June, 2019

• 1 June

  IMD predicts normal monsoon in India

  

  Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for economic growth, is expected to be normal this year as El Nino weather conditions are seen staying weak. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) maintained its April forecast, reiterating that rains during the June-September monsoon season will be 96 percent of the long-term average. ...

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• 1 June

  Malaysia durian exports may spike on China nod

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia is all geared to satisfy China’s craving for a pungent, football-sized thorny fruit. That’s because China’s General Administration of Customs has approved imports of frozen whole durian fruit following an agreement signed in August, according to Sim Tze Tzin, Malaysia’s deputy minister for agriculture and agro-based industry. “The durian market in China is so big but we’ve only ...

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• 1 June

  India’s NTPC to appoint new renewables head

  Bloomberg State-run NTPC Ltd, India’s largest coal-fired power producer, is appointing a new head of its renewables team to speed up its expansion into clean energy, according to a company official with knowledge of the plan. Mohit Bhargava, currently a chief general manager for corporate planning, will start in the new role next week, said the official, asking not to ...

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• 1 June

  Automakers lose $17 billion over Trump’s Mexico threat

  

  Bloomberg The automotive industry is bearing the brunt of trade-war crossfire again as US President Donald Trump threatens to slap tariffs of as much as 25 percent on goods from Mexico, a key production hub for carmakers from Mazda Motor Corp. to General Motors Co. Mexico is the largest source of US vehicle and auto-parts imports, meaning tariffs would increase ...

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• 1 June

  KKR eyes buyout of Axel Springer minority investors

  Bloomberg KKR & Co and Axel Springer SE are in talks about a strategic investment by the private equity firm that could take the German publisher private. KKR may launch a tender offer to buy out the minority shareholders in Axel Springer, which owns the mass-circulation daily Bild, according to a statement. Friede Springer — the widow of founder Axel ...

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• 1 June

  US-EU talks struggle, threatening a new front in trade war

  

  Bloomberg Even though President Donald Trump held fire earlier this month on auto tariffs that have the potential to further roil Europe’s struggling economy, a succession of domestic dilemmas on both sides of the Atlantic threaten to frustrate efforts at a trade pact before they’ve even begun. Ten months after Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker struck a Rose ...

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• 1 June

  WeWork eyes $2.75b credit line ahead of planned IPO

  

  Bloomberg WeWork Cos is in talks with banks about arranging a $2.75 billion credit line ahead of a planned initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is leading the potential financing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Representatives for the bank and WeWork declined ...

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• 1 June

  Trump still seeking talks with Kim, says top US envoy

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump will continue to seek talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the US looks to defuse tensions following a failed summit in February, according to his administration’s top nuclear envoy. “The United States is convinced that through continued negotiations, we can continue to close the gaps that separate our two countries and make further progress ...

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• 1 June

  12 dead in Virginia Beach shootings

  

  Bloomberg Twelve people are dead, including the shooter, in shooting at a municipal centre in Virginia Beach, the police said. In another such incident on October 1, 2017, about 58 were dead and 869 injured in a mass shooting in Las Vegas. Stephen Paddock opened fire on country music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel; assailant ...

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• 1 June

  Washington ramps up spy activities in South Pacific

  Bloomberg The US is looking to gather more intelligence in the South Pacific to counter China, which has expanded its influence among small island nations in recent years. Concerns are rising that Beijing’s leaders are seeking to win through coercion the allegiance of islands typically aligned with the US, Admiral Philip Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, told a ...

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