November, 2018

• 20 November

  NATO looks north as it scrambles to prepare for ‘cold war’

  

  Bloomberg The enemy had destroyed the bridge. Near the village of Telneset in central Norway, German and Norwegian troops arrived too late to save the strategic crossing. Stuck on the banks of the Glomma river, military engineers worked to assemble a mobile ferry instead. If truly at war, they may have moved more quickly. But as it was, the atmosphere ...

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• 20 November

  Xi’s Manila visit yields raft of deals

  

  Bloomberg Xi Jinping sealed a raft of deals on Tuesday during a trip to Manila as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration shrugs off US warnings about accepting Chinese cash. Xi’s two-day trip marks the first state visit to the Philippines by a Chinese president in 13 years. The visit reflects warmer ties that began when Duterte took office and pivoted ...

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• 20 November

  Kabila’s protege pledges tripling in Congo spending

  

  Bloomberg The ruling coalition’s candidate in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential election pledged to almost triple government spending if he’s elected. Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, 57, is vying to become leader of the world’s biggest cobalt producer in a vote scheduled for December 23. The former interior minister was handpicked by President Joseph Kabila, who’s stepping aside after 17 years ...

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• 20 November

  JD founder struggles to calm investors after slowdown

  

  Bloomberg JD.com Inc. founder Richard Liu is struggling to reassure investors of his e-commerce giant’s prospects amid rising competition and a global trade war, even as US prosecutors mull whether to charge him over rape allegations. JD’s ADRs slid 8.4 percent in US trading to the lowest in more than two years after a disappointing earnings report and Liu’s first ...

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• 20 November

  Bharti signs for over $2 billion loan amid threat of ratings cut

  

  Bloomberg Bharti Airtel Ltd. is raising more than $2 billion in loans from banks, as India’s second-biggest wireless carrier faces increased competition at home and the threat of a ratings downgrade to junk. The company, controlled by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has agreed to two- and three-year bilateral loans with 10 to 12 lenders, according to people with knowledge of ...

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• 20 November

  Japan shipping line Yusen plans digital cash for crew

  

  Bloomberg Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan’s largest shipping line by sales, is introducing its own digital currency for crew members, people with knowledge of the matter said. The goal is to make it easier for seafaring workers to manage, send and convert money into their local currencies, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan ...

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• 20 November

  Maldives set to scrap China deal

  

  Bloomberg The Maldives is reportedly planning to pull out of a free trade agreement with China as the island nation moves closer to India and the West after Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the presidency in a September election. The trade imbalance between China and the Maldives is “so huge that nobody would think of a free trade agreement between such ...

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• 20 November

  Malaysia, Japan, Thailand benefitting from ‘trade war’

  Bloomberg Asia, at the broad level, will lose from the US-China trade war, but a few countries will emerge as relative winners. Nomura Holdings Inc. found that a push by companies in the US and China for import substitution towards the rest of Asia will benefit Malaysia in particular, followed by Japan, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines, based on its ...

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• 20 November

  Takeda’s dissident holders keep trying to kill Shire deal

  

  Bloomberg They have little chance of success, but the shareholder group trying to derail Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s $62 billion purchase of UK-listed Shire Plc is making last-minute attempts to win over investors. The dissident holders account for only about 1 percent of Takeda’s shares outstanding, but the group is raising its profile as the Japanese drugmaker inches toward completing its ...

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• 20 November

  Apple nears bear territory as iPhone demand woes mount

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc shares dropped close to bear market territory on concern consumers are no longer clamouring for its cornerstone product, the iPhone. The stock closed at a record of $232.07 on October 3. Since then it’s plunged almost 20 percent — the official bear market threshold — as multiple suppliers indicated the company is cutting parts orders for the ...

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