September, 2019

• 17 September

  Apple takes on EU’s antitrust chief in record $14b tax fight

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc fights the world’s biggest tax case in a quiet courtroom, trying to rein in the European Union’s powerful antitrust chief ahead of a potential new crackdown on internet giants. The iPhone maker can tell the EU General Court in Luxembourg that it’s the world’s biggest taxpayer. But that’s not enough for EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager who ...

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• 17 September

  Blackstone adds EU property in $4.7 billion deal

  

  Bloomberg Blackstone Group Inc added new properties in Germany and The Netherlands with the purchase of a Canadian real estate trust, in deal valued at C$6.2 billion ($4.7 billion) including debt. The New York-based private equity firm agreed to pay C$16.79 a share in cash for Dream Global Real Estate Investment Trust, according to a statement from the companies. The ...

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• 17 September

  UK urges EU rethink on ‘damaging’ equity markets plan amid Brexit

  

  Bloomberg Equity markets will face significant damage in a no-deal Brexit unless the European Union reverses a plan to block traders in its home territory from using London exchanges, the UK’s top market watchdog said. Andrew Bailey, the Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive, called on the EU to urgently rethink its position before October 31, when Britain is scheduled to ...

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• 17 September

  US likely not to hike auto tariffs on Japan

  Bloomberg Japan and the US are working towards a joint leaders’ statement that would include a US promise not to hike tariffs or introduce quotas on Japanese cars, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said. The statement is set to be issued after a meeting between President Donald Trump and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in New York, the paper said. The two ...

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• 17 September

  Lawmakers seek intel from customers in Big Tech probe

  

  Bloomberg A House panel investigating big tech companies for potential antitrust violations is seeking information from customers of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook about the state of competition in digital markets and the adequacy of existing enforcement, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s the latest development in the bipartisan congressional investigation being conducted by House antitrust subcommittee chair David ...

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• 17 September

  US ‘locked and loaded’ if Iran behind Saudi attack: Trump

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump promised to help allies following attacks on major Saudi Arabian oil facilities, even though he said the US is no longer directly reliant on Middle Eastern oil and gas and has few tankers there. “We are a net Energy Exporter,” Trump tweeted. “We don’t need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few ...

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• 17 September

  South Korea clarifies that it can’t confirm Kim invite to Trump

  

  Bloomberg South Korea clarified Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha’s remarks earlier in the day in which she appeared to confirm a local newspaper report saying Kim Jong-un invited US President Donald Trump to visit Pyongyang. Kang was asked at a parliamentary session on Monday about a report by South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo newspaper that detailed Kim’s offer for another summit. It ...

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• 17 September

  China pips Taiwan for Solomon ties

  

  Bloomberg The Solomon Islands broke diplomatic ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing, leaving the democratically run island with just 16 diplomatic partners amid China’s efforts to isolate it. It’s the seventh nation — and the first in the Pacific — to establish ties with Beijing since Taiwan’s independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in January 2016. Reuters reported earlier ...

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• 17 September

  US sanctions: 800k Iranians may lose cash handouts

  

  Bloomberg As many as 800,000 Iranians are set to lose cash handouts within the next month as US-imposed sanctions take their toll on the Islamic Republic’s economy. Iran plans to wean up to 30 million people off cash subsidies in the long term, but it “cannot take them off under the current economic situation,” said government spokesman Ali Rabiei at ...

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• 17 September

  Myanmar should face Hague over atrocities: UN mission

  

  Bloomberg Myanmar’s powerful military should be brought before the International Court of Justice for its continued role in grave violations against ethnic groups including Rohingya Muslims, the United Nations fact-finding mission concluded on Monday following a two-year investigation. The final report — to be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva — details the ongoing systematic use of murder, ...

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