International News

Bloomberg Alipay is chasing Chinese tourists to Japan, where it’s signing up a growing number of retailers and eyeing the long-term potential of the nation’s $45 billion digital payments market. The volume of payments processed on Alipay in the country swelled about eight times in the 12 months to September, said Genki Oka, Japan chief executive officer of Ant Financial, ...

Bloomberg Tanzania said Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s local unit belongs to state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Co., a claim that sets up an ownership dispute between the government and the Indian phone operator. “Airtel, according to the information we have,” is an asset of Tanzania Telecommunications Co., President John Magufuli said on the East African country’s national broadcaster, TBC. “A terrible game was ...

Bloomberg Senate Republicans passed the most extensive rewrite of the US tax code in more than 30 years, a bill that delivers a deep, permanent tax cut for corporations and shorter-term relief for individuals. The chamber’s 51-48 party line vote on Wednesday in Washington brought President Donald Trump to the brink of his first major legislative victory. The bill—which has ...

Bloomberg A 300-year-old argument between the UK and Spain over a small piece of land is threatening to derail Theresa May’s plans to help businesses navigate Brexit. UK officials fear Spain will threaten to veto a Brexit transition phase if the British PM refuses to negotiate a separate deal with the government in Madrid that covers the disputed territory of ...

Bloomberg PM Theresa May is sticking to her guns and pushing for a made-to-order trade deal with the EU—despite the bloc’s insistence such a scenario is out of the question. May presided over a discussion with her Cabinet to flesh out her vision of an end state, aiming for a “significantly more ambitious deal” than that between the EU and ...

Bloomberg UK housing experts predict the nation is in for a year of stagnating prices in 2018. Overall growth will come to a halt as the number of transactions falls slightly, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said in a report, with a continued dearth of supply preventing outright declines. Some regions are set to see gains, offsetting slumps in ...

Bloomberg Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.’s British unit, which is at risk of collapse, faces questions from lawmakers about a reported surge in payments to its former managing director. The loss-making British arm of the US toy retailer boosted Roger McLaughlan’s pay to 1.3 million pounds ($1.7 million) in the year ended on January 30, 2016, from 1 million pounds and ...

Bloomberg Surging steel prices and a new Indian insolvency law have set the stage for an industry-defining battle between tycoons and producers for more than $26 billion of the sector’s most-coveted assets. Creditors are seeking the approval of India’s new bankruptcy court to sell assets of as many as 40 firms, including steel producers. That’s spurred Lakshmi Mittal, head of ...

Bloomberg Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin vowed to quadruple the size of his shopping-mall empire, betting that retailers will thwart the advance of e-commerce competitors by adding entertaining experiences in stores and mini-theme parks. The Dalian Wanda Group Co. chairman plans to have 1,000 shopping malls covering more than 90 percent of China’s cities within a decade, according to remarks he ...

Bloomberg Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is set to become the third stock in an equity index of the nation’s top 50 companies to cross the 10,000-rupee mark, thanks to this year’s record-setting rally. Shares of the carmaker, which accounts for about half of all cars sold in India, rose as high as 10,000 rupees for the first time on Wednesday. ...