January, 2019

• 15 January

  Shutdown stalling Fiat Chrysler’s new pickups: CEO

  

  Bloomberg The government shutdown is delaying Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s efforts to bring crucial new heavy-duty Ram pickups to the market. The Ram 3500 still needs emissions certification from the US Environmental Protection Agency to be approved for sale, and that process is being held up by the shutdown, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley said at the North ...

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• 15 January

  Germany dodges recession with Q4 growth

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s economy narrowly avoided a recession at the end of 2018 after a slump in industry raised concerns over Europe’s growth engine. There was a “slight” increase in gross domestic product in the three months through December, according to the Federal Statistics Office, which will publish official figures next month. But the quarter rounded out a year in which ...

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• 15 January

  Apple says Qualcomm refused to provide chips

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said Qualcomm Inc refused to provide cellular modems for the 2018 iPhones after Apple sued the chipmaker in 2017. Williams’s testimony in the Federal Trade Commission antitrust trial against Qualcomm, indicates the chipmaker forced Apple to use Intel Corp modems exclusively in the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR released ...

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• 15 January

  GE could face hefty fines over ‘jobs’ in France

  

  Bloomberg Four years ago, General Electric Co made a commitment to win France’s approval to buy Alstom SA’s energy business: it would create jobs or pay a hefty fine. The Boston-based company pledged it would add 1,000 positions in France by end-2018, failing which it would pay the French government a fine of 50,000 euros ($57,000) for every job not ...

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• 15 January

  Profits drive North America, Europe cocoa processing

  

  Bloomberg Strong processing profits probably kept cocoa processing at high rates in Europe and Nor-th America, according to a Bloomberg survey. Grinding in Europe, the top-consuming region, likely rose 2 percent in the fourth quarter to the highest for that period going back to 2001, the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 14 traders, brokers, processors and analysts showed. ...

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• 15 January

  Trump presidency without steadying hand of Jim Mattis

  

  At home and abroad, people are now asking a question they’ve dreaded for nearly two years: How will the erratic presidency of Donald Trump function without the steadying hand of Jim Mattis as defense secretary? Life without Mattis is the scary reality of this new year. The president may have tired of the careful, battle-hardened advice he received from the ...

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• 15 January

  Jaguar Land Rover is still misfiring

  

  Jaguar Land Rover’s job cuts will do little for its turnaround plans. The UK luxury unit of India’s Tata Motors Ltd. will eliminate 4,500 positions globally as part of a $3.2 billion cost-cutting program outlined in November. The savings will be relatively minor. Workforce reductions are now standard in an industry struggling to deal with rising costs from technology, pricier ...

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• 15 January

  Xiaomi’s wishful thinking is on display in 5G hopes

  

  Investors waiting for 5G to boost Xiaomi Corp.’s fortunes might as well take their money elsewhere. Founder and CEO Lei Jun told Bloomberg News that he expects the advent of next-generation wireless to energize demand for its smartphones: We are at the eve of 5G and when 5G phones start to get popular, the overall demand from China will recover. ...

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• 15 January

  Germany’s economy could soon need a boost

  The latest data on Germany’s economy is surprisingly grim. Industrial production fell sharply in November, and the country is on the brink of a technical recession. Its government should get ready to loosen fiscal policy if output doesn’t bounce back soon. November’s 1.9 percent month-on-month decline in industrial production followed a 0.8 percent drop in October. The economy’s overall output ...

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• 15 January

  Five fiscal messes India can’t blame on the RBI

  

  Instead of blaming the central bank at every opportunity for its poor stewardship of the economy, India’s finance ministry should reflect on its own record, especially its five failures of fiscal policy in almost as many years. The most obvious is the goods and services tax. A month after the levy went into effect in July 2017, a little over ...

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