May, 2021

• 15 May

  Joe Biden’s $86 billion pension rescue set to boost corporate bonds

  

  Bloomberg US President Joe Biden’s pension bailout might do more than just support troubled retirement plans. It could also spur tens of billions of dollars in demand for corporate bonds with the lowest investment-grade ratings, according to Citigroup Inc. Struggling multi-employer pensions, which are often tied to unions, will be able to apply for special financial assistance, thanks to the ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Brazil’s currency will strengthen with reforms, says economy chief

  

  Bloomberg Brazil’s economy czar has a candid assessment of his three-year relationship with Jair Bolsonaro: both men trust each other and continue to push for key reforms, although the president’s support for his minister’s pro-market agenda has been waning. Paulo Guedes told Bloomberg News that key proposals to overhaul the country’s tax system and curb public-sector costs will be approved ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Colombian GDP smash forecasts in Q1

  Bloomberg Colombia’s economy grew much faster than expected at the start of the year, with record low interest rates supporting a revival in domestic demand. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.9% in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, more than three times the 0.9% median forecast from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. GDP rises 1.1% from ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Facebook loses challenge to Irish watchdog’s data curbs

  

  Bloomberg Facebook Inc lost a court fight over an initial order from a European Union (EU) privacy watchdog threatening its transfers of users’ data across the Atlantic. An Irish court rejected the social network’s challenge, saying it didn’t establish “any basis” for calling into question the Irish Data Protection Commission’s decision. The dispute is part of the fallout from July’s ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  China tech giants bet $19bn on global electric car frenzy

  

  Bloomberg China is shaping up to be the first real test of Big Tech’s ambitions in the world of carmaking, with giants from Huawei Technologies Co to Baidu Inc plowing almost $19 billion into electric and self-driving vehicle ventures widely seen as the future of transport. While Apple Inc has long had plans for its own car and Alphabet Inc ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Sony warns tight PlayStation 5 supply to extend into next year

  

  Bloomberg Sony Group Corp warned a group of analysts the PlayStation 5 (PS5) will remain in short supply through 2022, suggesting the company will be constrained in its ability to boost sales targets for its latest games console. While reporting financial results in late April, the Japanese conglomerate said it had sold 7.8 million units of the console through March ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Facebook helps Zara sell clothes using video games

  

  Bloomberg After building the world’s biggest clothing empire without using TV and billboard ads, the owner of fashion brand Zara is trying another way to market its dresses, jeans and jackets — video games. Spain’s Inditex SA is responding to the shift from physical stores to online sales by teaming up with Facebook and Instagram to develop “Pacific Game” to ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Alexa gets biggest auto rollout in six-year Ford deal

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is deepening its ties with Ford Motor Co. in a deal that will integrate Alexa into the entertainment system of F-150 trucks and other models. Amazon’s digital assistant will roll out to about 700,000 Ford vehicles this year, including new and recent models of the pickup, as well as the Bronco and the electric Mustang Mach-E in ...

  Read More »
• 15 May

  Hyundai set to make EVs in US

  Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Group, which owns both the Hyundai and Kia car brands, said it will build electric vehicles in the US as part of a $7.4 billion investment that also covers hydrogen refuelling stations and unmanned flying taxis. The investments will be made through 2025, Hyundai said in a statement. It didn’t specify how much money would go to ...

  Read More »
• 11 May

  Oil climbs as cyberattack knocks out US pipeline

  

  Bloomberg Crude oil climbed along with gasoline in New York after a cyberattack put the largest oil-products pipeline in the US out of action. West Texas Intermediate and Brent both rose as gasoline surged as much as 4.2% to the highest since May 2018, before paring gains. Colonial Pipeline Co, a supplier of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to the ...

  Read More »