Recent developments in the media world are suddenly highlighting the takeover value of also-ran TV-network operators such as AMC Networks Inc. and Viacom Inc., just as many of their stocks trade near lows. AT&T Inc.’s pending acquisition of Time Warner Inc., the parent of HBO, has been hogging the media spotlight, with the US Justice Department suing to block the ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is designing its own power-management chips for use in iPhones from as early as 2018, reducing its dependence on Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Japan’s Nikkei reported, without identifying its sources. The report sent Dialog plunging the most in almost eight months. Such chips handle charging and power-management functions in smartphones, and UK-based Dialog relies on Apple for about ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. announced new voice-activated tools for the workplace, hoping that verbal commands—“Alexa, print my spreadsheet”—will handle common office tasks. Alexa for Business will let users issue voice commands to begin a video conference or print documents, among a multitude of common workplace functions, Amazon said at its cloud computing conference in Las Vegas. “You no longer ever have ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made his first appearance at China’s World Internet Conference, using the surprise keynote to call for future internet and AI technologies to be infused with privacy, security and humanity. Cook made the comments on Sunday at the opening ceremony for the conference—an event designed to globally promote the country’s vision of a ...

Bloomberg As far as Brexit headaches go, Barclays Plc’s John McFarlane says that while his bank is on top of job relocations, he’s more concerned about rewriting “hundreds of thousands” of contracts. He’s not alone. Andrew Bailey, head of the UK Financial Conduct Authority, said “contract continuity” is among the biggest potential disruptions in a no-deal, no-transition Brexit. Both Bailey ...

Bloomberg One of Sweden’s main financial-worker unions says the job cuts announced in October by Nordea Bank AB are just the beginning of a transformation that’s about to hit the whole industry as more financial firms come to rely on digital solutions. The Nordic region’s biggest bank has yet to reveal to its staff who exactly will be affected by ...

Bloomberg If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That’s the calculation Australia’s biggest banks and the government have made in deciding to cave in to pressure for a public inquiry into alleged misconduct in the financial industry. After months of denouncing the idea of a Royal Commission as an expensive waste of time, the big four banks staged a backflip ...

Bloomberg A second daily surge in Europe’s overnight benchmark rate, which banks use to provide loans to one another, sparked widespread speculation among traders about the trigger, though there were no signs of wider funding stress. Some traders attributed the jump in the Eonia rate to possible year-end funding squeeze at some lenders, while others pinned it down to demand ...

Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc will close 259 more branches across Britain in its latest round of cuts as customers shift to online banking. Outlets under both the NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland brands will close in the middle of next year, resulting in about 680 job cuts, the company said. RBS said it will use the ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group and Jet Airways India Ltd. agreed to deepen an existing partnership with offerings on India- Europe routes together, giving the biggest European airline more seamless access to the world’s fastest growing major aviation market. The latest deal will offer travel options for 44 cities in India and 106 destinations across Europe, Jean-Marc Janaillac, chairman of Air ...