January, 2019

• 8 January

  German industry shock raises recession fears

  

  Bloomberg A dramatic plunge in German industrial activity late last year raised the risk that Europe’s largest economy will slip into recession. Production fell for a third month in November and posted its worst year-on-year drop since the end of the financial crisis, with weakness in everything from consumer goods to energy. A slump in Germany has repercussions for the ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Roku sees 40 percent surge in active users

  

  Bloomberg Roku Inc shares had their best day in 14 months after saying the number of active accounts in the fourth quarter rose 40 percent from the year prior, giving media investors confidence that viewers are doubling down on streaming platforms. Viewers are doubling down on streaming as their preferred method for consuming television entertainment and Roku touted the preliminary ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Qualcomm claims 5G leadership in phones

  

  Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc, the largest maker of chips for smartphones, said it’s leading the charge to be the main supplier of technology for 5G phones coming this year and announced new products aimed at winning more orders in the automotive market. The company’s chips will be in 30 devices with 5G connections coming to the market later in 2019, Qualcomm ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Sika to buy materials maker Parex for $2.6bn

  

  Bloomberg Sika AG offered to acquire Parex Ltd at an enterprise value of 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.6 billion), adding a maker of mortar and other construction materials to expand a key business for the Swiss chemicals group. The purchase will add to earnings per share from the first full year after the deal is completed, expected in the second ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Daimler set to roll out self-driving trucks

  

  Bloomberg Daimler AG will start selling a heavy-duty truck in the US this year that’s able to brake, accelerate and steer at all speeds on its own. This will coincide with the planned launch of electric-car leader Tesla Inc’s Semi truck, which will stoke competition at a time when demand in North America is forecast to soften. Taking the next ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Kim visits China in push against Trump sanctions

  

  Bloomberg Kim Jong-un is making his fourth visit to China, in a sign that the North Korean leader is seeking Chinese President Xi Jinping’s counsel ahead of a possible second summit with Donald Trump. Kim left Pyongyang on January 7 for a visit slated to end on Thursday, North Korean and Chinese state media reported. Kim was invited by Xi ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  White House pressure ended protection for Haitians, says lawyer

  

  Bloomberg Elaine Duke was up against a deadline to extend Temporary Protected Status for 50,000 Haitians in the US and was inclined to do so, after repeated renewals since a massive earthquake in 2010 and a subsequent cholera outbreak devastated Haiti. But after John Kelly, then White House chief of staff, convened a meeting on November 3, 2017, Duke, the ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Syria sanctions bill in Senate could stall over shutdown

  

  Bloomberg An effort in the Senate to force President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on Syria is getting caught up in the stalemate over the partial US government shutdown as top Democrats said they’d move to block any legislation that doesn’t reopen the government. The Senate was planning a procedural vote on Tuesday on the Middle East policy package, ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Orban risks first union strike since 1989

  

  Bloomberg Bolstered by a wave of nationwide protests, Hungary’s labour unions are mulling whether to hold their first general strike since the 1989 fall of the Iron Curtain. Industrial workers were among the more than 10,000 people braved freezing weather in Budapest over the weekend to demand Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government repeal a new law allowing companies to ask ...

  Read More »
• 8 January

  Modi’s ouster of CBI chief rejected by court

  

  Bloomberg India’s Supreme Court overturned the federal government’s decision to oust the chief of the country’s top investigative agency in a blow to PM Narendra Modi just months before he seeks re-election. The government in October removed Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) director Alok Verma and special director Rakesh Asthana after their rift — involving corruption allegations against each other ...

  Read More »