News

Bloomberg Japan’s trade curbs on South Korea have so far been a case of “the bark was worse than the bite,” with only limited fallout for South Korea’s economy, according to Citigroup Inc. Japan’s tighter scrutiny of exports of three key materials used in the chip industry and Tokyo’s removal of its neighbour from a list of trusted trading partners ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s budget deficit has ballooned to more than $20 billion and is set to widen further as Southeast Asia’s largest economy struggles amid a global slowdown. With the government on pace to miss revenue targets, the 2019 budget deficit is now expected to reach as much as 2.2% of gross domestic product, from an initial target of 1.84%. Figures ...

Bloomberg After months of political protests and the onset of a recession, Hong Kong’s resilient labour market is starting to crack. Retailers, restaurants and hotels are cutting wages and hours or letting staff go just to survive. The city’s once record-low unemployment level is likely to accelerate its current rise if no solution to the five months of turmoil can ...

Bloomberg Thai companies are likely to raise the most money from initial public offerings in four years in 2019 as the formation of the nation’s first democratic government since the 2014 military coup has encouraged domestic firms to tap equity markets. Companies have raised 80 billion baht ($2.6 billion) this year on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Market ...

Bloomberg Ford Motor Co is reinventing one of its marquee models — the Mustang muscle car — as a battery-powered crossover to become a player in the electric-vehicle market that is expected to take off in the coming decade. In a splashy ceremony ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the carmaker unveiled the Mustang Mach-E, a swoopy hatchback with ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump is scheduled to tour an Apple Inc manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, the White House said. The president plans to visit the plant along with Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, according to a tweet by spokesman Judd Deere. The Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported that Trump will travel with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and ...

Bloomberg HP Inc’s board unanimously rejected Xerox Holdings Corp’s unsolicited takeover proposal, saying the $22-a-share offer is too low and citing concerns about the smaller rival’s prospects in the printing industry. HP is “open to exploring” a merger but there are “fundamental questions that need to be addressed,” Chief Executive Officer Enrique Lores and Chairman Chip Bergh wrote in a ...

Bloomberg Almost 32,000 customers could lose power as dry, gusty winds whip up critical wildfire conditions across almost 6,000 square miles in Southern California, with another 250,000 affected in the northern part of the state. The winds gusting as high as 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour could affect mountain and coastal areas, including Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego ...

Bloomberg London’s office landlords keep being surprised that things aren’t a lot worse. Demand for office space in the UK capital is holding up even as political uncertainty persists in a nation gripped by its decision to leave the European Union. Businesses have continued to lease space despite the prospect of a general election that’s pitted the Brexit-backing Conservative party ...

DUBAI / WAM The UAE Cabinet has approved a federal law to regulate cases of insolvency of natural persons, aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the UAE by ensuring the ease of doing business, creating favourable conditions for individuals facing financial difficulties and protecting those who are unable to pay their debts from going bankrupt. The new law is part ...