June, 2019

• 15 June

  US budget gap soars to $739bn despite tariff revenue boost

  

  Bloomberg The US budget deficit widened to $738.6 billion in the first eight months of the fiscal year, a $206 billion increase from a year earlier, despite a revenue boost from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported merchandise. The shortfall was 38.8 percent more than the same period a year ago, the Treasury Department said in its monthly budget review. ...

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• 15 June

  US drugmakers sue Trump administration to halt ad rule

  Bloomberg Some of the US’s biggest pharmaceutical companies sued the Trump administration to try and block a rule that would force them to put the price of their drugs in television advertisements. In the lawsuit filed in federal court, Merck & Co, Eli Lilly & Co, Amgen Inc and an advertising trade association claim that the Department of Health and ...

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• 15 June

  Majority of Canada’s exporters see global recession: Survey

  

  Bloomberg Canadian exporters are reporting widespread concerns about a global recession, with sentiment in the sector falling to the lowest level in seven years, according to a survey by the country’s export financing agency. Export Development Canada’s trade confidence index, a composite gauge based on a bi-annual survey of 1,000 businesses, dropped to 69.8, compared with 73.7 at the end ...

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• 15 June

  Allianz buys stake in Hudson Yards Tower for $384m

  Bloomberg Allianz SE is making another bet on New York City’s Hudson Yards, buying into a second skyscraper in the development. The German insurer paid $384 million for a 49 percent stake in an office condo at 30 Hudson Yards, according to a statement. The transaction is part of a sale-leaseback with Related Cos., the co-developer of the $25 billion ...

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• 15 June

  Dish, Charter and Altice eye T-Mobile and Sprint assets

  

  Bloomberg Dish Network Corp, Charter Communications Inc and Altice USA Inc are among bidders for assets T-Mobile US Inc. plans to sell to win regulatory approval for its $26.5 billion takeover of Sprint Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. The companies are on a shortlist of bidders favored by the Justice Department, said the people, who asked to ...

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• 15 June

  PwC’s $5.8 million fine gives ammunition to audit critics

  

  Bloomberg PricewaterhouseCoopers was fined 4.55 million pounds ($5.8 million) by the UK’s accounting watchdog over failings in its handling of technology firm Redcentric Plc, giving fresh ammunition to critics calling for a breakup of the so-called Big Four auditing firms. The penalty was reduced from 6.5 million pounds after the company admitted its wrongdoing ahead of a final decision by ...

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• 15 June

  Saudi suspects same source behind tanker, airport attacks

  

  Bloomberg The same source responsible for a recent missile launch on an airport in Saudi Arabia likely perpetrated attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Kingdom’s energy minister. Khalid Al-Falih’s comments during a G-20 ministerial meeting on energy and the environment in Japan come after US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the vessel attacks near ...

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• 15 June

  Beijing denies hit and run incident in South China Sea

  

  Bloomberg China confirmed that a Chinese fishing vessel was involved in an incident with Filipino fishermen in South China Sea but denied that it hit and abandoned them. China’s preliminary investigation showed that Chinese fishing vessel Yuemaobinyu 42212 from Guangdong province was engaged in a “light purse seine operation” about midnight on June 9 when it was suddenly besieged by ...

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• 15 June

  HK suspends China extradition bill

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s leader suspended efforts to pass a bill allowing extraditions to China, in a dramatic reversal that she said was necessary to restore order in the Asian financial hub and avoid further violence and mass protests. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, announced the legislative “pause” at a news conference on Saturday, even as activists asked hundreds of ...

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• 15 June

  Tory rivals plot to stop Johnson from winning

  Bloomberg Rivals to be Britain’s next prime minister are holding private talks over joining forces in an attempt to stop the pro-Brexit favourite, Boris Johnson, running away with the contest, people familiar with the matter said. Two of the candidates who are struggling for support — Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Health Secretary Matt Hancock — met to discuss their ...

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