March, 2019

• 23 March

  Metro’s $1.5bn China sale draws Tencent

  

  Bloomberg German food wholesaler Metro AG’s Chinese business has attracted potential bidders including internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and domestic buyout firm Citic Private Equity, people with knowledge of the matter said. Metro kicked off its sale of a controlling stake in the Chinese unit this month and first-round offers are expected to be submitted in April, according to the …

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• 23 March

  China baby formula maker Feihe revives $1 billion IPO

  

  Bloomberg China Feihe Ltd, an infant formula producer, is restarting preparations for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Heilongjiang-based company plans to sell shares as soon as this year, according to the people. Feihe is working with China Merchants Securities Co and JPMorgan Chase …

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• 23 March

  Grounding of 737 Max seen swaying some US economic data

  

  Bloomberg The grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max after a second crash is poised to start percolating through major US economic indicators ranging from international trade to durable goods, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. For now, the issues affecting the aircraft probably won’t have a short-run impact on gross domestic product because production continues, but they will affect the composition …

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• 20 March

  Mubadala, Tencent mull bids for $3 billion Watson stake

  

  Bloomberg Mubadala Development Co, the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, and Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd are weighing bids for part of Temasek Holdings Pte’s stake in global retailer AS Watson Group, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Singapore state investment company is considering selling around a 10 percent stake in AS Watson for about $3 billion, according …

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• 20 March

  Google fined $1.7bn by EU in antitrust case

  Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Google was fined 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) by the European Union (EU) for thwarting advertising rivals, a penalty that may be EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vest-ager’s third and final attack on US tech giant. It brings the total Google has been ordered to pay to 8.2 billion euros in EU antitrust probes that have run for …

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• 20 March

  US stocks recover as Fed signals no 2019 rate hikes

  

  Bloomberg US equities erased earlier losses after the Federal Reserve signalled that it won’t raise rates this year, saying economic growth has slowed. Ten-year Treasury yields narrowed and the dollar fell. As was widely expected, the central bank didn’t announce an interest-rate increase on Wednesday and took any hike off the table for 2019. That dovish turn was enough to …

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• 20 March

  Mixed day for India equities as indexes halt rally

  

  Bloomberg Indian equities closed mixed with traders cautious ahead of a public holiday and a US interest rate decision. Key stock indexes had gained in the previous seven days to more than six-month highs. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex swung at least twelve times between losses and gains before ending the day up 0.1 percent at 38,386.75 in Mumbai. The …

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• 20 March

  UAE happiest nation in Arab world for 5th year in a row

  

  NEW YORK / WAM The UAE was ranked first in the Arab region in the World Happiness Report (WHR) for the fifth consecutive year. According to a statement issued by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which produces the World Happiness Report, “In 2016, the United Arab Emirates committed to implementing a happiness and wellbeing policy agenda within …

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• 20 March

  Oil rally stalls near $59 as US-China trade jitters return

  

  Bloomberg Oil’s rally stuttered as uncertainty over the status of trade negotiations between the US and China stoked concerns over global economic growth. Futures for May fell as much as 1.2 percent in New York. China was said to be pushing back against American demands, raising speculation that trade tensions between the world’s biggest economies will persist. Still, the price …

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• 20 March

  Merkel seeks distance from German bank merger

  

  Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it’s up to Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG executives to decide if their historic merger plans make sense, exposing divisions in the coalition. The plan to combine Germany’s two biggest lenders is a private business matter, Merkel said at the Global Solutions summit in Berlin, after the lenders announced talks on a deal …

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