July, 2016

• 19 July

  Truckmakers get record $3.24bn EU fine

  

    Bloomberg Truckmakers, including Daimler AG and Paccar Inc.’s DAF Trucks, agreed to pay European Union regulators a record €2.93bn ($3.24 bn) in fines for fixing truck prices over 14 years. Daimler got the largest penalty of €1.01 billion and DAF will pay €752.7 million as part of a settlement with the European Commission that cut potential fines by at …

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• 19 July

  UK inflation quickens more than forecast on airfare surge

  

    Bloomberg U.K. inflation accelerated more than economists forecast in June, boosted by airfares on trips to continental Europe. The rate rose to 0.5 percent from 0.3 percent in May, the Office for National Statistics said in London on Tuesday. Economists had expected 0.4 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food …

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• 19 July

  Ericsson plans more cuts as revenue trails

    Bloomberg Ericsson AB will accelerate cost cuts after posting sales that missed analysts’ estimates, as Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg battles waning demand for mobile-network gear. Ericsson said it will reduce research and development spending and try to reap efficiency gains from a new company structure. Second-quarter sales fell 11 percent to 54.1 billion kronor ($6.3 billion) as phone …

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• 19 July

  North Sea field shutdowns to climb as Brexit deepens oil gloom

  

    Bloomberg The pace of North Sea oil-field shutdowns is picking up as the impact of the market slump is compounded by the uncertain investment environment created by Brexit. Projected spending on decommissioning in the British sector in the decade to 2024 has risen to 16.9 billion pounds ($22.4 billion), according to Oil & Gas U.K., an industry group. That’s …

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• 19 July

  IMF scraps forecast for global growth pickup on Brexit fallout

  

    Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund scrapped its forecast for a pickup in global growth this year, citing Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, and warned the damage could worsen if confidence falters among investors and companies. The IMF sees global gross domestic product rising 3.1 percent this year, down from April’s 3.2 percent projection and equal to growth …

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• 19 July

  Bayer offer ‘financially inadequate’: Monsanto

  

    Bloomberg Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, said Bayer AG’s latest $55 billion takeover offer is “financially inadequate” and doesn’t ensure a deal would be completed. Monsanto also said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s still open to further “constructive conversations” with the German company and other parties about a deal. Bayer said on Thursday it upped …

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• 19 July

  Volvo cuts North American market outlook for 3rd time as orders slump

  

    Bloomberg Volvo AB cut its outlook for the North American truck market for the third time this year after stagnant freight volumes and excess inventory drove orders in the region down by nearly one-third in the second quarter. Truck orders in North America fell 29 percent, and manufacturers as a whole will probably sell about 240,000 vehicles there this …

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• 19 July

  In Brazil, another shipyard goes bust as work goes to Asia

  

    Bloomberg If there’s one industry where all of Brazil’s political and economic upheavals come together, it’s shipbuilding. A Rio de Janeiro shipyard, where suspended president Dilma Rousseff once promised to employ an army of welders, electricians and engineers to make offshore oil platforms, is all but shut. Every other day, 50 workers on average hand in their helmets and …

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• 19 July

  UnitedHealth beats estimates on Optum as ACA losses mount

  

    Bloomberg UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer, reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, driven by growth at its Optum technology and consulting unit. Optum, whose businesses range from data analysis to running clinics, has accounted for an increasing chunk of UnitedHealth’s profit. That helped cushion an additional $200 million loss from sales of Affordable Care Act …

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• 19 July

  Seven Ukraine troops die in worst clashes in two months

  

    Kiev / AFP Ukraine said on Tuesday seven of its soldiers had been killed and 14 wounded in “very heated” fighting that marked the bloodiest clashes with pro-Russian separatists in two months. The announcement — the highest daily death toll since Ukraine reported seven of its soldiers dying on May 24 — follows a flurry of talks between world …

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