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Bloomberg President Donald Trump is exploring blocking a government retirement fund from investing in Chinese equities considered a national security risk, a person familiar with the internal deliberations said. The Thrift Savings Plan — the federal government’s retirement savings fund — is scheduled to transfer roughly $50 billion of its international fund to mirror an MSCI All Country World Index, ...

Bloomberg The UK government will give companies guidance in within days on how to return to work safely once the coronavirus lockdown is eased, as it comes under pressure from business not to withdraw its financial support too soon. Firms will get advice on different types of workplace activity, including operating outdoors or inside someone else’s home, according to two ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is being called to testify by a House antitrust panel about his company’s treatment of third-party merchants on its site. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating competition in the tech sector, said in a letter to Bezos that he expects the CEO to testify, and threatened to issue ...

Bloomberg Telefonica SA and billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Global Plc are exploring a combination of their UK operations, people with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that would reshape the British telecommunications industry. The companies are discussing bringing together Telefonica’s O2 wireless unit and Liberty Global’s Virgin Media business, according to the people, who asked not to be ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. is in talks to buy Softomotive Ltd., a UK-based startup that makes software robots to automate tasks, according to people familiar with the matter. If talks are successful, a deal could be announced as soon as the coming weeks, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. No final decision has been ...

Bloomberg With meat-processing workers falling victim to the coronavirus, shuttering plants and slowing supply, Americans are starting to see poorly stocked aisles where once beef was plentiful. At the same time, the link between industrial meat production and deadly human viruses has become more widely understood. The global crisis, in other words, is turning into a big opportunity for the ...

DUBAI / WAM The Emirates Food Security Council, in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy and Industry, has revealed that 568 factories in the UAE produce 5.96 million tonnes of food and beverage (F&B) products annually, with 2.3 million tonnes comprising essential food items. Releasing a statement to highlight the efficiency of the UAE’s food production landscape, the council announced ...

Bloomberg Oil jumped for a second day as global production cuts deepened and signs of a fledgling demand recovery emerged. Futures in New York rose by as much as 18%. Norway said it will participate in oil-output cuts for the first time since 2002, joining other major producers in reining in supply. Data on Wednesday showed a surprise surge in ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The United Arab Emirates has affirmed its commitment to achieving a political solution in Libya and called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation emphasised the UAE’s support for a political solution to end the ongoing Libyan crisis in line with the outcomes ...

Bloomberg Despite marching orders from China’s top leader Xi Jinping to maximize oil and gas production, the energy sector is bending to the reality of the coronavirus pandemic-fuelled market collapse. The nation’s three biggest state producers will slash their spending plans this year by a combined $19 billion, with PetroChina Co.’s 32% chop leading the way, the fattest among global ...