April, 2018

• 25 April

  Nations need own tech to sidestep US control: Jack Ma

  

  Bloomberg Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma argues that nations from Japan to China need to develop their own semiconductor technology to get around America’s grip on the global chip market. The billionaire executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., explaining the e-commerce titan’s growing interest in chips including this month’s acquisition of local design-house Hangzhou C-Sky Microsystems Co., said he’s motivated ...

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• 25 April

  ‘China spurring another horse-to-cars moment’

  

  Bloomberg China’s policies to cut pollution is driving a rapid move toward electric vehicles in the world’s biggest market and causing an upheaval in the global auto industry, Aston Martin Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Andy Palmer said. “This whole show is revolving around what they call new energy vehicles, but Chinese policy is very much driving the move towards ...

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• 25 April

  Generic-drug companies to face US price-fixing charges

  

  Bloomberg US prosecutors are nearing their first charges against companies in an almost four-year-old criminal investigation into alleged price-fixing by generic-drug makers, according to people familiar with the matter. At least two companies are on track to be indicted in the coming months, in addition to several executives, said two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation ...

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• 25 April

  Comcast formalises $30.7bn bid for Sky

  

  Bloomberg Comcast Corp. formalised its 22 billion pound ($30.7 billion) bid for Sky Plc, throwing down the gauntlet to Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co as they vie for Britain’s largest pay-TV broadcaster. Sky’s independent board members welcomed the offer and said they’re withdrawing their recommendation that shareholders accept the Fox proposal. Comcast is offering 12.50 ...

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• 25 April

  VW chief’s testimony sought in new cheating probe

  

  Bloomberg A US House committee has begun a new investigation into allegations of overseas emissions cheating by Volkswagen AG and was seeking testimony from the automaker’s chief executive officer Herbert Diess. In a letter, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, said the committee was investigating reports that Volkswagen “continues to circumvent global emissions requirements” ...

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• 25 April

  UK productivity worst since industrial revolution: BOE

  Bloomberg Britons were only beginning to use steam engines, canals and factories the last time the UK experienced such a poor decade of productivity. Total factory productivity since 2007 was the worst since the late eighteenth century, around the time of the industrial revolution, according to a Bank of England blog post on Wednesday. Average productivity growth was negative for ...

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• 25 April

  Twitter tops earnings projections as turnaround gains steam

  

  Bloomberg Twitter Inc.’s push into live video and more personalised content is finally starting to pay off, boosting revenue and profit more than projected in the first quarter by luring users and advertisers. The shares rose. Sales jumped 21 percent, the most in two years, to $664.9 million, Twitter said on Wednesday in a statement. That surpassed the average analysts’ ...

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• 25 April

  Look out, America is going even deeper into debt

  

  How much debt can the US government afford? Nobody knows for sure, but it’s pushing the envelope like never before — or at least more than it has since World War II. In its latest Global Fiscal Monitor report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offers an admonishment for the world’s developed nations: Use this period of economic growth to pay ...

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• 25 April

  Draghi should put the euro in its place

  

  Rather than looking at what investors expect, perhaps the better question is: What does the European Central Bank (ECB) want to achieve out of its April 26 meeting? Sticking the euro in a box is the answer. Currency stability helps its cause as it manages the delicate balancing act of bringing its QE stimulus packages to a close sometime this ...

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• 25 April

  For UBS Group, the best isn’t yet to come

  UBS Group AG CEO Sergio Ermotti is running out of goodies to sustain the Swiss bank’s premium valuation. After a poor end to 2017, he tried to placate shareholders with buybacks. Now, he is counting on growth at the investment bank to drive future returns. But with a blowout quarter for trading behind us, and more work to do to ...

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