June, 2019

• 22 June

  Two US coal giants sign joint venture deal as market wanes

  

  Bloomberg The two biggest US coal miners are joining forces as the industry’s fortunes continue to wither. Arch Coal Inc. and Peabody Energy Corp. are combining mines in Wyoming and Colorado through a joint venture, the companies said in a statement. The move, which analysts said was long-expected, will create about $820 million in savings, the miners said. The deal ...

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• 22 June

  UnitedHealth wins approval to acquire DaVita medical unit

  

  Bloomberg UnitedHealth Group Inc. won US antitrust approval for its $4.3 billion acquisition of DaVita Inc.’s physician practice group, letting the health conglomerate close a deal it struck 19 months ago to expand its business of taking care of patients directly. The Federal Trade Commission said that it had signed off on the tie-up after UnitedHealth agreed to sell assets ...

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• 22 June

  Michigan auto parts plant workers end strike

  Bloomberg Workers at a major auto parts plant in Michigan are poised to return to work after a brief strike, alleviating the threat of a supply disruption for carmakers Ford Motor Co., Tesla Inc. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. The United Auto Workers called the strike after failing to reach a tentative contract agreement with Faurecia SA. A tentative deal ...

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• 22 June

  Trump leaves Iran, allies uneasy even after stopping airstrike

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes on three Iranian sites following the downing of a US Navy drone because the action wouldn’t have been “proportionate.” “We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General,” Trump tweeted. ...

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• 22 June

  Protests erupt in Caracas during UN rights chief’s visit

  

  Bloomberg United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on the Venezuelan government to release political prisoners. “I call on the authorities to free all those who are detained for peacefully exercising their civil and political rights,” Bachelet said via webcast before departing Venezuela after a three-day visit. The UN will leave two officials in Caracas to provide ...

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• 22 June

  As Johnson aims for power, Tories plot against no-deal Brexit

  

  Bloomberg In the coffee shops of Britain’s parliament, the political conversation has already turned to the question that will define the country’s immediate future: Can Boris Johnson be stopped from pursuing a no-deal Brexit? The options under discussion for Conservative politicians who want to avoid a no-deal split from the European Union are dramatic. They include quitting the party and ...

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• 22 June

  Malaysia calls for justice for Rohingyas

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin bin Abdullah has called for justice to be brought to the perpetrators of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, the ministry wrote in a tweet. The social media post was sent during a regional summit in Bangkok. Southeast Asian leaders have faced pressure to take a tougher stance on Myanmar ahead of the annual ...

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• 22 June

  HK protesters disperse after police HQ blockade

  

  Bloomberg Thousands of demonstrators who surrounded Hong Kong police headquarters dispersed peacefully after they had blocked all entrances to the building for 15 hours as part of ongoing protests over a proposed China-backed extradition bill. Protesters began converging on the police complex in the Wan Chai district after moving over from the nearby central government building, which Chief Executive Carrie ...

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• 22 June

  All the budget deficits are not created equal

  

  The US budget deficit is now almost $740 billion, the Treasury Department reported last week, prompting a new round of familiar criticism of 2017’s Tax Cut and Jobs Act: The law’s huge tax cuts were irresponsible, as were Republicans’ sloppy and at times deliberately misleading assertions that the law would pay for itself. That criticism is understandable, but it elides ...

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• 22 June

  Can this gold rally truly continue?

  

  For the past six years, there’s been no number more filled with dread for gold bulls than $1,350 an ounce. Barring a few brief spikes, the metal has struggled to break through that level ever since it came off its run-up to $1,900 between 2011 and 2013. This matters, because an asset that has few fundamental factors driving its performance ...

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