January, 2023

• 21 January

  Holcim eyes deals drive to push beyond cement: CEO

    Bloomberg Holcim Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Jan Jenisch said he’s looking to continue an acquisition drive at the Swiss building material maker as he pivots away from traditional cement. Jenisch said in an interview this week that Holcim has “the strongest balance sheet ever, which opens up many opportunities for continued acquisitions and investments.” The CEO said the company ...

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• 21 January

  UK employers keep hiring despite drop in consumer confidence

  

    Bloomberg UK employers unleashed a hiring spree at the start of 2023 even as consumer confidence about the economy stalled, two separate surveys showed. There were more than 184,000 new job advertisements in the first week of January, up by a quarter on the same period a year ago, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation. The market research ...

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• 21 January

  BE Group makes takover approach for Ageas

    Bloomberg BE Group, an investment firm fronted by former bankers, has made a fresh attempt at a takeover of Belgium’s biggest insurer Ageas, people familiar with the matter said. The consortium recently approached Ageas and has been trying to secure financing for a potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Shares in Ageas ...

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• 21 January

  Google to cut 12,000 jobs in 6% slash to global workforce

  

    Bloomberg Google parent Alphabet Inc. said it will cut about 12,000 jobs, more than 6% of its global workforce, becoming the latest tech giant to retrench after years of abundant growth and hiring. The cuts will affect jobs globally and across the entire company, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told employees in an email on Friday, writing that he ...

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• 21 January

  Germany says tanks would go to Ukraine quickly after any deal

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said his government hasn’t made a decision yet on supplying its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine but that it could move quickly if an agreement can be reached with Nato allies. Speaking to reporters after talks at the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, Pistorius said that defense ministers and military officials had ...

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• 21 January

  France lifts military budget as risk of high intensity war grows

  

    Bloomberg France will increase its defense budget over six years as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to adjust the nation’s military to new threats posed by the war in Ukraine and technological attacks. In a speech Friday, Macron said he expects the state to spend 400 billion euros ($433 billion) between 2024 and 2030, an increase from the 295 billion ...

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• 21 January

  US steps up pressure on Turkey to ratify Nato’s Nordic expansion

  

    Bloomberg The US signaled growing impatience with Turkey over its resistance to ratifying Nato’s expansion to Sweden and Finland. “The United States urges remaining allies to quickly ratify their accession,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in an account of a call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto. He used similar language in ...

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• 21 January

  Vietnam succession battle heats up as president ousted

  

    Bloomberg Over the past few years, Vietnamese Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong has won praise from investors for removing corrupt officials. Now as some big names fall, it’s becoming clear his campaign serves another purpose: strengthening his hand in choosing a successor. This week Nguyen Xuan Phuc was ousted as president after assuming “political responsibility” for the “violations ...

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• 21 January

  US wants to oppose China, EU wants to engage it: Le Maire

    Bloomberg Europe mustn’t get embroiled in a standoff between China and the US, and should instead forge its own path in strengthening economic relations, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. There is a “slight gap” between how Europe and the US deal with China, he told Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It’s ...

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• 21 January

  Global bond issuance reaches record of nearly $600 billion

  

    Bloomberg The best start to a year for bond returns is helping fuel an unprecedented debt-sale bonanza by governments and companies around the world of more than half a trillion dollars. From European banks to Asian corporates and developing-nation sovereigns, virtually every corner of the new issue market is booming, thanks in part to a rally that’s seen global ...

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