Bloomberg Almost a quarter of businesses in a new survey are thinking of leaving Hong Kong to escape ongoing protests, with most looking to Singapore as their favoured location. Some 23 percent of surveyed companies with an office in Hong Kong are considering moving business functions from the city, while 1 percent already have plans to relocate, according to the ...
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HK protests: Property hunters grab bargains
Bloomberg It looked like the perfect investment opportunity. A mostly vacant shopping center with scant competition serving a middle-class neighbourhood far from Hong Kong’s city centre. With a makeover, Wang Tse thought, there could be good foot traffic, but the asking price was too high. That was in 2017, and property tycoon Li Ka-shing had just sold a skyscraper for ...
Read More »Nigeria LNG in talks with lenders for $10bn loan
Bloomberg Nigeria LNG Ltd., the operator of Africa’s largest natural gas plant, is in talks with lenders to finance a $10 billion expansion. The company is discussing with the country’s top-10 lenders including Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, to raise as much as $2 billion, and with foreign lenders and export-credit agencies for the balance, Chief Executive ...
Read More »Carcinogen in Zantac, generics triggers FDA, EU investigates
Bloomberg Global health regulators sounded a coordinated alarm about the possibility that a stomach drug taken by millions of people could be tainted with the same cancer-causing agent that has sparked a worldwide recall of blood-pressure pills. Drug-safety officials in the US and Europe said that they were looking into whether Sanofi heartburn medication Zantac and generic versions made by ...
Read More »Apple nears record as market cap crosses $1tn
Bloomberg Apple Inc shares rose for a fourth straight session, with the iPhone maker hitting its highest level since October as investors continued to feel bullish about the company’s recent product event. Shares gained as much as 1.3 percent on the day and have risen nearly 17 percent off a low hit in August. The rally puts the company less ...
Read More »US’s Amtrak derailment victims to get $16.75m
Bloomberg A jury has awarded three plaintiffs injured in a 2017 Amtrak derailment outside DuPont, Washington a total of $16.75 million in damages, Luvera Law Firm said in a statement. The plaintiffs, Dale Skyllingstad, Blaine Wilmotte and Madison Wilmotte, are the first group of victims to take the railway carrier to trial for the incident that killed three men and ...
Read More »Storm to scrape Florida coast as it strengthens, turns seaward
Bloomberg The storm system that’s rained on the Bahamas for two days, slowing the recovery from Hurricane Dorian, is set to become Tropical Storm Humberto when it scrapes by Florida and veers sharply out to sea. Parts of Florida remain on a tropical storm watch and will probably get heavy rain in any case. The system has sustained winds of ...
Read More »France expects big budget gap amid tax cuts
Bloomberg The French government boosted its budget-deficit forecast, amid global economic headwinds and a drag on finances from President Emmanuel Macron’s stimulus in response to the Yellow Vest protests. The finance ministry cut the 2020 growth forecast to 1.3 percent from 1.4 percent previously and raised its budget deficit target to 2.2 percent of economic output from the 2.1 percent ...
Read More »Employers ring alarm as Poland promises to double ‘wage’
Bloomberg Polish employer groups are voicing alarm over government plans to nearly double the minimum wage and hike social security fees, saying that businesses and the wider economy will face major risks from fast-rising costs. Seeking to further boost its poll-leading standings ahead of next month’s general election, Poland’s ruling party has pledged to raise the minimum wage by 78 ...
Read More »UAE condemns Netanyahu’s plan to annex Jordan Valley
Abu Dhabi / WAM The United Arab Emirates has expressed its strong condemnation and categorical rejection of an announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the planned annexation of land from the occupied West Bank to Israel in the event of an election win. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stated ...
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