January, 2019

• 19 January

  China offers path to end US trade imbalance

  

  Bloomberg China has offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from the US, in a move that would reconfigure the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, according to officials familiar with the negotiations. By increasing goods imports from the US by a combined value of more than $1 trillion over that period, China would ...

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• 19 January

  Nissan cutting 700 workers at US plant

  

  Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co plans to cut as many as 700 workers at one of its US factories, adding slower truck and van sales to the list of woes for a company reeling from a leadership crisis. The Nissan assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, will eliminate one shift of Titan and Frontier pickup production, and drop one shift building the ...

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• 19 January

  Foxconn may delay hiring for new plant

  Bloomberg Foxconn Technology Group may delay its timeline for hiring workers at its new Wisconsin plant, adding to mounting gloom over the state of the technology industry and global trade. The biggest assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. in Taiwan and Asia, said it has “adjusted” the timeframe for recruitment and hiring at its ...

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• 19 January

  ‘Singapore’s female workers lag men in pay’

  Bloomberg Female professionals in Singapore are, in some cases, earning just half the amount of their male counterparts, the Straits Times reported. High-paying jobs with the widest earnings gap between the genders include specialist medical practitioners and managing directors or chief executives, the paper said, citing data from the Ministry of Manpower. The data highlights room for improvement in Singapore ...

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• 19 January

  Alibaba to postpone hiring, cut travel spending

  

  Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is cutting its spending on travel and postponing some new hiring as China’s largest e-commerce company braces for a slowing economy, people familiar with the matter said. Some new hires were told they can’t start until the new fiscal year begins in April, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is ...

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• 19 January

  ‘Bali to impose $10 tax on foreign tourists’

  Bloomberg Indonesia’s resort island of Bali is set to impose a $10 levy on foreign tourists to preserve its environment and culture, The Jakarta Post reported, citing Governor Wayan Koster. The provincial government is deliberating whether the tax, which won’t be imposed on Indonesian citizens, will be collected as part of the airline ticket or at counters at the airport, ...

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• 19 January

  EU outlines trade goal with US in bid to bolster truce

  

  Bloomberg The European Union unveiled a blueprint for a free-trade deal with the US that would cut tariffs on a wide range of industrial goods including cars in a bid to heal commercial ties. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom asked EU governments in Brussels for the go-ahead to start negotiations on lowering trans-Atlantic commercial barriers, prodding US President Donald Trump ...

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• 19 January

  EU likely to block Siemens-Alstom rail merger plan

  

  Bloomberg The European Commission is expected to block a plan by Siemens AG and Alstom SA to merge their rail units over concerns that the deal betw-een two rivals would stifle competition in the region’s train-equipment market, according to people familiar with the matter. Proposed concessions aimed at allaying EU objections — plus a last-minute lobbying campaign from politicians warning ...

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• 19 January

  Privacy row: Facebook may face huge fine

  

  Bloomberg A US privacy investigation of Facebook Inc, begun after a major data breach was exposed in March, is likely to result in a record fine against the company, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s chief privacy watchdog, is weighing a penalty against the social-media giant for violating a 2011 settlement with ...

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• 19 January

  Microsoft pledges $500mn to boost affordable housing

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp said it will spend $500 million to develop affordable housing and help alleviate homelessness in the Seattle area, responding to a growing regional housing crisis that has strained the finances of many lower- and middle-income residents. Half the money will be spent to support low-income housing across King County with a further $225 million invested at lower ...

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