July, 2019

• 1 July

  Power of Google and Amazon looms over technology IPOs

  

  Bloomberg After a years-long drought, a wave of technology startups — Uber, Lyft, Pinterest and more — are going public, evidence that the sector is thriving. But there’s a shadow hanging over almost all of them. Seventeen of the 22 tech initial public offerings that aimed to raise $100 million or more in the last 18 months mention Amazon.com Inc ...

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• 1 July

  Blackstone nears deal for $1.1bn mortgage book

  

  Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP is close to agreeing on a deal valued at about 950 million euros ($1.1 billion) to sell a portfolio of Spanish mortgages to CarVal Investors LLC, people with knowledge of the transaction said. CarVal’s bid topped offers from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Elliott Management Corp, the people said, asking not to be identified as the ...

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• 1 July

  Applied Materials to acquire Kokusai from KKR for $2.2b

  

  Bloomberg Applied Materials Inc, one of the largest makers of machines used to make semiconductors, is to buy Kokusai Electric from KKR & Co in a deal worth about $2.2 billion. Kokusai Electric will operate as a business unit of Applied’s Semiconductor Products Group and continue to be based in Tokyo, according to a statement. The deal is expected to ...

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• 1 July

  ‘Apple may gain on China tariff resolution’

  Bloomberg Apple Inc shares could gain as much as $25 over the coming months on a resolution to the China tariff dispute, removing “the albatross around [CEO Tim] Cook’s neck,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note on Monday. The iPhone maker gained 3% in pre-market trading on Monday, among tech stocks rallying on Monday after President Donald Trump ...

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• 1 July

  UK factory slump deepens as PMI drops to lowest since 2013

  

  Bloomberg A downturn in UK manufacturing worsened in June as a gauge for the industry dropped to the lowest level since February 2013. IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers Index for the sector showed a back-to-back contraction for the first time in more than six years. Production and new business returned the worst readings for almost seven years, with companies citing Brexit ...

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• 1 July

  Iran breaches limit on enriched uranium under nuclear accord

  

  Bloomberg Iran has surpassed a limit on its stockpile of enriched uranium and is preparing to scrap some key components of its nuclear deal next week, two state-run news agencies aligned with hardliners said in separate reports. The nation’s stockpile exceeded the 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of 3.67 percent enriched uranium that had been set as a limit as part ...

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• 1 July

  Syria: Israel targets military, four killed

  

  Bloomberg Israeli war jets struck Syrian military positions from Lebanese airspace in the areas surrounding Damascus and the province of Homs, according to Syrian state media. Syria’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed a number of Israeli missiles, state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) reported, citing an unidentified military official. The strikes killed at least four civilians, including a baby, near ...

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• 1 July

  Venezuela to probe death of detained navy captain

  Bloomberg Venezuela’s government said it will investigate the death of a navy captain who was being held on charges of treason and attempted assassination of President Nicolas Maduro. Captain Rafael Acosta Arevalo, 49, was arrested along with three other soldiers and two police officials, joining dozens of people detained since an April 30 uprising against Maduro. Officials said the prisoner ...

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• 1 July

  Fresh Hong Kong clashes signal difficult path for leader

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong police clashed with black-clad protesters in a fresh sign of unrest as the city’s China-backed chief executive promised to be more open and inclusive at the turbulent start of her third year in office. Carrie Lam made the remarks in a ceremony to mark the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, her first ...

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• 1 July

  North Korean media goes crazy for Trump’s border meeting with Kim

  

  Bloomberg North Korean state media released gushing reports of Kim Jong-un’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) summit with President Donald Trump, as the regime sought to use another history-making meeting with the US leader to validate its policy decisions. The front page of North Korea‘s ruling party Rodong Sinmun newspaper was dominated by a seven-photo splash of Trump making the first crossing ...

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