January, 2020

• 13 January

  No soul searching for Xi after Taiwan rebuffs China in elections

  

  Bloomberg In a democracy, two resounding election defeats in a matter of months might prompt some soul searching in the losing camp. In China, however, a snub at the polls in places it claims is more a minor setback rather than a sign of a flawed strategy. President Xi Jinping’s government showed that yet again in the wake of Taiwanese ...

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• 13 January

  India creating fewer jobs for the world’s biggest workforce

  

  Bloomberg India will create at least 1.6 million fewer formal jobs across government and low-paying sectors, State Bank of India estimates, a segment that typically absorbs some of the millions of youth entering the world’s biggest workforce each year. There’s also evidence that people who migrate within the country for employment are sending less money home to some of the ...

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• 13 January

  India lost at least $1.3bn to internet shutdowns last year

  

  Bloomberg India lost more than $1.33 billion to internet restrictions in 2019 as prime minister Narendra Modi’s government pushed ahead with his party’s Hindu nationalist agenda, raising tensions and sparking nationwide protests. The worst shutdown has been in Kashmir, where after intermittent closures in the first half of the year, the internet has been cut off since August 5 following ...

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• 13 January

  Japan’s population crisis is pushing women to poverty

  

  Bloomberg At first glance, things seem to be getting better for Japanese women. In an economy that’s historically lagged other developed nations when it comes to female workforce participation, a record 71% are now employed, an 11 point leap over a decade ago. The Japanese government boasts one of the most generous parental leave laws in the world and recently ...

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• 13 January

  Nissan Motors examines split from Renault

  

  Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co executives have examined the possibility of breaking away from Renault SA amid concerns that relations with the longtime French partner have turned dysfunctional after the ouster of former chief Carlos Ghosn, according to a person familiar with the matter. Since last year, Nissan has been exploring the pros and cons of sustaining the alliance, particularly when ...

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• 13 January

  TSMC hires ex-Intel lobbyist to deal with US-China tensions

  

  Bloomberg Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, a major chipmaker to Apple Inc and Huawei Technologies Co, has recruited rival Intel Corp’s former top lobbyist Peter Cleveland to spearhead an unprecedented effort in Washington to mitigate impact from US-Chinese trade tensions. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker joins a growing number of companies with Chinese business interests that are stepping up US lobbying, ...

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• 13 January

  Canadian gas gains after drilling cutbacks

  

  Bloomberg Canadian natural gas is trading at the highest price relative to US benchmarks in about 10 months after producers cut back on drilling and a rule change on a key Alberta pipeline system last year helped better manage flows of the fuel. The discount on gas traded at Alberta’s AECO hub versus the Henry Hub in the US shrank ...

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• 13 January

  Brookfield seeks TerraForm buyout at $3.9bn value

  

  Bloomberg Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, looking to bolster its status as one of the world’s largest clean-energy providers, is bidding to buy the shares of TerraForm Power Inc it doesn’t already own in a deal valuing the company at $3.9 billion. The proposal values TerraForm Power at $17.31 a share, representing an 11% premium to the closing share price on ...

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• 13 January

  Porsche defies car industry malaise with record sales

  

  Bloomberg Porsche AG shrugged off widespread industry malaise, reporting record deliveries for last year and predicting that its first all-electric model Taycan will foster further growth in 2020. Global deliveries rose 10% to 280,800 cars in 2019, driven mainly by strong consumer appetite for the Macan and Cayenne sport utility vehicles, Porsche said on Monday in a statement. “We’re optimistic ...

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• 13 January

  UK’s economy unexpectedly shrinks amid rate-cut debate

  

  Bloomberg The UK economy unexpectedly shrank ahead of the general election, casting doubt over whether there was any growth at all in the fourth quarter. The figures will add to concerns at the Bank of England (BOE), where officials are debating whether further stimulus is needed if economic weakness persists. Three policy makers, including Governor Mark Carney, have flagged the ...

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