September, 2019

• 21 September

  Apple’s brand in China takes hit from backlash against Trump

  

  Bloomberg The trade war is taking its toll on Apple Inc, a new survey of Chinese consumer attitudes shows. The company tumbled to No. 24 in an annual report on China’s top brands, falling from No. 11 a year ago. In 2017, before the trade war started, Apple was fifth in this ranking. Meanwhile, Apple’s biggest local rival, Huawei Technologies ...

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• 21 September

  Synthetic bio pioneer Ginkgo raises $290mn in new funding

  

  Bloomberg Ginkgo Bioworks Inc raised $290 million in new funding, giving a boost to a startup that designs organisms to do everything from re-create the scent of an extinct Hawaiian hibiscus to treat liver disorders in humans. The latest investment brings the Boston-based biotech’s total valuation to $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the company’s finances who wasn’t ...

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• 21 September

  OECD warns UK over recession in no-deal Brexit

  

  Bloomberg The OECD warned that a no-deal Brexit would push the UK into a recession, send investment and exports plunging and create damaging long-term fallout for the economy. In a report, the Paris-based group said exports would “immediately decline” by 8 percent, and uncertainty would put the brakes on business spending. While part of the trade shock would be absorbed ...

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• 21 September

  Canadian fund buys stake in Neuvoo

  Bloomberg Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is acquiring a minority stake in jobs website Neuvoo, the latest investment by Canada’s second-largest pension fund in companies that rely on artificial intelligence. The institutional investor, also known by its initials CDPQ, is buying $40 million worth of shares in the company, Neuvoo co-founder Maxime Droux said. Droux didn’t say ...

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• 21 September

  Tesla Model 3 wins top-tier safety award

  

  Bloomberg Tesla Inc’s Model 3 earned a coveted Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), after the sedan performed better in a crash test than the Model S. The Model 3 earned “good” crash ratings in each of IIHS’s tests, including one that measures how vehicles perform in front, driver’s-side-corner collisions. The Model S fell ...

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• 21 September

  Hong Kong now is a ‘hair’s breadth from destruction’

  

  Physically diminutive, intellectually acerbic and with an eye for the ironic, Margaret Ng — lawyer, writer and former legislator — is, at 71, a member of the generation for which this city’s youthful protesters have scant patience. They say the elders have been too patient about Hong Kong’s precarious situation. But, says Ng dryly, the youths frequently welcome assistance from ...

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• 21 September

  Germany isn’t listening to Draghi

  

  The European Central Bank’s (ECB) decision to reactivate quantitative easing has put monetary policy back in the spotlight. But as the bank’s president Mario Draghi says, the currency union would be in much better shape if countries with strong fiscal positions opened their purses. Fiscal doves will no doubt take heart from a slight softening of tone in Germany, the ...

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• 21 September

  StanChart should really know where its rich customers live

  

  Ever wonder why some global banks are still failing in the fight against money laundering? An account of Standard Chartered Plc’s latest shortcomings is a stark reminder of how much needs to improve in the industry. A review by regulators of the London-based emerging markets lender found that it wasn’t able to prove how some of its wealthy clients had ...

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• 21 September

  Trump and Japan aim for an OK trade deal

  For once, President Donald Trump may be on the verge of signing a trade pact that benefits Americans. He could strike an even better one if he got out of his own way. Trump announced that the US and Japan have worked out an initial trade accord. Japan will reportedly lower tariffs on US beef, among other products, to the ...

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• 21 September

  Bank’s race against crisis puts India on warning

  

  India’s fragile financial system is swinging between despair and hope. Two separate incidents — both featuring the lender Yes Bank Ltd. — recently underscored the drag of past underwriting follies as well as the lift from a digital reset. It will take time, but good things will come to Indian banking as a result of the present crisis. Clearwater Capital ...

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