Bloomberg A plan to sell bankrupt JC Penney Co’s retail operations to its two biggest landlords stalled, raising the prospect that creditors will carry the burden of millions of dollars in extra costs as the retailer prepares for the crucial holiday season. Talks between JC Penney’s lenders and the would-be buyers, mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, ...

Bloomberg New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern swept to a historic election victory and said she will use her mandate to rebuild an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and tackle social inequality. Ardern’s Labour Party secured the first outright majority in parliament since the introduction of proportional representation in 1996 and, if preliminary results stand, its biggest share of ...

Bloomberg At least 13 people were killed and more than 50 others were injured in a missile attack on Azerbaijan’s second-largest city of Ganca overnight, the authorities in Baku said. A residential building was shelled around 1 am, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said on its website. Search and rescue efforts continued after 13 bodies were pulled from the rubble ...

Bloomberg Protests against police brutality continued in major cities across Nigeria, with demands evolving beyond ending police excesses to calls for good governance across the board. Vigils were held in major cities overnight, as regional strains emerged, with youth protesters in several northern Nigerian towns demanding urgent steps to end insecurity and an insurgency that has plagued the region for ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s government called on police to intensify their crackdown on protesters following a night of clashes between officers and activists, with demonstrations planned for a fourth straight day. Thousands of anti-government protesters defied emergency rules and a ban on large gatherings as they held a rally at a busy intersection in central Bangkok after Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha rejected ...

Bloomberg India is identifying 300 million people who will receive the initial dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the Times of India newspaper reported on Saturday. Priority will be given to workers in high-risk sectors such as police, healthcare, sanitation, elderly people and those with co-morbidities, the report said, citing officials it didn’t identify. The shots, which will include a booster ...

Bloomberg Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim reported to police and gave a statement on issues including allegations against him and his announcement that the current government had fallen. “The investigations were carried out professionally without any political pressure or orders from any quarters,” Huzir Mohamed, police criminal investigation department director, said. Anwar was summoned just days after he had an ...

Bloomberg The US budget deficit more than tripled to a record $3.1 trillion in the latest fiscal year on the government’s massive spending aimed at softening the blow from the coronavirus pandemic. The increase brought the deficit as a share of gross domestic product to 16% in the year ending in September, the largest since 1945, a Treasury Department report ...

Bloomberg The UK, beset by growing coronavirus concerns and struggling to bridge the gap with the European Union over a post-Brexit trade deal, has had its credit rating cut by Moody’s Investors Service. The credit assessor cited softer economic growth, an erosion of fiscal strength and a weakening in institutions and governance as it lowered the nation’s grade by one ...

Bloomberg Justin Trudeau’s government is set to launch a diversity challenge as part of an effort to increase the share of women and minority groups in corporate leadership positions. The goal of the program — called the 50/30 challenge — is to encourage companies to reach gender parity on their boards and in senior management positions, and 30% representation of ...