October, 2019

• 9 October

  China open to partial US deal despite tech blacklist

  

  Bloomberg China is still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the US, an official with direct knowledge of the talks said, signalling that Beijing is focussed on limiting the damage to the world’s second-largest economy. Negotiators heading to Washington for talks starting on Thursday aren’t optimistic about securing a broad agreement that would end the trade war between ...

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• 9 October

  Beijing proposes punishing officials on data manipulation

  

  Bloomberg A draft amendment to China’s Statistics Law will make officials and their bosses directly accountable for data accuracy and also increase the ceiling on fines for companies that report false information. The draft amendment was published by the National Bureau of Statistics on its website, with the bureau calling for feedback until November 9, according to a statement. If ...

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• 9 October

  Exxon Mobil considers sale of offshore assets in Malaysia

  

  Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering a sale of its oil-producing offshore assets in Malaysia as part of the US energy giant’s global divestiture program. The company is working with an adviser on the potential sale, which could raise about $2 billion to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The focus is on selling upstream assets operated ...

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• 9 October

  J&J unit ordered to pay $8b in anti-psychotic drug case

  

  Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit was hit with an $8 billion punitive-damages verdict — the largest jury award in the US this year — over its alleged mishandling of an anti-psychotic drug blamed for disfiguring the physique of adolescent boys. A state court jury in Philadelphia concluded the Janssen’s wrongful marketing of its Risperdal drug to teens warranted the ...

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• 9 October

  Tesla’s cell supplier hires battery expert for key gigafactory role

  

  Bloomberg Panasonic Corp has hired a former Tesla Inc battery guru to a senior role at the so-called gigafactory the two companies share in the US. Celina Mikolajczak, who left Tesla in early 2018 for short stint at Uber Technologies Inc, joined Panasonic this month as vice president of battery technology. She’ll be based in Reno, Nevada, where Tesla and ...

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• 9 October

  American farms face long-term losses from trade war, says BCG

  

  Bloomberg US farmers and agribusinesses face a rising threat of long-term losses in export sales as President Donald Trump’s trade war with China continues, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) warned in a report. The finding by a blue-chip management consulting firm could feed mounting fears among major US agricultural players that the damage done from a tariff war that has already ...

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• 9 October

  US loses top spot to S’pore in competitiveness rankings

  Bloomberg The US dropped from the top spot in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual competitiveness report, losing out to Singapore. Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland made up the rest of the top five, according to the WEF survey published on Wednesday. On the US, it noted growing uncertainty among business leaders. The forum focussed its report on continued ...

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• 9 October

  GE gaping pension deficit tiny part of companies’ $269b gap

  

  Bloomberg General Electric’s gaping pension deficit certainly stands out for its size. But the company is hardly the only one at risk of potentially shortchanging some of its employees come retirement. All across corporate America, underfunded pensions have become the norm. Even now, a decade after the financial crisis, the largest plans face a shortfall of $269 billion, right about ...

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• 9 October

  Credit Suisse mulls return to US private banking after exit

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is considering a return to US wealth management after a four-year absence as Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam seeks to boost growth in private banking. Talks have focussed on adding $15 billion of assets under management at a new base in Miami, mostly catering to wealthy Latin Americans, people familiar with the matter said. If ...

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• 9 October

  Hong Kong banks fall after Morgan Stanley downgrades outlook

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong banks declined after Morgan Stanley cut the sector’s outlook, saying the stocks will underperform as a slowing economy and falling rates hurt profitability. Bank of East Asia Ltd slumped 4.2%, while Hang Seng Bank Ltd lost 3.3%. The MSCI Hong Kong Index dropped 1.3% after briefly dipping below the 14,000 point level for the first time since ...

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