May, 2018

• 1 May

  Manafort asks judge to probe FBI leaks

  

  Bloomberg Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump, asked a judge to investigate FBI leaks of secret grand-jury information that came before his indictments. Manafort is seeking a hearing about leaks that he says interfere with his right to a fair trial in Alexandria, Virginia, where Special Counsel Robert Mueller signed an indictment accusing him of bank ...

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• 1 May

  Boris Johnson takes time with UK’s reply on Iran

  

  Bloomberg After Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran had misled the world over its atomic programme, he might have expected a swift reaction from UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Britain is, after all, one of the six signatories to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. But it was not until 19 hours after Netanyahu’s presentation that Johnson — among ...

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• 1 May

  UK proposes solutions over Irish border impasse

  

  Bloomberg The UK is proposing a new plan to kick-start stalled Brexit talks and make progress on the vexed issue of the Irish border as negotiations resume in Brussels this week. Brexit Secretary David Davis said he wanted to “move quickly” when talks restart on Wednesday in order to reach a solution to avoid a hard land border with Ireland ...

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• 1 May

  Dominican Republic forges China ties in Taiwan blow

  

  Bloomberg The Dominican Republic established diplomatic relations with China, in a new blow to Taiwan as Beijing seeks to isolate the self-governed island. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed the joint communique with his Dominican counterpart to establish ties at ambassadorial level in Beijing on Tuesday, China’s Central Television said in a Weibo post. Taiwan cut its relations with the ...

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• 1 May

  US stocks start may lower, with eyes on Apple; dollar rallies

  

  Bloomberg US stocks opened lower on Tuesday, when much attention will be focused on Apple Inc.’s earnings report after the close. The dollar extended its rally, while UK equities climbed during a lackluster session in which many major markets were closed. The S&P 500 Index fell in morning trading, with industrial and energy stocks leading a broad-based, if shallow, decline ...

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• 1 May

  Plus500 hits record on crypto trades as Barclays mulls entry

  

  Bloomberg Plus500 Ltd., the brokerage for complex derivatives sold to retail investors, soared to the highest on record as demand for cryptocurrencies swelled, while British lender Barclays Plc signalled it may begin to trade in similar products. Shares in Plus500 surged to the highest level since the Haifa-based firm first sold shares to the public in 2013, as revenue more ...

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• 1 May

  Why can’t China make decent semiconductors?

  

  Jack Ma says he’s ready for China to make semiconductors at home. It’s a longstanding goal for the Chinese government. And thanks to a recent crackdown on certain technology exports by the US, it’s now a critical one. The question is whether China can finally conquer this challenge after decades of failures. Semiconductors are the building blocks of electronics, found ...

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• 1 May

  Farfetch’s valuation could wind up farfetched

  

  Who wears it best in online luxury? Investors are about to decide. Just as Cie Financiere Richemont is taking control of Yoox Net-A-Porter Group, rival Farfetch U.K. Ltd may be eyeing a $6 billion initial public offering. Though YNAP is a digital pioneer, it apes a traditional department store. It buys stock and holds it until it is sold to ...

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• 1 May

  Airbus is building gliders while Boeing floats on cash

  

  What’s the difference between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE? One builds commercial aircraft, the other makes “gliders” (a pejorative term for passenger jets without engines.) Airbus shipped just 121 aircraft during the first quarter, the least since 2011, notes Bloomberg News’s Benjamin Katz this morning. That’s also one third fewer than Boeing managed in the same period. The main problem ...

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• 1 May

  Walmart’s major overseas ambitions require big moves

  Walmart Inc. is starting to make moves that reveal its international ambitions. The retailing giant has agreed to sell its UK grocery chain, Asda, to rival J Sainsbury PLC in a transaction worth about $10.1 billion. Walmart will retain a 42 percent stake in the combined company. That splashy deal comes amid signs Walmart is considering other big changes to ...

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