Bloomberg Walmart Inc’s Jetblack, a personal-shopping service for busy urban families, will cease operations on February 21, according to a company spokesman. The brainchild of Walmart’s online chief Marc Lore, Jetblack will be integrated into the parent company’s operations and its technology applied to other parts of the retailer. Nearly 300 employees will be let go as part of the ...

Bloomberg Kraft Heinz Co, the iconic food giant created in a merger five years ago, was downgraded to junk by two credit raters, raising fresh worries among investors that a slowing economy could threaten the broader corporate bond market. The packaged-food company was cut one level to BB+ by S&P Global Ratings, following Fitch Ratings last week. It will now ...

Bloomberg Saks, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and other luxury retailers were accused in a lawsuit of agreeing to not hire sales clerks from each other’s stores in violation of US antitrust law. The companies conspired to enter into “no-hire agreements” that prohibit them from hiring employees who have worked within six months for rival brands, according to the complaint filed last ...

Bloomberg China’s spending on overseas energy projects has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade, as the nation focusses on domestic issues and rethinks its strategy around indebtedness and the world’s energy mix. The nation’s foreign energy financing dropped by 69% to $3.2 billion in 2019, according to data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. Only three ...

Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co is starting a new decade with a new chief in charge of its mobile business, but it’s doing it in the same old fashion: by leaning into its semiconductor advantage to overwhelm consumers with unmatched specs on its latest Galaxy devices. Announced at simultaneous events in San Francisco and London, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 family of Android ...

Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Group has struck a deal to develop electric vehicles (EV) with Los Angeles-based startup Canoo. Under the terms of the agreement, Hyundai and its Kia affiliate will gain access to Canoo’s engineers and technology as the two South Korean automakers look to expand their production of EVs. Hyundai and Kia both recently announced plans to invest heavily ...

Bloomberg Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok will have to reveal users’ identities if Indian government agencies ask them to, according to the country’s controversial new rules for social media companies and messaging apps expected to be published later this month. The requirement comes as governments around the world are trying to hold social media companies more accountable for the content ...

Bloomberg The wireless industry scrapped its biggest annual showcase after the coronavirus outbreak sparked an exodus of participants, roiling telecom companies just as they’re preparing to roll out new 5G services. It’s the first time in Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona’s 33-year history that organisers have called off the event, which draws more than 100,000 participants from across the world ...

Bloomberg The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said global central banks and governments may need to unite to fight the economic fallout from the coronavirus as banks lower growth forecasts. “From our perspective, it is very important to follow carefully what is going to happen in the next weeks,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on a panel ...

Bloomberg The coronavirus outbreak in China is putting pressure on price stability because production has been delayed but it will not lead to large-scale inflationary pressures, according to China’s central bank. The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) stance is unchanged and it will maintain prudent monetary policy, Deputy Governor Fan Yifei said at a press conference in Beijing on Saturday. ...