Bloomberg The first phase of Brexit talks is done. Now comes the hard part. UK Prime Minister Theresa May has secured agreement from the European Union to move on from discussing the divorce terms to mapping out a plan for the future trade relationship. Before that, she wants to nail down a transition deal as soon as possible. This is …

Bloomberg BMW AG’s needs for car-battery raw materials such as cobalt and lithium will surge 10-fold by the middle of the next decade, pushing the German carmaker increasingly to forge long-term deals as shortages loom. Purchase contracts with five- to 10-year time frames are close to being completed, the manufacturer’s head of procurement told reporters in Munich. Concerns about supply …

Bloomberg China wants to deepen financial and investment links with the UK as Britain seeks to boost two-way trade once it leaves the European Union. Vice Premier Ma Kai said both countries should also push cooperation to a new level in areas including nuclear-power generation, manufacturing, high-speed rail, high-end manufacturing, and trade and investment liberalisation. “The United Kingdom has obvious …

Bloomberg Fresh details of Uber Technologies Inc.’s alleged surveillance tactics and in particular its scraping of competitors’ information from the internet were revealed in a court filing. Prosecutors involved in a criminal investigation of Uber learned of the tactics from a former manager of the company’s global intelligence unit who had documented them in a letter to an in-house lawyer …

Bloomberg Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called out Russia and China at the UN for giving North Korea an economic lifeline, even as the top US diplomat struggled to staunch confusion over the US position on conditions for talks with Kim Jong Un’s regime. Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Tillerson said China and Russia’s refusal to sever ties with …

WASHINGTON / YANGON / Reuters The United States has identified one person it might impose sanctions on over the brutal crackdown in Myanmar against minority Rohingya Muslims and is examining others, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. Tillerson, who last month declared the violence against the Rohingya to be “ethnic cleansing,” has said Washington was considering “targeted sanctions” against …

Bloomberg Vice President Mike Pence will seek to show on a trip to the Mideast next week that the Trump administration can still partner with Arab and Muslim leaders on security matters and broker peace despite the backlash following President Donald Trump’s declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Pence is expected to receive an enthusiastic welcome from leaders in Israel. …

Bloomberg Angela Merkel said Germany needs a stable government to strengthen Europe in a world fraught with risk as her Social Democratic rivals agreed to talks that could lead to a renewed alliance with the chancellor. As she seeks to end Germany’s political stalemate and clear the way for her fourth term, Merkel argued that a EU without a strong …

Bloomberg Opposition lawmakers began an effort to force Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski out of office after he rebuffed calls to resign over his ties to companies that received payments from disgraced Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA. Congressmen from three parties presented a motion to remove the center-right president on the grounds of moral incapacity. The unicameral Congress will hold an …

When historians examine President Trump’s tax programme, they will surely be struck by a large and momentous contradiction. Although the nation faces endless budget deficits — and although the president purports to speak about the future — his tax programme does little or nothing to curb long-term deficits and, arguably, might make them worse. It is said that the tax …