto exports and lift trade barriers during a meeting with South Korea counterparts in Washington, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer ...

Bloomberg CVS Health Corp. and Aetna Inc. were both talking to other potential partners during early discussions that led to their $68 billion merger, according to a regulatory filing. As late as August, Aetna was in discussions with a “Party X” about a “strategic partnership, business combination or other opportunities.” The mystery company, which isn’t named in the document, told ...

Bloomberg US payroll gains slowed by more than forecast in December, wages picked up slightly and the jobless rate held at the lowest level since 2000, adding to signs of a full-employment economy. Employers added 148,000 workers, compared with the 190,000 median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, held back by a drop in retail positions, a Labor Department report ...

Bloomberg Investors are finally getting a crack at the resurgent music business. Spotify, owner of the world’s largest paid music service, plans to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange this quarter, passing up a traditional public offering for what’s called a direct listing. The debut will test whether investors are ready to buy into the music industry, which ...

Bloomberg Ant Financial may have to re-tool its global ambitions after stiff US opposition scuppered what would have been its largest overseas acquisition. The Chinese financial services giant controlled by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma abandoned a plan to buy MoneyGram International Inc. after failing to win approval for the deal from a key government panel. China’s largest online wealth management ...

Bloomberg Samling Group, the Malaysian timber giant, is planning an initial public offering of its automotive operations that could raise more than $250 million, people with knowledge of the matter said. Samling is working with advisers to explore a possible dual listing of the business in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore later this year, according to the people. The share sale ...

Bloomberg BlackBerry Ltd.’s efforts to push into self-driving cars took a new step forward as the former smartphone maker signed a deal with Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc. to work together on automotive software. Baidu will bundle BlackBerry’s QNX vehicle operating system into its Apollo self-driving car platform, a set of tools that automakers can use when designing autonomous vehicles. ...

Bloomberg Trucking firms like Caravan Roadways Ltd., which has more than 500 brightly-painted vehicles crisscrossing India, were meant to see immediate benefits from the biggest tax reform in India’s modern history. But the chaotically-implemented goods and services tax is derailing the government’s revenue target and hasn’t much improved trade within Asia’s No. 3 economy. “Suspicious states”—anxious to retain pre-GST earnings—are ...

Bloomberg This is the year when the biggest political and economic conundrum to face the UK in modern times will be solved, further complicated or even abandoned in all but name. Within 10 months, the British government and European Union aim to have an agreement on their divorce and at least the outline of their future trading relationship. They have ...

Bloomberg Germany’s unemployment rate fell to a record low as the number of people out of work slid for a sixth month, reflecting a boom in Europe’s largest economy that could push up wages and inflation. The jobless rate was 5.5 percent in December, and the previous month’s rate was revised down to the same level, the Federal Labor Agency ...