April, 2018

• 11 April

  Billionaire Indonesian brothers diversify into phone towers

  

  Bloomberg Indonesian billionaire brothers Michael Hartono and Budi Hartono, who built their fortunes by providing banking services, are now turning their focus on telecom. PT Sarana Menara Nusantara, backed by Hartonos’ Djarum Group, is open to acquisitions to consolidate its leadership position in the cellular tower business, according to Vice President Director Adam Gifari. Sarana has cash or cash equivalent ...

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• 11 April

  UK businesses want to stick to European rules after Brexit

  

  Bloomberg British businesses overwhelmingly want to stick to European rules after Brexit, according to the most detailed sector-by-sector analysis of what companies need the UK to fight for in negotiations. The Confederation of British Industry, which compiled the data, argues that the opportunities presented by breaking free from European Union regulations are vastly outweighed by the cost of losing access ...

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• 11 April

  US firms avoided tax on $25bn in profits in 2017

  

  WASHINGTON / Reuters Fifteen US corporations including online retailer Amazon.com Inc, power company Duke Energy Corp and insurer Prudential Financial Inc avoided US tax on nearly $25 billion in combined profits last year, a tax watchdog group said. A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, said data showed how profitable Fortune 500 companies have routinely ...

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• 11 April

  EU plans more legal powers for consumers to sue companies

  BRUSSELS / Reuters The European Union plans more powers for consumers to sue firms like Volkswagen after the Dieselgate scandal showed the limits of consumer protection authorities to curb corporate cheating. Wednesday’s proposal by the EU executive would give consumer groups the ability to launch collective action on behalf of clients and hand consumer protection authorities stronger powers to sanctions ...

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• 11 April

  French economy loses momentum as Macron gambles for long-term benefits of reforms

  

  Bloomberg The French economy may have just had its worst quarter in more than a year and there could be further pain ahead if planned strikes opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s reforms go forward. Industrial sentiment fell to the lowest in more than a year in March and manufacturing output unexpectedly declined in February, according to reports this week. A broad ...

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• 11 April

  Biotech M&A rolls on as Alexion snaps up Wilson for $855 million

  Reuters Alexion Pharmaceuticals has agreed to buy Sweden’s Wilson Therapeutics for 7.1 billion Swedish crowns ($855 million), boosting its line-up of rare disease drugs as a wave of deal-making in the biotechnology sector continues. The US group is acquiring the business through a cash tender offer worth 232 crowns per share, a premium of 70 percent compared to the closing ...

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• 11 April

  US poised to wrap AT&T merger case

  Bloomberg US antitrust enforcers are set to conclude their case against AT&T Inc.’s proposed takeover of Time Warner Inc. as their economic expert — a critical witness for the government — is scheduled to take the stand on Wednesday. Professor Carl Shapiro from the University of California at Berkeley will testify that AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner would raise costs ...

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• 11 April

  Volkswagen to give unions management board seat

  

  BERLIN / Reuters Volkswagen will give labour leaders a management board seat as part of a broad agreement to win approval for Herbert Diess as the German carmaker’s new chief executive, sources said on Wednesday. Europe’s largest automotive group is poised to replace group chief executive Matthias Mueller this week with Diess, a cost-cutter hired in 2015 from BMW as ...

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• 11 April

  Trump’s trade war pushes Europe towards China’s Xi

  

  The trade fight between the US and China is posing a dilemma to the European Union: Should the world’s largest trading bloc pick a side? And, if so, which one? In theory, the US is the more natural ally for Europe: The two have cooperated closely since the end of World War II, building the multilateral institutions which are now ...

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• 11 April

  Don’t rule out a yuan devaluation

  

  Don’t relax yet: A potential yuan devaluation is still very much on the table. Currency traders sighed with relief after Chinese President Xi Jinping moved to ease trade tensions with the US, reiterating pledges to open the country’s economy further and cautioning against a cold-war mentality and zero-sum thinking. The yuan had weakened for the four previous days, with jitters ...

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