July, 2019

• 9 July

  Viktor Orban ally’s tech firm seals Deutsche Telekom deal

  

  Bloomberg A tiny company linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s closest business ally agreed to take over a much bigger unit of Deutsche Telekom AG’s local subsidiary in Hungary, in the most high-profile acquisition to date for the premier’s circle of business partners. 4iG, partly owned by Lorinc Meszaros, a former gas fitter from Orban’s home village, signed the deal ...

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• 9 July

  Germany’s BioNTech raises $325m to spur research on cancer

  

  Bloomberg The German cancer-treatment researcher BioNTech raised $325 million from investors, one of the largest financing rounds ever by a European biotechnology company. The second-round haul brings closely held BioNTech’s total fundraising to more than $1.4 billion, according to Sean Marett, the company’s chief business officer. The figure is high even by standards in the US, where the valuations of ...

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• 9 July

  PepsiCo posts profit beating estimates on soda, snack sales

  Bloomberg PepsiCo Inc reported quarterly profit that beat estimates with brands including Mountain Dew soda and Doritos chips boosting results. Second-quarter earnings, excluding some items, amounted to $1.54 a share, compared with projections of $1.50. Revenue of $16.44 billion was narrowly ahead of estimates. PepsiCo has boosted its marketing spending as it tries to drive growth in an increasingly competitive ...

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• 9 July

  London’s ethnicity pay gap sees minority workers paid 22% less

  

  Bloomberg Workers from ethnic minority groups in London are paid 21.7 percent less on average than white employees, according to Office for National Statistics data. The capital — which is home to the highest proportion of workers identifying as being from an ethnic minority group — had the largest pay gap in the country last year, figures drawn from the ...

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• 9 July

  Salini to make $1.7b bet to save Italy’s construction hub

  

  Bloomberg Italy’s construction industry is crumbling after years of recession and bad investments, but now the sector’s biggest player is betting it can be rebuilt. Salini Impregilo SpA, whose projects have included expansion of the Panama Canal to a new subway line in Riyadh, plans to create a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) construction hub dubbed “Progetto Italia,” or Project Italy, ...

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• 9 July

  Trump calls UK envoy ‘stupid’ as May tries to deescalate row

  

  Bloomberg Donald Trump called the UK ambassador to Washington a “stupid guy,” even as the British government tried to prevent the row with the US President over leaked diplomatic memos from escalating. “The wacky Ambassador that the UK foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy,” Trump tweeted. “I don’t know the ...

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• 9 July

  Trump seeks to ‘make America white again’ in census, says Pelosi

  

  Bloomberg House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused President Donald Trump’s administration of wanting to “make America white again” with its plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. “You know his hat? ‘Make America white again.’ They want to make sure that people, certain people, are counted,” Pelosi said at a press conference on election security. “It’s really disgraceful ...

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• 9 July

  Irish accept need for checks in no-deal Brexit

  

  Bloomberg Ireland has accepted the need to set up checks with Northern Ireland in a no-deal Brexit scenario, people familiar with the matter said. The government accept that checks, especially on livestock, will be required if the UK crashes out of the European Union, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans haven’t yet been discussed with ...

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• 9 July

  Italy’s Salvini to pick EU lawmaker as minister

  

  Bloomberg Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is set to pick Lorenzo Fontana, a veteran European lawmaker, as Italy’s new minister for European affairs, according to three League officials who declined to be named discussing a confidential issue. It’s a surprise move that would sideline Alberto Bagnai, a leading critic of the single currency who has roiled financial markets with ...

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• 9 July

  Macron’s top diplomatic adviser looks to save Iran N-deal

  

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron’s top diplomatic adviser headed to Iran on Tuesday, seeking to persuade the Islamic Republic to reverse breaches that have raised pressure on European nations struggling to save the landmark 2015 nuclear deal from collapse. Emmanuel Bonne will meet with Iranian leaders, including a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday and Wednesday, according ...

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