News

Bloomberg The Philippines uses 17.5 billion plastic shopping bags and about 60 billion plastic sachets a year, generating so much waste that local governments are unable to cope, according to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a non-governmental organization. Filipinos also use about 45 million thin film bags daily, the organisation said in a statement, citing a study conducted in ...

Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Ant Financial will establish a steering committee led by the e-commerce giant to spearhead joint business initiatives and ensure their long-term interests are aligned, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s top online retailer and its biggest internet financial services giant will create a so-called “new economy body,” headed up by Alibaba Chief ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s stock market has seen price surges so wild that senior officials have said they feared for the city’s reputation as a global financial center. A subsequent crackdown appears to be working. Actions by the local exchange and securities regulator contributed to a 45 percent fall in initial public offering (IPO) applications for the city’s small-company venue last ...

Bloomberg The rupiah slid the most in eight months, leading losses among Asia’s emerging-market currencies, amid rising concern global growth is slowing. Indonesia’s central bank said it intervened to limit a sell-off in the currency and local bonds. The rupiah tumbled as much as 1.4 percent, the biggest intraday drop since June, to hit a two-month low of 14,335 per ...

Bloomberg India’s business titans are facing a worrying new development: in recent weeks, shadow lenders have been cutting them off from a key financing channel. Company founders have long fueled dreams to expand their business empires with loans they get by pledging stakes in their firms. But recent scares have prompted at least two major shadow banks to turn off ...

Bloomberg Confusion around which goods will be subjected to UK import tariffs in a no-deal Brexit is exasperating companies as they seek to finalise preparations for the split. The government will reveal details of the plan only if Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal to quit the European Union is rejected by Parliament next week, an official said, without providing a ...

Bloomberg Canada’s economy posted its second-straight surprise job surge, making the labour market a lone bright spot for an economy in the middle of a sharp slowdown. Employment increased by 55,900 in February, all full-time jobs, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa, building on a 66,800 gain in January. The two-month gain is the best start to a year since 1981. ...

Bloomberg Spotify Technology SA and other technology giants appealed a ruling that increased the royalties they must pay to songwriters, a move that threatens to further damage the companies’ already-tenuous relationship with the music industry. Songwriters celebrated last year when the Copyright Royalty Board ruled that they will get at least a 15.1 percent share of streaming revenues over the ...

Bloomberg The command center at the Otto Junker GmbH metals plant stands in sharp contrast to the noisy and smelly factory floor, where until just a few weeks ago workers operated various machines individually. The new digs are quiet, there’s no oil stench, and there’s even room for a coffee maker. The downside? The control room boss may end up ...

DUBAI / WAM In 2018, Dubai external trade through the Dubai Creek made AED14.54 billion ($3.96 billion) (AED13 billion in re-exports, AED1.246 billion in exports, and AED328 billion in imports), according to Dubai Customs chief. Dubai Customs always provides support to the maritime sector towards a more diversified economy in line with the Dubai Plan 2021. This helps in facilitating ...