December, 2019

• 18 December

  As South Sudan parties near a peace pact, communal violence spreads

  

  Bloomberg South Sudan’s foes moved closer to implementing a peace deal this week, yet the long-elusive pact may do little to halt rural clashes over grazing land and water that have killed more than 100 people in the past month. Conflict is escalating in the central and northwestern parts of the country. The United Nations mission in the country was ...

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• 18 December

  Macron pushes pension reform amid opposition

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron signaled willingness to “improve” his pension reform plan on Wednesday in an effort to end a standoff with unions that showed no sign of abating. Strikes that have gummed up the public transportation system, leaving millions to work out alternative ways of getting around, enter their third week on Thursday, with a fresh poll showing ...

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• 18 December

  Trump faces historic rebuke as House votes on impeachment

  

  Bloomberg Donald Trump’s legacy was to be forever marked on Wednesday by his impeachment at the hands of House Democrats, who say it’s a necessary rebuke for the president’s pursuit of a political vendetta. On the eve of the vote, Trump defiantly rejected the move as a predetermined partisan assault. Trump is all but certain to become the third US ...

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• 18 December

  PG&E wins court sign-off on fire deals, now faces governor

  

  Bloomberg PG&E Corp won court approval for two multibillion-dollar wildfire settlements that will serve as the centerpiece of the bankrupt utility giant’s restructuring plan. It’s still working on winning over California’s governor. The judge overseeing PG&E’s Chapter 11 case signed off on the company’s $13.5 billion plan to compensate victims of catastrophic fires blamed on its equipment and an $11 ...

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• 18 December

  Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot to merge into $46b automaker

  

  Bloomberg PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV agreed to combine in a deal that will create the world’s fourth biggest auto manufacturer. The French and Italo-American carmakers signed a binding accord for a 50-50 merger of their businesses, they said on Wednesday. The combined company will be led by PSA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares, with Fiat Chairman John ...

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• 18 December

  Tesla considers cutting price of China-built cars

  

  Bloomberg Tesla Inc is considering cutting the price of its China-built Model 3 sedans by 20% or more next year, people familiar with the plans said, betting the move will lure buyers as the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market slows. Tesla aims to bring down costs by using more local components, allowing it to import fewer parts and avoid tariffs, the ...

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• 18 December

  Google staffer fired for labour advocacy

  

  Bloomberg Another Google employee added her name to a list of workers who say they were fired for legally advocating for labour rights inside the company. Kathryn Spiers, 21, said she was fired December 13 after she developed a notification that told colleagues they had the right to participate in labour organising when they visited the website of IRI Consultants, ...

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• 18 December

  Macron takes on France’s 42 shades of pension grey

  

  Emmanuel Macron is the first French president in a decade who isn’t a baby boomer, and it shows. The 41-year-old’s battle to reform France’s high-tax, high-spend economy is often fought in the name of generational equality — largely by tilting the balance away from the elderly in favour of the young. Last year, as a gesture to help young people ...

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• 18 December

  Can Germany afford to ban Huawei?

  

  Germany wants a rapid roll-out of 5G technology to sort out its creaking mobile phone network. Yet a group of German lawmakers wants to ban equipment made by China’s Huawei Technologies Co. The country can’t do both. There is an inevitable trade-off for any nation considering a block on Huawei’s telecoms gear. Sticking to the equipment produced by its big ...

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• 18 December

  UK dealmakers will test Boris Johnson’s open-market cred

  The UK’s election of a right-wing, pro-market government with a thumping majority would certainly seem like a green light to foreign companies wanting to buy London-listed rivals. But the new political climate for takeovers may be hazier than it seems. Boris Johnson’s administration is still only four months old, so it’s hard to know precisely how it would approach a ...

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