July, 2019

• 21 July

  Netflix’s optimistic scenario took a hit

  

  The optimistic scenario about Netflix Inc. goes like this: The company is wise to spend like mad to create a new generation of entertainment service that capitalises on the inexorable shift of people away from old ways of wasting time like television towards new modes of wasting time like staring at smartphones. Eventually, the theory goes, Netflix will stop bleeding ...

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• 21 July

  In PG&E battle, time is money and money is time

  

  Money talks, but the big question for PG&E Corp next week is how closely the bankruptcy judge is listening. The battle for the future of the wildfire-prone California utility intensified this week with a fusillade of court filings. To recap, PG&E has an exclusive period until late September to file a proposal to get out of chapter 11. Late last ...

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• 21 July

  Walmart integrates stores with e-comm as web unit struggles

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc is conducting its second US restructuring in as many months to better integrate its money-losing online business with its 4,700 physical stores. The world’s largest retailer will merge the logistics and finance teams for its e-commerce unit and stores, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The company’s merchandising operation, which makes critical decisions on ...

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• 21 July

  Cathay adds budget carrier after buying Hong Kong Express

  

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd completed the acquisition of Hong Kong’s only budget carrier as the company expects to lift its market share amid growing competition from mainland Chinese airlines. Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd, which was previously owned by HNA Group Co, will continue operating as a standalone airline under the low-cost model, Cathay said in a statement. The ...

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• 21 July

  GrandVision soars as Ray-Ban maker begins takeover talks

  

  Bloomberg GrandVision NV surged after Ray-Ban sunglasses owner EssilorLuxottica SA began takeover talks in a deal that would value the smaller Dutch eyewear retailer at about $8 billion. EssilorLuxottica is holding talks with GrandVision’s controlling shareholder, HAL, to buy the firm’s approximately 77 percent stake, HAL said in a statement in response to a Bloomberg report, which was confirmed later ...

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• 21 July

  Australia, NZ ground GA8 Airvan jets

  Bloomberg Australia and New Zealand grounded Gippsland GA8 Airvan planes over safety concerns after a deadly crash in Sweden this month killed nine. Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) halted operations of the planes made by Gippsaero Pty Ltd for 15 days, it said, adding it has sent an airworthiness engineer to Sweden to observe the crash investigation and collect ...

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• 21 July

  Swatch profit rises after crackdown on gray market

  

  Bloomberg Swatch Group AG shares gained after the Swiss watchmaker said it’s cracking down on unauthorised sales in an attempt to fetch higher prices. The owner of Omega and Tissot reported a decline in first-half sales as it took aim against so-called gray-market distributors that have eroded its pricing power. It also suffered from a drop of more than 10 ...

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• 20 July

  Sheikh Mohamed’s China visit to further deepen ties: UAE envoy

  BEIJING / WAM A UAE official has said that the upcoming state visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, will deepen ties and build on the foundation of the comprehensive strategic partnership announced in July of last year, during President Xi Jinping’s visit ...

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• 20 July

  UAE-China trade up 16.2% to reach $11.2b in Q1 2019

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Bilateral trade between China and the UAE reached $11.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019, a 16.21 percent increase compared to the same period in 2018, said a top Chinese diplomat. “China-UAE trade is expected to maintain the mom-entum of rapid growth thro- ughout 2019 and beyond,” Ni Jian, the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, ...

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• 20 July

  Oil jumps as Iran claims to seize British tanker

  

  Bloomberg Oil jumped in after-market trading following the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp seizing a British oil tanker and a Liberian-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz, raising stakes in the critical oil chokepoint. Brent futures rose as much as 1.4 percent from its settlement, while WTI futures also edged higher after the seizure of the tankers. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy ...

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