May, 2018

• 21 May

  US-China trade truce may not last with differences unresolved

  

  Bloomberg The US and China declared a truce in their trade dispute over the weekend, but that will prove temporary if the world’s two largest economies fail to deliver on their vague commitments to re-balance trade. “We’re putting the trade war on hold,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said after the two sides released a joint statement a day earlier. “Right ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  First big bankruptcy success hands $5.2bn to India lenders

  

  Bloomberg The biggest asset sale under India’s new bankruptcy law offers a breather to the nation’s banks, a number of which posted record losses for last quarter. Tata Steel Ltd. bought insolvent Bhushan Steel Ltd. and is paying 352 billion rupees ($5.2 billion) to Bhushan’s creditors. This is about 63 percent of the 560 billion rupees claimed by a consortium ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  Hong Kong spends $2.4 billion a week to defend currency

  Bloomberg Currency intervention is becoming a daily necessity for Hong Kong as the local dollar continues to trade at the weak end of its trading band. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority spent HK$5.99 billion ($763 million) buying local dollars as the weekend began, bringing its purchases over the past week to HK$19 billion. Lower interest rates relative to the greenback ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  China considers ending birth limits as soon as this year

  

  Bloomberg China is planning to scrap all limits on the number of children a family can have, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be a historic end to a policy that spurred countless human-rights abuses and left the world’s second-largest economy short of workers. The State Council, China’s cabinet, has commissioned research on the repercussions of ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  Blackstone agrees to acquire LaSalle Hotel in $4.8bn deal

  

  Bloomberg Three days after agreeing to sell off the last of its Hilton stake, Blackstone is buying another hotel company. Blackstone Group LP has agreed to acquire luxury hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The all-cash transaction values LaSalle at $33.50 a share, or $4.8 billion including debt, said the people, who asked ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  Google likely to face $4.3bn claim in UK IPhone privacy case

  Bloomberg IPhone users suing Google over data-collection claims may be seeking as much as 3.2 billion pounds ($4.29 billion), the search giant said in a court filing. The group representing iPhone users, known as Google You Owe Us, now includes 4.4 million people, according to documents filed with the court at a hearing on Monday. The group says the Alphabet ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  Italian assets slump again

  Bloomberg Italian assets were pummeled again on mounting concern over the populist coalition’s fiscal plans, with the moves rippling across European debt markets. Bond yields climbed to the highest levels in almost three years, while the premium to cover a default in the nation’s debt was the stiffest since October. The local benchmark stock index dropped for a second day, ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  UK seeks penalties for tech giants to stop cyber bullying

  

  Bloomberg The UK government will set laws to stop cyber bullying among children, which may include multimillion dollar fines for social media companies like Facebook Inc. if they flout new statutory codes of conduct. “I don’t want the trolls to win,” Culture Secretary Matt Hancock told ITV after his department published further details of an Internet Safety Strategy. The government ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  GE gets boost from $11.1bn rail deal with Wabtec

  

  Bloomberg General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer John Flannery is taking the biggest step yet in his plan to revitalise the beleaguered manufacturer, agreeing to merge its century-old locomotive business with Wabtec Corp. in a deal valued at $11.1 billion. GE and its shareholders will own 50.1 percent of the combined company, giving the parent an ongoing stake in the ...

  Read More »
• 21 May

  Zuckerberg’s testimony to EU parliament to be webstreamed

  

  Bloomberg Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to the European Parliament on Tuesday on the Cambridge Analytica scandal will be broadcast live on the internet. Zuckerberg agreed to the web feed after talks with Antonio Tajani, the president of the parliament. The proceedings, scheduled for the late afternoon in Brussels, were to take place behind closed doors. “Great news for ...

  Read More »