February, 2021

• 27 February

  Sunak plots tax raid to plug UK deficit, risking Tory rage

  

  Bloomberg Rishi Sunak can do self-restraint. After an addiction to drinking full-strength Coca-Cola resulted in seven fillings to his teeth, he rationed himself to a single Coke a week. When he comes to deliver his budget on Wednesday, the chancellor of the exchequer faces a battle to persuade his colleagues of the need to turn down the flow of government ...

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• 27 February

  US drops digital tax demand, opening door to global deal

  

  Bloomberg The US has dropped a key demand in negotiations over digital taxation of technology companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., lifting a barrier that had raised transatlantic trade tensions and prevented an international deal. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told her counterparts at a virtual meeting of Group of 20 finance officials that the US is no ...

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• 27 February

  Argentina considers using new IMF reserves for loan payment

  

  Bloomberg Argentina is considering using new reserves to be issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make a payment due to the lender in September, a move that would allow more time to overhaul an outstanding $45 billion loan. The new IMF reserve assets, called special drawing rights, or SDRs, would give cash-strapped Argentina fresh funding to pay the ...

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• 27 February

  Swiss economy rises at end of 2020

  Bloomberg Switzerland’s economy unexpectedly expanded at the end of last year, with foreign demand for its goods helping offset the impact of lockdown measures to control the pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.3% in the fourth quarter, compared with estimates for a stagnation in a Bloomberg survey of economists. “On the whole, the second wave of the coronavirus until ...

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• 27 February

  EU’s economy chief calls for new fiscal rules to aid recovery

  

  Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) fiscal rules should be adapted to allow for more spending to boost growth as countries struggle to pull their economies out of pandemic-induced recessions, according to the bloc’s top economic official. EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, speaking at the European Fiscal Board’s annual conference, reiterated calls to withdraw public support very gradually in order ...

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• 27 February

  For the posh, Bentley’s Flying Spur is practically pious

  

  Bloomberg Bentley isn’t the first brand that springs to mind when it comes to green driving. Tesla and Toyota have cornered that share of the market for now, flaunting electric-powered cars affordable for wide swaths of people who can overlook the appliance-like designs of the electric Model S and the Prius hybrid in favour of their fuel-efficient promise. But credit ...

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• 27 February

  Hyundai recalls 82,000 electric cars globally

  

  Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co. will recall about 82,000 electric cars globally and take an almost $900 million hit after South Korean government found defects in some of vehicles’ battery cells. The recall will be for EV models of the Kona, as well as the Ioniq and the company’s Elec City buses, that were manufactured between November 2017 and March 2020, ...

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• 27 February

  Huawei debuts $2,800 phone

  Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co. took the wraps off a high-end foldable smartphone to try and stake out a place in the fast-expanding category, revealing that revenue and profit barely grew in 2020 at the height of Trump-era sanctions. China’s largest technology company is trying to keep its shrinking mobile gadgets business alive despite dwindling expectations that Washington will roll back ...

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• 27 February

  Chip shortage may cut Ford, GM earnings

  Bloomberg The global semiconductor shortage will slash earnings at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. by about one-third this year as supply constraints hamper production and profits, Moody’s Investor Service estimates. The chip shortage will materially erode margins and could lower expected earnings before interest and taxes by as much as $2 billion for GM and $2.5 billion for ...

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• 27 February

  Apple working on magnetic battery pack for iPhones

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc. is working on a magnetically attached battery pack for the newest iPhones, an accessory that would wirelessly charge the handset and provide the company with another potentially lucrative add-on product. Apple has been developing the attachment for at least a year and it has been scheduled to launch in the months following the release of the iPhone ...

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