December, 2021

• 14 December

  Antony Blinken blasts China, seeks to rally US allies in Asia

  

    Bloomberg Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised China’s “aggressive actions” in Asia while laying out plans to more closely integrate US allies and security partners in Asia. During a key policy speech in Jakarta, Blinken underscored US efforts to deliver high-quality infrastructure and vaccines to the region while working closer on security issues. He said the Biden administration doesn’t ...

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• 14 December

  Belarus sentences opposition leader’s husband to 18 years

  

    Bloomberg Exiled opposition leader of Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya vowed to continue her campaign against authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko after a court in the country jailed her husband for 18 years. “The dictator publicly takes revenge on his strongest opponents,” Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter, following the conviction of Siarhei Tskihanouski at a closed trial in a Belarus prison. “We won’t ...

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• 14 December

  EU revives Serbia’s accession process

  

    Bloomberg The European Union (EU) agreed to broaden accession talks with Serbia, the largest of the six Balkan countries aspiring to join the bloc, reviving a process that had shown little progress for two years. None of the Balkan aspirants are expected to join the bloc before 2025 at the earliest, as enlargement fatigue and a decade of crises ...

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• 14 December

  Europe to surpass $100bn in startup funding this year

  

      Bloomberg Europe’s technology sector is set to bring in more than $100 billion of annual investment for the first time this year, capping off a period of deal-making and surging valuations. With nearly three times as much capital projected to be raised this year compared with 2020, the total number of tech companies in Europe valued at more ...

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• 14 December

  ‘Canadians lack confidence in fight to curb inflation’

  

    Bloomberg Canadians are unconvinced that policy makers will be able to rein inflation back to pre-pandemic levels, a worrying development that could reinforce the need for the Bank of Canada to be vigilant about price pressures. A large majority of Canadians, or 63.5%, say they lack confidence that inflation will return to more normal levels, according to a survey ...

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• 14 December

  French economy shows little sign of succumbing to omicron angst

  

    Bloomberg French economic activity will continue to rise in December, despite another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and fresh uncertainty over the omicron variant, according the Bank of France. Completed at the end of last week, the central bank’s monthly survey of 8,500 firms is the first indicator of how businesses in the euro area’s second-largest economy are faring ...

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• 14 December

  Getty Images to return to public markets

    Bloomberg Getty Images will merge with a blank-check firm backed by CC Capital and Neuberger Berman, returning a company bearing one of most storied names in business to the public market. The deal values the Seattle-based licensing provider of stock and news photos at $4.8 billion including debt, according to a statement. The agreement with CC Neuberger Principal Holdings ...

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• 14 December

  UK homeowners enjoy a $4trn untaxed property windfall

  

    Bloomberg British homeowners have enjoyed a $4 trillion untaxed wealth windfall from rising property values over the last 20 years that is unlikely to be repeated, with the bulk of riches going to the well-off, the over 60s and those living in London. In a report calling for gains to be taxed, the Resolution Foundation said the surge in ...

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• 14 December

  Apple ends lower as $3trillion market value proves elusive

  

    Bloomberg Apple Inc shares fall, with the iPhone maker retreating in the wake of a recent advance that brought it within striking distance of what would be a historic $3 trillion market valuation. The stock closed down 2.1% at $175.74. This was Apple’s biggest one-day percentage loss since the broad market selloff on November 26, and it resulted in ...

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• 14 December

  China Mobile poised for Shanghai mega listing after US ban

  

    Bloomberg China Mobile Ltd, the country’s largest wireless carrier by revenue, has received approval from regulators to list in Shanghai after being removed from the New York Stock Exchange due to an investment ban ordered by former President Donald Trump. The state-run enterprise got the nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to issue A-shares, according to a filing ...

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