Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. will pay commissions to gamers, artists, chefs and others on its Twitch Interactive video-streaming service for selling products to their fans through its retail site. Think of it as video-game broadcasters hosting virtual Tupperware parties. Except they’re more likely to hawk headsets and consoles than salad spinners. At least for now. Twitch announced the initiative ahead of ...
Read More »News
Merkel says diesel bans to be avoided as clean-air aid doubled
Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel said German authorities are committed to avoiding city driving bans for diesel cars and pledged to double a federal clean-air fund to 1 billion euros. Merkel sought to address fallout from Germany’s diesel scandal during a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, a day after her main election opponent pressed her in a television debate to ...
Read More »Britain seeks tougher laws on corporate financial crime
Bloomberg A proposal to toughen UK laws to make it easier to hold companies accountable for financial crime is still under consideration by the government after years of back and forth, according to a speech from the solicitor general. “The weaknesses in our current law result in other jurisdictions holding British companies to account when ours has not,†Robert Buckland ...
Read More »US jobs engine keeps defying forecasts for 2017 slowdown
Bloomberg In an economy growing at a moderate pace at best, the US job market keeps on shining. Payroll gains topped forecasts in five of the past seven months, putting the 2017 average increase of 184,000 almost on par with last year’s 187,000 and above levels typical for the eight-year expansion. Analysts expect barely any falloff from that pace in ...
Read More »Brexit news just background noise for sterling traders
Bloomberg Brexit has taken a back seat for traders and fund managers trying to predict the pound’s outlook over the next few months. Implied volatility in sterling is the among the lowest in the Group-of-10 countries over the next three months. This is despite the failure of the third round of separation talks between the UK and the European Union ...
Read More »Sequoia, IDG to invest in China bitcoin mining giant
Bloomberg Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital are investing in Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies Ltd., the world’s largest bitcoin mining organisation, according to people familiar with the matter. Bitmain is raising $50 million from several venture firms to boost its profile among mainstream investors, said one of the people, who asked not to be named. Sequoia and the other firms also plan ...
Read More »Kakao counts on Japan’s Manga love to break through overseas
Bloomberg Asia’s messaging apps have a history of becoming huge in their home market before struggling to gain traction overseas. South Korea’s Kakao Corp. is counting on the Japanese love of manga comics to break that trend. Amassing 43 million users at home has driven Kakao’s market value to $7.2 billion but it’s little known outside Korea, a factor that’s ...
Read More »Hyundai names new China boss after disputes
Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co. appointed a new chief for its China operations after payment disputes with vendors resulted in temporary shutdowns last month at four of its factories in the automaker’s biggest market. Tao Hung Tan replaced Chang Won-shin as the chief executive officer of Beijing Hyundai Motor starting September 1, the Seoul-based company said, without elaborating on the reasons ...
Read More »India plans for gold bourse rules in November
Bloomberg India plans to finalise trading specifications for the country’s new spot gold exchange in November amid a push to improve transparency in the world’s second-biggest bullion market, people familiar with the matter said. A panel of finance ministry and trade ministry officials, as well as industry groups including refiners, jewelry associations and export and import firms, plan to have ...
Read More »McDonald’s stops burger sales in S Korea
Bloomberg McDonald’s Corp.’s South Korean unit is cooperating with government authorities investigating a possible food-contamination case that prompted the company to suspend sales of its bulgogi burger. South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has started a probe into the cause behind some customers taking ill after consuming food at a McDonald’s restaurant in Jeonju, located south of Seoul, ...
Read More »