February, 2019

• 16 February

  Trump-Kim summit could open pathway to safer world

  

  The showy first summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last June was draped in flags and bunting, but the decoration covered what turned out to be a mostly empty box that lacked a shared agreement on denuclearisation. Given this disappointing record, what’s realistically possible when the two leaders meet again in two weeks in Vietnam? ...

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• 16 February

  Troubling times at Bank of Italy

  

  Italy’s populist government has its eye on the country’s financial regulators. Rome has suffered a long series of banking scandals, so it’s only fair to ask for more accountability. But the way the ruling League and Five Star Movement are proceeding should worry anybody who cares about the independence of these institutions. The coalition has nominated Paolo Savona, European Affairs ...

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• 16 February

  Nissan now has more to worry about than Ghosn

  Wade past the shadows of the Carlos Ghosn debacle and a picture emerges of a car business that was already in deep trouble. Nissan Motor Co.’s operating profit dropped around 14 percent in the first nine months, margins shrank, and net income tanked 45 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese carmaker said. The company also booked a 9.2 billion-yen ...

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• 16 February

  Choosing a new World Bank boss is a chance to rethink

  President Trump has nominated David Malpass, a senior Treasury official and former Wall Street economist, to succeed Jim Yong Kim as next leader of the World Bank. Rather than rubber-stamp the US nomination, as the bank’s other member governments are generally inclined to do, they should ask whether Malpass is the best available candidate — and, even more important, start ...

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• 16 February

  Amazon’s retreat heralds new era of corporate welfare fights

  

  Bloomberg Just as New Yorkers were absorbing Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to abandon a new office hub after tangling over $3 billion in tax breaks, General Electric Co. was beating a retreat in Boston, canceling plans to build an office tower and promising to return $87 million in government incentives. In Wisconsin, Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn was backing away from promises it ...

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• 16 February

  Apollo to acquire majority stake in Cox’s TV stations

  Bloomberg Apollo Global Management LLC agreed to buy the majority stake in Cox Enterprises Inc.’s television broadcasters, transforming the private equity giant into a key player in local TV with 13 stations from Florida to Seattle. Cox will keep a minority stake and help operate the stations via a new business based in Atlanta, the companies said. The deal also ...

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• 16 February

  Windstream in peril after losing court ruling on default to Aurelius

  

  Bloomberg The fate of Windstream Holdings Inc. was cast into doubt after a court ruled that the rural phone company defaulted on its bonds in 2015 by spinning off Uniti Group Inc. Windstream shares fell as much as 43 percent in extended trading. The ruling in Manhattan federal court is a victory for New York hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management ...

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• 16 February

  Russian holds US investor Calvey in jail for 2 months

  Bloomberg A Russian court ruled that Michael Calvey, the founder of private-equity firm Baring Vostok Capital Partners and one of the country’s longest-standing American investors, should be held in custody for nearly two months in an embezzlement case. Calvey will be held through April 13, the judge said. Calvey’s lawyer said the investor maintains his innocence and will appeal. Calvey ...

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• 16 February

  With $25bn in company stakes to manage, Austria gets tough

  

  Bloomberg Sebastian Kurz is getting tough on how the country’s family silver is managed. The Austrian Chancellor’s government put a new team in charge of the more than 22 billion euros worth of company stakes held by the state, giving marching orders that for the first time in decades include a license to buy. The more active role that Kurz ...

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• 16 February

  Trump’s wall ‘emergency’ faces first legal challenge

  

  Bloomberg A nonprofit sued to block President Donald Trump from diverting funds from the federal budget to spend about $8 billion on his promised border wall, hours after he declared a national emergency. Public Citizen, a consumer rights think tank, filed the complaint on behalf of a nature preserve and three landowners in southern Texas who’ve been told the government ...

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