August, 2020

• 24 August

  Blackstone gains $5b on LNG stake

  Bloomberg Blackstone Group will see a $5 billion gain from selling a stake in the largest liquefied natural gas export terminal in the US. The firm’s private equity business is unloading its stake of just over 40% of Cheniere Energy Partners LP to Brookfield Asset Management Inc and its own affiliated infrastructure group, according to a filing. Brookfield negotiated the ...

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• 24 August

  Popular elections have ruined the US Senate

  

  More than three weeks after the Cares Act expired, Congress is still deadlocked on its replacement — and the main stumbling block is in the Senate. Republicans are fractured and disorganised, while their Democratic counterparts are afraid of doing anything that might be seen as undermining the House. The Senate’s inability to pass major legislation has long enraged Democrats. During ...

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• 24 August

  Was reopening EU borders a mistake?

  

  Was is it all for nothing? With Spain, France and Germany recording the highest number of virus cases since they emerged from lockdown, the danger that Europe blows its best chance of taming the coronavirus grows by the day. The hope was that we could relax travel and social restrictions this summer because people are much less likely to catch ...

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• 24 August

  Clothing stores fight back amid pandemic

  The pandemic has made for an extremely difficult environment when it comes to selling clothes. With no parties on the calendar, no meetings to attend and no vacations in the offing, shoppers have had little reason to go on a spree for new outfits, and the enticement of hunting the racks for something new has simply evaporated. As a result, ...

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• 24 August

  There’s only one way to keep kids in school

  September is being cast as a fresh start for the Covid-battered UK. Children will return to school, their parents can resume disrupted work lives and Britain’s economy can begin to right itself. Is there anything a shiny new pencil case can’t fix? “Even as adults, that feeling of going back to school after the summer often stays with us,” wrote ...

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• 24 August

  Alibaba investors convert US shares for Hong Kong

  

  Bloomberg Several of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s biggest investors have converted billions of dollars in US shares for Hong Kong stock in part to avoid potential US sanctions and de-listings of major Chinese technology companies. Temasek Group Holdings Pte, Baillie Gifford & Co, and Matthews Asia are among the major shareholders that have swapped stakes in the Chinese e-commerce giant ...

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• 24 August

  Thailand looking at safe plans to reopen borders to boost economy

  

  Bloomberg Thailand is cautiously looking at plans to reopen its borders as it struggles to survive an extended period without international visitors, who account for about two-thirds of the country’s tourism income. “The virus won’t go away soon and we have to think about the economy. But we can’t just reopen the borders. We have to be careful,” Transport Minister ...

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• 24 August

  India marks grim milestone with 3 million virus infections

  Bloomberg India’s coronavirus infections crossed the three-million mark as the outbreak accelerates through the world’s second-most populous country. Infections rose by more than 69,000 and now stand at 3,044,940, according to data released by health ministry on Sunday. About 56,706 people have died from the disease. India’s epidemic is one of the fastest-growing in the world with more than 65,000 ...

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• 24 August

  Takeda to sell unit to Blackstone for $2.3b

  

  Bloomberg Takeda Pharmaceutical Co agreed to sell its Japanese consumer healthcare business for 242 billion yen ($2.3 billion) to Blackstone Group Inc, which plans to take the over-the-counter medication unit public in about five years. For the drugmaker, the sale could represent one of the last big pieces of its plan to dispose $10 billion in assets after its $62 ...

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• 24 August

  Bali to remain closed to foreigners

  Bloomberg The Indonesian island of Bali will remain closed to foreign visitors for the rest of 2020 after authorities postponed a plan to welcome back international tourists from September 11 as the coronavirus continues to spread. “The Indonesian government couldn’t reopen its doors to foreign travellers until the end of 2020 as we remain a red zone,” Bali Governor Wayan ...

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