May, 2018

• 30 May

  Malaysia to start sales tax in September to shore up budget

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia will implement a new sales tax in September to replace the consumption levy that it’s scrapping next month as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad looks for ways to temper concerns on the nation’s budget. The government is studying a 10 percent rate for the sales and services tax, he told reporters in Putrajaya after a Cabinet meeting. Ministers also ...

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• 30 May

  India delays plan to roll out 10,000 EV to 2019

  Bloomberg India has pushed back a deadline to put thousands of battery-driven cars on the road by nearly a year, in a setback to its ambitions of having electric vehicles comprise about a third of its fleet by 2030. State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd., which is responsible for procuring electric cars to replace the petrol and diesel vehicles used by ...

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• 30 May

  Singapore’s fintech goals bump up against immigration curbs

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s goal of becoming a high-tech financial hub is running into real-world problems of labour supply and demand. Technology startups in many countries are fighting to attract skilled workers like software engineers. Yet in the tiny city-state of Singapore, with a population of 5.6 million, the dearth of talent is particularly acute. The nation’s universities and polytechnic schools churn ...

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• 30 May

  Bayer wins US approval for $66bn Monsanto takeover

  

  Bloomberg Bayer AG won US antitrust approval for its $66 billion takeover of Monsanto Co, clearing the last major regulatory hurdle to forming the world’s biggest seed and agricultural-chemicals provider after a nearly two-year global review. The companies reached a settlement with the Justice Department that resolves the gover- nment’s concerns that the merger as initially structured would harm consumers ...

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• 30 May

  Salesforce jumps on rosy revenue forecast after acquisitions

  

  Bloomberg Salesforce.com Inc. gave a revenue forecast that topped analysts’ estimates, signalling the company’s expensive efforts to expand its software products and customer base may be paying off. Sales will be as much as $3.23 billion in the current quarter, the San Francisco-based company said in a statement. Analysts on average projected $3.1 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. ...

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• 30 May

  EU braces for US metal import curbs

  

  Bloomberg European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom gave her clearest signal yet that the EU will come up short in its bid for a permanent, unconditional waiver from US metal tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on national-security grounds. Speaking just days before a temporary waiver for the EU from the duties expires, Malmstrom said the bloc would likely face ...

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• 30 May

  Euro-area confidence slips over ‘political risks’

  

  Bloomberg Euro-area confidence extended its slide in May as cooling economic growth in the region was met with budding political uncertainties. The European Commission’s index of sentiment slipped to 112.5 from 112.7, taking the gauge to its lowest in nine months. While the decline was less than economists had forecast, it’s the fifth straight drop after optimism reached a 17-year ...

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• 30 May

  KKR buys Bain’s BMC in deal worth $8.3bn

  

  Bloomberg KKR & Co. agreed to acquire BMC Software Inc. in a deal that valued the information technology management provider at about $8.3 billion including debt, according to a person familiar with the matter. KKR will buy BMC from an investor group led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital together with GIC Pte Ltd., Insight Venture Partners and Elliott ...

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• 30 May

  German unemployment rate falls to record low

  Bloomberg German unemployment fell to a fresh record low as companies in Europe’s largest economy stepped up hiring to work through backlogs even amid signs of slowing growth. The jobless rate dropped to 5.2% in May, Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said on Wednesday. The number of people out of work fell by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 2.358 million, ...

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• 30 May

  US-China military tensions rise ahead of Asia security forum

  

  Bloomberg Tensions are rising between the US and China ahead of Asia’s biggest security conference this week, even as the two powers push for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Defense Secretary James Mattis said while en route to the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that he was planning to raise US concerns about China’s recent moves to “militarise” the ...

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