August, 2019

• 13 August

  American Air’s union workers must end slowdown, says judge

  

  Bloomberg A federal judge reinforced an order for American Airlines Group Inc mechanics and other airport ramp workers to end an alleged work slowdown the carrier said has had a “devastating effect” on flights during the busy summer travel season. US District Judge John McBryde in Fort Worth, Texas, made permanent an earlier order directing the TWU-IAM Association to stop ...

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• 13 August

  China top bank cuts Cathay to strong sell

  

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd was cut to a “strong sell” by the investment banking arm of China’s biggest lender, which said the fallout from the anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong is set to hurt to the airline’s brand. State-run Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd slapped a HK$6 price target on the stock, about a third less than ...

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• 13 August

  Air Canada boosts its Transat offer to $151m

  

  Bloomberg Air Canada boosted its takeover offer for Transat AT by 38 percent, or C$200 million ($151 million), securing support from the tour operator’s largest shareholder in the process. Air Canada said it will raise the bid to C$18 a share from C$13, bringing the value of the all-cash offer to C$720 million. The sweetened offer has the support of ...

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• 13 August

  Amazon nears deal for up to 10% of India’s Future Retail

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc is in late-stage talks to acquire as much as 10 percent of India’s Future Retail Ltd, people familiar with the negotiations said, as the US company moves to bolster its brick-and-mortar presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing retail markets. India’s No. 2 retailer by turnover, Future is seeking a valuation of about 20 billion rupees ($281 ...

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• 13 August

  Germany moves to scratch $21 billion reunification tax

  

  Bloomberg Nearly three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany is moving to eliminate the so-called solidarity tax that helped finance reunification. The 5.5% tax that was levied on all but low-income earners is to be abolished from 2021 for 90% of those currently paying it, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in Berlin. In 2018 the levy generated ...

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• 13 August

  BlackRock buys $875mn stake in Authentic Brands

  Bloomberg BlackRock Inc.’s private equity vehicle struck its first deal, backing a company that manages brands including Sports Illustrated, Marilyn Monroe and Juicy Couture. The firm’s Long-Term Private Capital fund became the largest shareholder of Authentic Brands Group, the company said. The fund and affiliated entities invested $875 million, said Andre Bourbonnais, head of Long-Term Private Capital. The deal values ...

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• 13 August

  Serbia plans to spend €12bn on infrastructure

  

  Bloomberg Serbia will invest billions of euros in new homes, energy, transportation and digital infrastructure, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday, as the government seeks to boost economic growth prospects. “We are in position to easily ensure at least 10 or even 12 billion euros ($13.4 billion) of funding for new investments,” the president said at a news conference in ...

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• 13 August

  Italy needs a major industrial revamp, economist Tenconi says

  

  Bloomberg The next Italian government needs to get “creative” to fix the country’s stalling economy, according to ADA Economics Ltd. Chief Economist Raffaella Tenconi. Italy’s economy has failed to grow in four out of the last five quarters. While economists predict it will expand again in the second half of the year, gross domestic product is forecast to increase just ...

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• 13 August

  Fears of Argentina default loom large

  

  Bloomberg Argentina is once again on the cusp of a full-blown financial crisis. In the wake of President Mauricio Macri’s stunning rout in primary elections, investors dumped its stocks, bonds and currency en masse, leaving much of Wall Street wondering whether country was headed for yet another default. The upset, widely seen as a preview of October’s presidential vote, threw ...

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• 13 August

  London finds no easy answers post once-in-a-decade blackout

  

  Bloomberg When two UK power plants shut down almost simultaneously in London’s first major blackout for a decade, it triggered a storm of questions about how to avoid another failure. As National Grid Plc, the regulator Ofgem and plant operators investigate what happened, last week’s failure underlined the need to bolster an electricity grid increasingly fed by intermittent flows from ...

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