February, 2019

• 23 February

  Sony to back entrepreneurs with money, support

  

  Bloomberg Sony Corporation, once known for innovations like the Walkman, will begin to back entrepreneurs outside the company with money, marketing support and more as it seeks more breakthroughs. The Tokyo-based company said it would open up an internal accelerator program to external entrepreneurs, including a partnership with Tokyo University under which students can turn ideas into businesses. Depending on ...

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• 23 February

  EU to target Caterpillar, Xerox if US imposes automotive duties

  

  Bloomberg Caterpillar Inc. trucks, Xerox Corp. machines and Samsonite International SA luggage are among US goods that would face retaliatory European Union tariffs should President Donald Trump follow through on a threat to impose automotive duties against the bloc, according to a senior EU official. The person commented on the condition of anonymity because the tit-for-tat list drawn up by ...

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• 23 February

  Amazon agrees to disclose carbon footprint this year

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. announced it will disclose its carbon footprint later this year, giving consumers and investors new insight into the environmental cost of its popular two-day shipping. The company also pledged in a blog post that half of its shipments would be “net zero” carbon—also known as carbon-neutral—by 2030. The world’s biggest e-commerce company has for years resisted pressure ...

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• 23 February

  Kraft Heinz faces existential crisis after $16bn rout

  

  Bloomberg Kraft Heinz Co. might need a new recipe. The packaged food giant reported a troika of bad news — profit that missed estimates, a $15.4 billion writedown on assets and an SEC subpoena — that sent its shares plummeting 27 percent to a record low, a plunge that wiped out more than $16 billion in market value. It seems ...

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• 23 February

  Maersk forecast misses estimates as trade tensions roil shipping

  

  Bloomberg A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s biggest shipping line, forecast 2019 profit below analysts’ estimates and said trade disputes are dimming the outlook for world economic growth. Shares plunged. Maersk said that Ebitda, a measure of operating profit, will be around $4 billion for the year, compared with an average estimate of $4.77 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. ...

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• 23 February

  How US might stay in Syria, and leave at the same time

  

  Is there a way for the United States and its allies to remain in northeastern Syria, even after President Trump’s pledged withdrawal of US military forces there? Officials are struggling to devise such a “workaround” strategy, but it could carry more risks than keeping the existing advisory force. The loudest public call for an alternative to withdrawal from Syria is ...

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• 23 February

  Bad banks do hurt your economy

  

  Since taking over as the main supervisor of the euro zone’s largest lenders, the European Central Bank (ECB) has waged a war against sickly lenders. The regulator has forced banks to be more open about value of exposures sitting on their books, and urged them to write down bad loans faster. All this should not only bolster financial stability, it ...

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• 23 February

  What is driving iron ore’s latest price spike?

  There’s nothing worse than things going crazy at the office while you’re away on holiday. That’s what happened to Chinese iron ore traders over the past fortnight, after Vale SA’s Brumadinho dam disaster prompted fears that as much as 40 million metric tons of metal could be taken off the market while the Brazilian miner closed similar facilities. As mainland ...

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• 23 February

  UK’s moderate mutiny offers a hint of progress

  All too late, the British political system seems to be awakening to the insoluble crises posed by Brexit. With negotiations stalled and no obvious solution at hand, both main parties are on the verge of historic break-ups. Squint and you just might see some reasons for optimism. This week, 11 legislators — three from the Tories and eight from Labour ...

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• 23 February

  In Germany, the Green New Deal actually works

  

  Opponents of the US congressional Democrats’ Green New Deal point to Germany as an example of a country where similar policies have backfired. They should take a closer look; the US could do well to imitate Europe’s largest economy. Here’s how the case against Germany goes: Despite a sustained effort to boost sustainable sources of energy, carbon emissions haven’t fallen ...

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