April, 2018

• 17 April

  Russia’s Telegram ban isn’t just an attack on privacy

  

  Imagine if the US banned Facebook after Mark Zuckerberg’s disappointing performance last week on Capitol Hill. Something similar happened in Russia on Monday as the country’s internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, ordered internet providers to block access to the Telegram messenger. This being Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the ban isn’t just an attack on the freedom of communication and expression: It happens ...

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• 17 April

  China hits $957mn US sorghum trade with fresh duty

  

  Bloomberg China will impose temporary anti-dumping deposits on US sorghum imports from Wednesday, adding to trade tensions between the world’s biggest economies. Soybean meal futures climbed on concerns the oilseed could be targeted next. Imports will incur a 178.6 percent duty, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a preliminary ruling. That’s in compliance with domestic law and World Trade Organization ...

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• 17 April

  Vingroup aims $2bn in share sale

  

  Bloomberg Vingroup JSC, Vietnam’s biggest developer, is targeting an initial equity offering of as much as $2 billion for its luxury residential arm, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Hanoi-based group’s Vinhomes JSC unit is considering seeking a valuation of $13 billion to $16 billion in the share sale, according to one of the people, who asked not ...

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• 17 April

  Shakeout in Japan job market sets big caps up to beat small guys

  Bloomberg A stellar rally for smaller-sized Japanese companies over the last two years is about to face its biggest test yet should evidence emerge this earnings season that the country’s tight labor market is starting to erode profitability. A combination of attractive relative valuations for larger stocks and the greater hit to small and medium enterprises from labor shortages should ...

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• 17 April

  Huawei can’t block Samsung China manufacturing: Court

  

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. can continue manufacturing and selling smartphones in China while it battles Huawei Technologies Co. over patent royalties, a US judge ruled. The order by a federal judge in San Francisco blocks Huawei from enforcing a decision by a Chinese court, which ruled Samsung is infringing two Huawei patents. In January, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen ...

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• 17 April

  India to receive normal monsoon in boost for Modi

  

  Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for growth in Asia’s third-largest economy, is expected to be normal this year. Annual rain between June and September is likely to be 97 percent of a 50-year average, the India Meteorological Department said. The forecast has a margin of error of 5 percent, ...

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• 17 April

  Kraken exchange pulls out of Japan

  Bloomberg Kraken, one of the world’s longest-operating cryptocurrency exchanges, will end its trading services for Japanese residents. The San Francisco-based company cited the rising costs of doing business in Japan for its decision, though it said it may re-enter the country in the future. It tentatively plans to cease all its services, which began in October 2014, by the end ...

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• 17 April

  UK businesses reject calls for second brexit referendum

  

  Bloomberg The plot to reverse Brexit is missing a key ally: UK business. Companies have been among the most outspoken critics of the split from the European Union, and many have much to lose from the divorce. But as a group of lawmakers tries to engineer a second referendum, business leaders are recoiling. Worse than Brexit is prolonged uncertainty. “Business ...

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• 17 April

  German investor morale tumbles over trade war worries

  

  Bloomberg The euro area’s economic expansion is standing on increasingly shaky ground after reports showed German investor confidence tumbling to its lowest level since late 2012 and the risk of a recession in the nation jumping. The sentiment gauge from ZEW showed more investors now see a worsening in Europe’s largest economy than forecast an improvement, a mood swing that ...

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• 17 April

  UK wages rise most since ’15 as end to squeeze nears

  

  Bloomberg UK wages are rising at their fastest pace in almost three years, raising the prospect of an end to the squeeze on living standards. Annual pay growth excluding bonuses accelerated to 2.8 percent in the three months through February, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Inflation averaged 2.9 percent in the same period and is forecast to ...

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