May, 2018

• 1 May

  Japan’s traditional utilities face nuke threat from their own

  Bloomberg Japan’s traditional regional utilities, already defending their territory against nimbler new entrants, face a fresh threat: one of their own is now stealing customers thanks to cheaper nuclear-powered electricity rates. Kansai Electric Power Co. is one of a few utilities to restart atomic power plants, which will allow it to offer cheaper rates as it continues its expansion outside ...

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• 1 May

  Panasonic to pay $280mn to end corruption probe

  

  Bloomberg Panasonic Corp. will pay about $280 million to resolve US allegations that executives at its in-flight-entertainment unit improperly hid payments to consultants in the Middle East and Asia, some of whom did little or no work for the company. The Panasonic parent company, in a settlement announced, will pay $143 million in disgorgement to the Securities and Exchange Commission, ...

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• 1 May

  Sony hits 2-year low on cooling smartphone demand

  

  Bloomberg Sony Corp. shares fell the most in almost two years after the electronics maker missed profit estimates and forecast weaker sales and operating profits across most of its business units. The stock fell 6.1 percent to 5,073 yen on Tuesday in Tokyo, the biggest one-day drop since June 2016 and the first trading session after last week’s earnings. The ...

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• 1 May

  China’s aspiring Porsche, BMW owners in sweet spot for duty cut

  Bloomberg Chinese consumers waiting for years to lay their hands on the Porsche sports car or the 7 series from BMW AG may soon be rewarded. Imported premium cars in the $80,000 to $240,000 range are set to benefit the most from China’s planned reduction in tariffs by about half, said James Roy, a director at luxury consultancy Agility Research ...

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• 1 May

  Boeing buys jet parts supplier KLX Aerospace in $4.25bn deal

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. is acquiring KLX Inc. for $4.25 billion in an all-cash transaction that includes $1 billion of net debt, as the world’s largest planemaker bolsters a fast-growing new division that offers maintenance, spare parts and other services to airlines. The aircraft maker will pay $63 per share for the purchase that includes KLX’s Aerospace Solutions Group and the ...

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• 1 May

  Heathrow confident of getting Parliament’s nod for new runway

  

  Bloomberg London’s Heathrow airport is putting the champagne on ice in anticipation of final approval for the new runway it’s been seeking for decades after a poll showed the plan has the overwhelming backing of lawmakers. The company survey suggests the 16 billion-pound ($22 billion) project is supported by 75 percent of parliamentarians, Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye said on ...

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• 1 May

  Prologis buys rival to boost presence in growth markets

  

  Bloomberg For Prologis Inc., the world’s largest warehouse owner, the biggest challenge to growth has been acquiring land in the markets most important to its e-commerce tenants. The solution: buy a rival. The real estate investment trust agreed to acquire DCT Industrial Trust Inc. for $8.4 billion in stock and assumed debt. REITs that lease out space at warehouses and ...

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• 1 May

  Can the man who made Coach a fashion icon remake Tiffany

  

  Bloomberg Reed Krakoff, the designer who catapulted Coach to fashion prominence, and made it a $5 billion handbag Goliath, has officially traded in his leather for diamonds. Hired by Tiffany & Co. last year as chief artistic director, he was brought in to overhaul the iconic jewelry brand’s design, attract younger shoppers and reverse an extended sales slump. On Tuesday, ...

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• 1 May

  Walmart refines global plan with $10bn Asda sale

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc.’s plan to shed control of its UK grocery chain, Asda, reflects a global strategy to emphasize faster-growing markets over some of its more mature ones. The world’s largest retailer said that Asda will combine with British retailer J Sainsbury Plc, mixing the UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain with No. 3 Asda in a deal worth about $10 billion. ...

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• 1 May

  What a paradox! Mexico City is always either too wet or too dry

  

  There may be other major global metropolises (Los Angeles springs to mind) that have invested more effort and money than Mexico City to bring in water from afar. But there is surely none that has invested as much effort and money to send the water back out. Mexico City’s hydrological paradox is that (unlike Los Angeles) it gets more than ...

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