Bloomberg The European Commission on Monday insisted talks on a huge US free trade deal were on track, rejecting German claims that irreconcilable differences had left the deal dead in the water. “The ball is rolling right now. The Commission is making steady progress,†Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said when asked about comments by German vice chancellor and economy ...
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Mylan to sell EpiPen to quell outcry over US$600 cost
Bloomberg Mylan NV, the drugmaker under fire for pricing its EpiPen emergency allergy shots at $600, said it will introduce a generic version in coming weeks that will halve the price. The generic EpiPen will be identical to the branded product, including device functionality and drug formulation, and cost $300 per two-pack carton, Mylan said in a statement on ...
Read More »Italy manufacturing trust falls on static economy
Bloomberg Italian manufacturing confidence in August fell to the lowest since early last year, as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi struggles with a stagnant economy compounded by the massive destruction from last week’s deadly earthquake. Consumer confidence also fell. The business manufacturing gauge dropped to 101.1 in August, the lowest since Feb. 2015, from 102.9 the previous month. The median ...
Read More »Internet mogul Kim Dotcom demands live-stream of US extradition appeal
AFP Internet mogul Kim Dotcom launched his appeal on Monday against extradition to face video piracy charges in the United States, arguing for his case in New Zealand to be live-streamed to ensure a fair hearing. The German national and founder of the Megaupload file-sharing service, who has permanent residency in New Zealand, faces up to 20 years in ...
Read More »US consumer spending firm, inflation slows
Bloomberg US consumers spent at a solid pace in July while the key PCE index of inflation slowed, the Commerce Department reported on Monday. Consumer spending rose by 0.3 percent from June, with the gain underpinned mainly by automobile purchases while spending on non-durable goods and services declined. That followed an 0.4 percent gain in June, suggesting the consumer ...
Read More »More flights from US spell likely end for Cuba’s ‘mules’
AFP The start this week of the first regularly scheduled commercial flights from the United States augurs the likely demise of Cuba’s “mules†— suppliers of last resort for scarce consumer goods on the island. For more than half a century, commercial air travel between Cuba and the United States was all but non-existent, a victim of frosty Cold ...
Read More »Don’t panic over China private investment crash
Bloomberg Alarmed by a collapse in private investment in China and a surge in state spending? Calm down, say three analysts, who argue that data problems are exaggerating the trend. Investment numbers this year aren’t completely comparable with 2015 because they include firms that recently migrated from the private to the state sector, says Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow ...
Read More »Japan’s minister sees wages as key to Abenomics
Bloomberg Wage growth is the key to escaping deflation and realizing the promise of Abenomics, according to regional economy minister Kozo Yamamoto, a recent appointee to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet. “If you consistently raise wages every year, people will start to consume and invest,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Aug. 26. Yamamoto stressed the ...
Read More »Biggest Indian LNG refiner on buying binge
Bloomberg Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner that’s also boosting its liquefied natural gas business, is lifting purchases of the fuel to take advantage of a price plunge amid a glut. The state-run company plans to buy two LNG shipments per month in the spot market for six months from October, according to Debasis Sen, director of planning ...
Read More »Mitsubishi sees 3 years for shift from commodities
Bloomberg Japan’s biggest-trading house has had its fill of commodities. After posting the first annual loss in its post-World War II history amid the collapse in commodity prices, Mitsubishi Corp. is shifting away from raw materials to make sure it never happens again. That process is going to take at least three years, according to Chief Financial Officer Kazuyuki ...
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