Bloomberg Go-Jek, Indonesia’s first billion-dollar startup, is looking to expand its ride-hailing services to three to four countries in Southeast Asia, escalating its rivalry with Grab and Uber Technologies Inc. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nadiem Makarim didn’t specify the countries or services that Go-Jek will target, but said in an interview they will be places with a large population ...
Read More »Blog Layout
N Korea gets second route to internet via Russia
Bloomberg North Korea now has two ways to get on the internet, thanks to a new connection from Russia, according to cybersecurity outfit FireEye Inc. Russian telecommunications company TransTeleCom opened a new link for users in North Korea, Bryce Boland, chief technology officer for the Asia-Pacific region at FireEye, said in an interview on Monday. Until now, state-owned China United ...
Read More »Trump plan aims new foreign tax at Apple and other MNCs
Bloomberg On the last page of a nine-page tax plan that calls for slashing business rates, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans proposed a little-noticed, brand-new tax that may hit companies like Apple Inc. and Pfizer Inc. It’s contained in one sentence: “To prevent companies from shifting profits to tax havens, the framework includes rules to protect the US tax ...
Read More »Hard Brexit seen stinging UK’s auto, tech, health sectors
Bloomberg A hard Brexit could be a lot more painful for the UK than for the European Union. Britain’s automotive, technology, health-care and consumer goods sectors may lose $22.8 billion a year in export revenues when the UK leaves the single market and customs union, according to a report released on Monday by Chicago-based law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP ...
Read More »Euro area factories add jobs in struggle to keep up with orders
Bloomberg Euro-area factories are scrambling to add staff as burgeoning orders stretch capacity. A Purchasing Managers Index for the region’s manufacturing industry rose to 58.1 in September from 57.4 the previous month, London-based IHS Markit said on Monday. That compares with a preliminary reading of 58.2 and is the highest level in more than six and a half years. A ...
Read More »Square strikes processing deal with Eventbrite
Bloomberg Square Inc. struck an agreement to process payments for ticketing service Eventbrite and made a strategic investment in the startup, part of the digital-payments company’s push into online commerce, an area dominated by larger players like PayPal Holdings Inc. San Francisco-based Square invested $25 million in Eventbrite, which lets event organisers sell tickets and promote and manage events. Eventbrite, ...
Read More »Uber board to vote on cutting ex-CEO’s power
Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. directors plan to vote on Tuesday on board reforms and whether to pursue a major stock deal with SoftBank Group Corp. despite the surprise appointment of two new members by ousted Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, two people familiar with the matter said. Those two coordinated moves could drastically reshape the ride-hailing company’s governance, while officially ...
Read More »Car sales stabilise as ‘insurance’ checks roll in
Bloomberg As Hurricane Harvey poured on Houston, Frank Rodriguez feared for his 2014 GMC Sierra. Once he saw the pickup’s soaking-wet interior and center console full of water, he knew it was a lost cause. He just hoped his insurance company would agree and cut him a check. Despite a dearth of inspectors in southern Texas to review the damage ...
Read More »US stocks, dollar advance as Spain woes hit euro
Bloomberg US stocks gained with the dollar, while Treasuries fell as investors assessed the prospect for tax cuts. The euro weakened in the wake of political turmoil in Spain. The S&P 500 Index hovered near a record high to start the fourth quarter, with investors also watching developments in Las Vegas, where at least 50 people have died in the ...
Read More »Saudi underperforms region but car-related shares rise again
Reuters Most stock markets in the Middle East made small gains on Monday with Egypt hitting yet another all-time high, while the Saudi Arabian index edged down. The Riyadh index lost 0.1 percent; the banking sector was soft with Banque Saudi Fransi dropping 1.3 percent. Shares of telecommunications operator Atheeb, which had been suspended by the capital markets regulator since ...
Read More »