May, 2019

• 4 May

  Watches of Switzerland considers IPO as Apollo reduces stake

  

  Bloomberg Watches of Switzerland Group, the UK’s biggest seller of luxury timepieces, said it’s considering an initial public offering in London that could help fuel expansion into the US market. The move would allow private-equity company Apollo Global Management to reduce its stake in the retailer, which handles about half of Rolex’s UK sales. It also could give impetus to …

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• 4 May

  Brexit gives London homebuyers biggest discount in a decade

  

  Bloomberg Homebuyers took advantage of Brexit uncertainty to get steep discounts in London’s fanciest neighborhoods in the first quarter. Prices for homes under 2 million pounds ($2.6 million) in the capital’s most sought-after districts fell the most in a decade in the three months through March as politicians failed to agree on a deal for the UK’s orderly withdrawal from …

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• 4 May

  Robots race to unload trucks in Amazon-era

  

  Bloomberg As FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc beef up automation to keep pace with surging e-commerce and a potential threat from Amazon.com Inc, they’ve been stumped at a crucial stage: loading and unloading trucks. Robot makers are getting close to solving part of that puzzle. Siemens AG and Honeywell International Inc have built machines that pull packages from …

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• 4 May

  SpaceX launches Falcon rocket with Dragon

  

  Bloomberg Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp launched its 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for longtime customer NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule rumbled aloft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Dragon will deliver almost 5,500 pounds of science, supplies and hardware, according to NASA, and is slated to attach to …

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• 4 May

  Drone makes its first flight guided by air jets, not flaps

  

  Bloomberg A drone developed with the backing of UK defense giant BAE Systems Plc has become the first plane since the dawn of aviation to be maneuvered without the aid of wing flaps. The Magma model is flown by blowing air from its engine at supersonic speeds through slots in the wings. The technology is lighter, more reliable and cheaper …

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• 4 May

  Fiat CEO sees ‘significant opportunities’ for auto partnerships

  

  Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s CEO Mike Manley said he sees “very significant opportunities” to partner with other automakers on autonomy and electrification projects in the next two to three years. Fiat is seeking to fix a business that is losing money in Asia and Europe while sales in North America, which generates the lion’s share of the company’s profits, …

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• 4 May

  Fed officials diverge on need for possible interest rate cut

  

  Bloomberg Two Federal Reserve officials laid out the case for a possible interest-rate cut just days after Chairman Jerome Powell said there was no reason to move in either direction. Two other US central bankers sounded more comfortable with the current policy stance. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, both policy voters …

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• 4 May

  Pakistan fires central bank, tax body chiefs

  

  Bloomberg Pakistan’s government removed the governor of the central bank and the head of the tax authority amid the nation’s bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. Tariq Bajwa, chief of the State Bank of Pakistan, and Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan were fired because of their “performance,” Firdous Ashiq Awan, a special assistant to Prime Minister …

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• 4 May

  BOE hints at slow rate hikes even as growth improves

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) signalled that it’s in no rush to raise interest rates despite stronger economic growth, as policy makers stayed united on the need to keep borrowing costs on hold for now. In an upbeat set of forecasts, Governor Mark Carney and his colleagues upgraded their expectations for growth, saying unemployment will fall further and the …

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• 4 May

  India central bank chief seen as ‘safe’ no matter who wins vote

  

  Bloomberg India’s central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das has built up support on both sides of the political divide, making his position relatively safe under a new government no matter who wins the election. As an ex-career bureaucrat, Das has worked under administrations led by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Indian National Congress. He’s likely …

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