January, 2019

• 5 January

  New Petrobras CEO rejects govt intervention

  Bloomberg The new head of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company criticised its history of government interference and vowed to pursue policies that will boost profit, echoing a wider pledge by President Jair Bolsonaro to reduce the state’s role in Latin America’s largest economy. Roberto Castello Branco, who was sworn in as chief executive officer of Petrobras, said he was “revolted” by ...

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• 5 January

  US tech transfers to China targeted in new security bill

  

  Bloomberg The US hasn’t done enough to counter the use of technology transfers and supply chain infiltration from countries like China, leading to a grave national security risk, according to two US senators. To guard against state-sponsored technology theft and risks to supply chains that provide technology to US consumers, Senators Mark Warner and Marco Rubio have proposed legislation requiring ...

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• 5 January

  Chinese ‘clampdown’ holds up Baidu, Sohu

  

  Bloomberg China’s cyberspace police have ordered Baidu Inc and Sohu.com Ltd to suspend a plethora of news services for a week, kicking off an online clean-up campaign with two of the country’s biggest internet corporations. The Cyberspace Administration of China announced it was starting a six-month effort to eradicate “vulgar” information” from a plethora of online media, including messaging services ...

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• 5 January

  Ghosn to get a day in court two months after arrest

  

  Bloomberg Carlos Ghosn will finally see the inside of a Japanese court room next week, almost two months after his arrest on financial crimes. The embattled car titan will attend a hearing of the Tokyo district court on January 8, according to his chief lawyer, Motonari Otsuru. The session was called after Ghosn’s legal team requested an explanation on why ...

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• 5 January

  Indian government says it’s on track to meet electricity deadline in March

  

  Bloomberg The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it’s on track to meet its official March 31 deadline to provide electricity connections to every home, saying a December 31 goal promoted publicly by the power ministry was only an “internal target.” The ministry said in a statement that it aimed to achieve full electrification by year-end “so that ...

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• 5 January

  Most-prized fish sold for $3.1mn in Tokyo

  Bloomberg One of the world’s most expensive fish just got pricier. A 278-kilogram bluefin tuna sold for 333.6 million yen ($3.1 million) at a Tokyo fish market. The record price — which equates to about $5,000 a pound — is more than double the previous high set in 2013, according to Masayuki Fukuda, an official in charge of trading operations ...

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• 5 January

  Bristol-Myers to buy Celgene in $74 billion cancer-drug bet

  

  Bloomberg Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to acquire Celgene Corp in a record-sized $74 billion deal that will unite two drugmakers battling for advantage in a crowded market for innovative cancer treatments. Both companies have faced investor wariness about their prospects in recent months. Bristol makes an immunotherapy drug called Opdivo that accounts for roughly a quarter of its sales but that ...

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• 5 January

  Apple cuts revenue forecast as demand plunges in China

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc plunged to its lowest price in a year-and-a-half after the company cut its revenue outlook for the first time in almost two decades, citing weaker demand in China. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said sales will be about $84 billion in the quarter ended on December 29, down from earlier estimates of $89 billion to $93 billion. ...

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• 5 January

  British economy shows signs of Brexit pressure

  

  Bloomberg The first week of the new year brought a slew of bleak reports for the UK economy, highlighting the scale of the challenges to come as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. Data showed the housing market had its worst 12 months since 2013 last year, consumers remained reticent about borrowing and a gauge of services, the largest ...

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• 5 January

  PG&E weighs bankruptcy

  

  Bloomberg PG&E Corp is considering filing for bankruptcy protection within weeks as a way of organising billions of dollars in potential liabilities tied to deadly wildfires that ravaged parts of California in 2017 and 2018, according to people familiar with the situation. The California utility giant may decide to file by February, said the people, asking not to be identified ...

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