May, 2020

• 16 May

  Air Canada to cut about 22,800 jobs

  

  Bloomberg Air Canada will cut at least 20,000 jobs, or about half its workforce, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Press reported. The job cuts will be effective from June 7 and could affect as many as 22,800 workers, according to an internal company email seen by the Canadian Press. The downsizing will reduce the airline’s workforce by 50% to …

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• 16 May

  Nike sales trends outstrip rivals ‘by far’, says Credit Suisse

  

  Bloomberg Nike Inc has been among the chief beneficiaries of a “significant acceleration in athletic apparel/footwear trends” over the past couple of weeks as stores in several states began reopening after the Covid-19 pandemic closed all but essential businesses across the country, according to Credit Suisse Securities analyst Michael Binetti. “Athletic trends looked very bad” at the start of the …

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• 16 May

  Video-game addiction poised to spread

  

  Bloomberg With much of the US and Europe in lockdown, video-game use has exploded. It’s become a way for millions of quarantined people to pass the time and stay connected to others without spreading coronavirus — and health officials have applauded the idea. But for some percentage of users, the binge comes with a dark side: internet and gaming addiction. …

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• 16 May

  TSMC plans $12 billion US chip plant

  

  Bloomberg Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to spend $12 billion building a chip plant in Arizona, a decision designed to allay US national security concerns and shift more high-tech manufacturing to America. TSMC said it will start construction of its next major fabrication facility in 2021, to be completed by 2024. While the investment falls short of its previous expenditure …

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• 16 May

  Voodoo backers consider stake sale in mobile game

  

  Bloomberg Voodoo SAS’s backers are exploring the sale of a stake in the French mobile game developer, people with knowledge of the matter said. Shareholders of Voodoo are working with an adviser as they consider selling part or all of their holdings in the company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. …

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• 16 May

  Facebook buys animated image library Giphy for $400 million

  

  Bloomberg Facebook Inc. acquired Giphy, a library of video clips and animated images known as GIFs that can be attached to messages to express emotion, adding features that could encourage users to communicate through its apps. Giphy will join the Instagram group within Facebook, according to a blog post, and the social-media giant has extended offers to more than 100 …

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• 16 May

  Fiat seeks state-backed loan of $6.8b amid virus

  

  Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is in talks to obtain a state-backed credit line of about 6.3 billion euros ($6.8 billion) to buttress the carmaker’s finances against the steep downturn caused by the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter. Fiat’s local unit is discussing the facility with lead lender Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, the people said, asking not to …

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• 16 May

  Ubisoft Sues Apple, Google Over Alibaba’s Rainbow Six “Ripoff”

  Bloomberg Ubisoft Entertainment SA sued Apple Inc. and Google LLC, accusing the companies of selling a ripoff of its popular video game “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege.” “Area F2,” created by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.’s Ejoy.com, is a “near carbon copy” of Rainbow Six: Siege, and that can’t be “seriously be disputed,” Ubisoft said in a complaint filed Friday in …

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• 15 May

  IEA sees oil market improving amid sharp drop in output

  

  Bloomberg The outlook for global oil markets has “improved somewhat,” with demand a little stronger than expected and supply reined in by a brutal price crash, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. World oil production is on track for a “historic decline” this month to the lowest level in nine years, the IEA said in a monthly report. Opec and …

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• 14 May

  World’s most controversial gas pipeline nears ‘endgame’

  

  Bloomberg Construction of the world’s most controversial natural gas pipeline is about to enter the endgame of an energy dispute that’s pitted the US against Russia and some of its closest trans-Atlantic allies, satellite images show. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, built to increase the flow of Russian gas into Europe’s biggest economy, was thwarted five months ago after US …

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