February, 2020

• 1 February

  Apple to close stores in China through Feb 9 on virus fears

  Bloomberg Apple Inc will close its corporate offices, stores and contact centres in mainland China through February 9, a move the company says comes out of an “abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts.” The move comes as global companies with heavy Chinese footprints weigh how to respond to the threat of the spreading ...

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• 1 February

  Plant closing costs China auto firms 1.7m cars

  

  Bloomberg Forget about clinging to hopes that China, the world’s largest car market, will recover from its unprecedented two-year slump anytime soon. Expectations were already bleak as the year began, with IHS Markit predicting a 10% drop in first quarter production. Now, the influential research firm sees a scenario in which the coronavirus spreading rapidly across the country triggers a ...

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• 1 February

  TikTok hires head of top lobbying group

  Bloomberg TikTok has tapped the head of a top lobbying group for internet companies to lead its Washington policy operations as it confronts mounting pressure in Washington over its ties to China. Michael Beckerman, the current president of the Internet Association, will be in charge of government relations for the popular music-video app, according to a company spokeswoman. TikTok, which ...

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• 1 February

  UK leaves European Union, but Brexit is far from over

  

  Bloomberg The UK has left the European Union (EU) after almost half a century of membership, setting the stage for 11 months of potentially fraught talks that will determine whether the two sides can avert a chaotic divorce. There were no bongs from Big Ben to mark the moment of Britain’s departure from the bloc, but prime minister Boris Johnson ...

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• 1 February

  US considers change in global parcel fee

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to combat the flow of foreign counterfeit goods sold on e-commerce platforms like the websites of Amazon, eBay and Walmart. The Department of Homeland Security will examine whether the US government is collecting enough fees to cover the cost of processing and inspecting parcels entering the US. It will also develop ...

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• 1 February

  US lifts sanctions on unit of Chinese shipping firm

  

  Bloomberg The US lifted sanctions against a unit of China’s biggest shipping company that was accused of hauling Iranian crude in violation of American restrictions. According to a notice posted on the Treasury Department’s website in Washington, sanctions were removed. In September, restrictions were placed on the Dalian units of China COSCO Shipping Corp, sending freight rates soaring as traders ...

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• 1 February

  The global corporate tax avoidance may get harder

  

  Slap a tariff on steel and you’re sure to roil markets. But behind the big headlines on trade sanctions are developments that might be just as momentous for the global economy: About 135 of the world’s countries are negotiating a radical change to the rules about where and how much multinational companies pay in taxes. The topic was the subject ...

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• 1 February

  The China virus will test the US, too

  

  As the Wuhan coronavirus spreads to America, it now seems quite possible the United States will face some considerable logistical challenges. Even if the virus turns out not to be very deadly, or mutates into a safer form, the public will not know that for some time. In the meantime, a mix of justifiable risk-aversion and perhaps panic will strain ...

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• 1 February

  Big tech gets put on guard by the antitrust police

  When the world’s competition police reflect on big tech’s dealmaking over the past 15 years, you could forgive them for wondering what might have been. If Facebook Inc. hadn’t acquired WhatsApp or Instagram, or if Google hadn’t bought YouTube or DoubleClick, would there be stronger competition for the two Silicon Valley firms? It certainly seems that regulators, particularly in the ...

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• 1 February

  Samsung fails to deliver the expected sunshine

  Samsung Electronics Co.’s earnings report and outlook reflect doom and gloom. Many are surprised. Positive signs from chip rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and smartphone stalwart Apple Inc. had fed the belief that the South Korean giant would put the worst behind it. The key takeaway here is that a rising tide doesn’t lift all boats. On the surface, as ...

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