January, 2019

• 7 January

  ‘Big M&A crucial in pharma landscape’

  Bloomberg These are tough times for the global health-care world, and only financially fit companies supported by strong research and development will survive, according to Takeda Pharmaceutical’s Christophe Weber. That goes a long way to explaining the Japanese drugmaker’s $62 billion deal to acquire Shire Plc, the chief executive said at a briefing, as the company prepares to close the ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Handcuffed and roped up, Ghosn to address Japan court

  

  Bloomberg Carlos Ghosn will speak publicly on Tuesday for the first time since his arrest almost two months ago, when he appears in a Japanese court. Handcuffed and with a rope tied around his waist, as is the practice in Japanese courts, the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman will declare his innocence and deny any wrongdoing, according to his chief ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Rift between Germany, Brazil stalls work on carbon market

  

  Bloomberg A dispute pitting two groups of nations led respectively by Germany and Brazil is holding up work on creating a global market for trading carbon pollution, one of the pillars of the Paris Agreement on climate change. After bruising talks at a United Nations climate conference last month, the two groups remain at odds on how to structure the ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Apple-Samsung deal shows shift to services

  

  Bloomberg Apple and Samsung announced a deal that only recently would have seemed unthinkable: The iPhone maker will begin offering iTunes movies and TV shows on its archrival’s TV sets. The move demonstrates Apple’s shift towards developing into a tech- and media-services company as sales of gear like the iPhone continue to wane. It’s “further evidence that Apple is willing ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Job report signals solid US economy

  

  Bloomberg The US job market delivered a blowout performance in December, giving a clearer signal that the economy is on solid footing even as investors fret about the trade war and other risks in 2019. US stocks and Treasury yields surged after Labor Department figures showed employers added the most workers in 10 months, wage gains accelerated and labour-force participation ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Euro-area business growth at 4-year low

  Bloomberg Euro-area companies are bracing for subdued economic momentum in 2019 after activity slipped to a four-year low at the end of last year. Growth in manufacturing and services slowed more than initially reported in December 2018 — weighed down by public protests in France, Germany’s continued struggles in the car industry, and renewed weakness in Italy. Composite gauges for ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  PG&E bankruptcy talks set stage for face-off with California

  

  Bloomberg In weighing a bankruptcy, power giant PG&E Corp may be firing a warning shot to California lawmakers: Help us or watch the largest utility in your state go insolvent. The company is considering whether to file for bankruptcy protection in as soon as weeks to organise the billions of dollars in potential liabilities from wildfires its equipment may have ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Trump’s long shutdown could destabilise world

  

  President Donald Trump in a meeting with congressional Democrats last week said he was prepared for the partial government shutdown to continue for months — or even years — if he doesn’t get the money he wants for a wall along the Mexican border. It’s not hard to see how that prediction comes true. Both sides have framed the issue ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  China’s risky dollar debt addiction

  

  China’s foreign debt has been rising rapidly, and that’s becoming an increasingly big problem — for the country and, potentially, the world. Officially, China lists its outstanding external debt at $1.9 trillion. For a $13 trillion economy, that’s not a major amount. But focusing on the headline number significantly understates the underlying risks. Short-term debt accounted for 62 percent of ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Yen-inspired ‘flash-crash’ is an ugly omen for Japan

  

  The sharp appreciation of the yen in the twilight zone between US and Asia trading days isn’t just an overreaction to poor results from Apple Inc. in thin trading (Japan doesn’t return from its New Year holiday until January 4.) It is a portent of the struggles ahead for the country’s central bank in 2019. It’s going to be harder ...

  Read More »