April, 2019

• 30 April

  South Korea’s Moon thanks Japan former emperor to mend ties

  

  Bloomberg South Korean President Moon Jae-in wrote to former Japanese Emperor Akihito to thank him for contributing to improving ties, in a gesture that could help thaw chilly diplomatic relations between the two countries. Moon sent the letter as the former emperor relinquished his crown to his son Crown Prince Naruhito. Akihito has emphasized the importance of guarding peace during ...

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• 30 April

  Hunt urges Tories not to challenge May

  

  Bloomberg Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned grassroots activists in his Conservative Party not to try to depose PM Theresa May, arguing that a leadership contest would only delay Brexit. The beleaguered premier, who survived a confidence vote by members of parliament in December, is set to face the judgment of local party leaders and other members at a special meeting ...

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• 30 April

  Merkel pushes back all speculation she could soon step aside

  

  Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back against renewed speculation she could soon step down, saying she won’t make any big announcements at a party meeting scheduled after next month’s European election. The German leader was asked about the implications of a meeting called by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the head of Merkel’s CDU party, for the beginning of June — and ...

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• 30 April

  Guaido calls for Venezuela coup

  

  Bloomberg Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido went to a military base in the nation’s capital to proclaim the end of socialist President Nicolas Maduro’s regime and called for a military uprising. The outcome of the high-stakes gambit remained unclear as protesters gathered despite billowing tear gas and the regime promised punishment for any who joined a rebellion. No high-ranking officers ...

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• 30 April

  Jokowi wants citizens to choose ‘new capital’

  Bloomberg After dithering for decades, Indonesia has decided to move its capital from an overcrowded Jakarta, and President Joko Widodo wants its citizens to have a say in picking the new location. Widodo, known as Jokowi, sought suggestions from the public about the new capital on his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, drawing thousands of responses from netizens. “Jakarta now ...

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• 30 April

  Biden may offer a restful break for weary voters

  

  Three days before Joe Biden dove back into the deep end of the political pool, a rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the terrorist who bombed the 2013 Boston Marathon, and everyone else in America’s prisons, should be allowed to vote, lest the “chipping away” of voting rights leave America “running down a slippery slope.” Such running — to be ...

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• 30 April

  Credit Suisse hides success secrets

  

  Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Credit Suisse Group AG, says one of his most senior managers has told him not to be too bullish. He should heed the warning. The Swiss bank reported first-quarter earnings that beat estimates for both net income and revenue. Wealth management assets increased by a net 5 percent, marking a rebound from the end of ...

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• 30 April

  It’s hard to win against a CEO with a 300% return

  

  European shareholder activism has suffered a painfully public humiliation. The lesson for investors is clear: Pick your battles. Paris-based investment fund CIAM wanted to split the chairman and CEO roles at French re-insurer Scor SE, which has been run for 17 years by Denis Kessler. In addition, it tried to prevent the reelection of the company’s lead independent director Augustin ...

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• 30 April

  Trump can’t easily break the Federal Reserve

  President Donald Trump keeps attacking the Federal Reserve, and has recently moved toward appointing loyalists to the Fed’s governing board. This has sparked fears that he might gain some control over the world’s most powerful central bank, getting it to do his bidding rather than what’s best for the economy in the long term. Are those fears justified? Although my ...

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• 30 April

  Exporting fewer plastics won’t save the oceans

  

  A plastic water bottle, a Snickers wrapper and a container of detergent are dropped into a recycling bin. Are they hazardous waste? They could be, according to a Norwegian government proposal, which marks the latest effort by activists and government officials to tackle the growing tide of plastics threatening the ocean. The proposal has good intentions: It aims to mitigate ...

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