News

Bloomberg Malaysia will terminate a $20 billion rail project with contractor China Communications Construction Co, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said. The Cabinet decided the East Coast Rail Link project was “beyond the government’s financial capability,” he said. Malaysia Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng wouldn’t corroborate Azmin’s comments, saying an official announcement would be issued if necessary by next ...

Bloomberg As China goes, so goes Starbucks. The chain, which helped introduce Americans to European coffee culture, is under pressure from Wall Street to do the same in China. It’s opening stores at a rate of nearly 600 a year, but an economic slowdown there, exacerbated by the trade war with the US, have curbed its previously breakneck sales growth. ...

Bloomberg The prospect of a delayed Brexit may be pushing up the pound, but it’s not the best news for the UK economy. Sterling has rallied above $1.30 this week amid increasing signs of support from lawmakers across Parliament for extending the negotiating period set to expire on March 29. While that would remove the imminent possibility of a chaotic ...

Bloomberg Verizon Communications Inc is cutting 7 percent of its media staff, part of a bid to overhaul a struggling operation that includes the former online icons AOL and Yahoo. The cuts would represent about 800 jobs at the division, which previously went by Oath. Verizon dropped that short-lived name, which was ridiculed on social media, earlier this month. Some ...

Bloomberg Filings for US unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since 1969, signalling the labour market remains tight. Jobless claims declined 13,000 to 199,000 in the week ended January 19, bucking economist forecasts for an increase, Labor Department figures showed. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, decreased to 215,000, the lowest since early November. The surprise drop ...

Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest maker of health-care products, is pursuing an acquisition of Auris Health Inc in a deal that would bring it cutting-edge surgical robotics technology, people with knowledge of the matter said. J&J is seeking to purchase Auris at a premium to the valuation from its latest funding round, according to the people, who asked ...

Bloomberg California’s utilities could get closer to junk-bond status as PG&E Corp’s collapse highlights the hazards of wildfire liability in the state. Edison International’s Southern California Edison Co as well as Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co were downgraded by S&P Global Ratings. The credit grader cited the continued risk of climate change crises and the absence of ...

Bloomberg The European Union is prepared to hit 20 billion euros ($22.7 billion) of US goods with tariffs should President Donald Trump follow through on a threat to impose duties on EU cars and auto parts, said a senior trade official for the bloc. The assertion by Jean-Luc Demarty, director general for trade in the European Commission, the EU’s executive ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE is the second largest Arab investor in Egypt with $5.9 billion in investments over the past four years until the end of 2018, according to a top Egyptian official. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the First Arab Corporate Citizenship Forum held on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, Chief Executive of the Egyptian General ...

DUBAI / WAM DP World on Wednesday announced that it has acquired an additional stake in DP World Australia (DPWA) from Gateway Infrastructure Investments and other financial investors, valuing DP World Australia at an enterprise val-ue of approximately AU$1.4 billion ($997 million). The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q1 2019. Following the closure ...