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Bloomberg Muhammad Ridick would rather endure a back-breaking five hours of commuting on his motorbike each day than ride Jakarta’s public transport. “It’s very difficult to get a seat on a bus or train during rush hour,” said Ridick, 25, an employee at PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, whose 80 kilometer round-trip journey to work and back means he often doesn’t reach ...

Bloomberg A week after US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said China pledged to buy more American soybeans, no sales have been done. While Chinese buyers returned to the market asking for offers, traders familiar with the process say no deals have been done. That’s a disappointment for American farmers looking to offload a bumper harvest that’s been piled in bags ...

Bloomberg Malaysia says it is trying to develop its first flying car, but it won’t let the general public drive it. Malaysia’s flying car will instead be developed for transport-service companies, Bernama news agency said, citing the country’s Entrepreneur Development Minister Muhammed Redzuan Yusof. Companies are queuing up for the vehicle, including Grab, which wants to use it as a ...

Bloomberg In some quarters, a lack of work-life balance is not always a bad thing. HRnetgroup Ltd., Singapore’s biggest recruiter and human resources firm, is hoping that expanding services in China will help lift its share price that has sagged since an initial public offering (IPO) two years ago. China’s headhunting market is booming, thanks to the willingness of job ...

Bloomberg Japan’s top currency official said the nation’s current account surplus is a result of investments abroad rather than the exchange of goods, and it shouldn’t become a trade issue. It’s not uncommon for Japan’s savings to grow because of its aging population, Masatsugu Asakawa, vice finance minister of international affairs, said at a conference in Tokyo. His remarks came ...

Bloomberg Sentiment at Asia’s factories charted another weak month in February amid softening global demand and trade-war jitters. But there were signs of bottoming too: The Caixin China purchasing managers index rose to 49.9, recovering from its biggest drop since July 2015, even as it stayed below the 50 line that separates contraction and expansion. “There is a silver lining ...

Bloomberg Doubts are beginning to gather around the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest-ever takeover after Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s second-largest shareholder said that it doesn’t favour a $74 billion takeover of Celgene Corp. Wellington Management Co., which manages about $1 trillion in assets, said in a news release that it “does not believe that the Celgene transaction is an attractive path” for broadening ...

Bloomberg Germany’s automotive industry will invest over 40 billion euros ($45 billion) in electric vehicles over the next three years to triple the number of models vying for buyers, the head of the VDA car industry association said. The plan is pivotal to reach ambitious goals in the European Union to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and requires the expansion of ...

Bloomberg HP Inc.’s shares declined as much as 13 percent after the company warned that sales for its high-margin printer supplies business would fall for the rest of the year, presenting a setback for its effort to boost profitability. HP printer supplies revenue will decline 3 percent for the rest of 2019, driven by weaker demand in Europe, the Middle ...

Bloomberg Fabio Schvartsman stepped down temporarily as chief executive officer of Vale SA as the world’s largest iron ore producer comes under increased government scrutiny for failing to prevent a second deadly burst of one of its hundreds of tailings dams in Brazil. “Even totally assured of my righteous ways and having fulfilled my duty, I request the board to ...