April, 2018

• 3 April

  Xiaomi CEO calls China’s plan to lure tech listings ‘excellent’

  

  Bloomberg China’s trial programme for encouraging technology giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to list their shares at home is drawing positive early reviews, a sign their stocks may soon be available in the world’s most populous country. Lei Jun, co-founder and chief executive officer of smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp., voiced support for the effort to allow companies to issue ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  GE pushes ahead on revamp with $1.05bn sale of health IT

  

  Bloomberg John Flannery’s reshaping of General Electric Co. is getting underway. After taking the helm in 2017, the chief executive officer promised to shed businesses from lighting to locomotives in a bid to simplify the beleaguered manufacturer. Complexity, he said, was at the root of many of GE’s problems. He started following through April 2 when one of the company’s ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Trump to cut Obama-era fuel-efficiency rules

  

  Bloomberg The Trump administration announced that fuel-efficiency regulations for cars and light trucks are too stringent and must be revised, beginning a process sought by the US auto industry to pare anti-pollution targets. The EPA also said it was considering whether to revoke the waiver that allows California to set its own, tougher emissions rules. The national greenhouse gas emission ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Disney offers to buy Sky News to help bolster Fox takeover bid

  

  Bloomberg Walt Disney Co. offered to buy Sky News to help Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. win over UK regulators reviewing Fox’s 11.7 billion-pound ($16.5 billion) acquisition of broadcaster Sky Plc. Disney is interested in acquiring Sky News regardless of whether its larger $52.4 billion takeover of most of Fox goes through, guaranteeing the editorial independence of the operation, ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Blackstone sheds light on gender pay gap in UK PE

  Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP said its female employees in the UK earn an average of 30 percent less than male colleagues, providing a rare glimpse into the gender pay gap in the private equity (PE) industry. Although more than 400,000 people work in private equity in the UK, most of the firms have fewer than 250 employees, exempting them from ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Subprime new-car buyers going missing from US showrooms

  

  Bloomberg The American consumers who were stretching themselves to buy or lease a new car are starting to go missing from showrooms. Rising interest rates and new-vehicle prices are squeezing shoppers with shaky credit and tight budgets out of the market. In the first two months of this year, sales were flat among the highest-rated borrowers, while deliveries to those ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Trump muddles Syria policy with vow to exit ‘very soon’

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump says the US will withdraw troops from Syria “very soon.” He’s also vowed to counter Iran’s influence throughout the Middle East. Doing both at the same time may be impossible. Trump’s off-the-cuff aside at a rally in Ohio last week — “We’re knocking the hell out of IS. We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Russia, Assad give ultimatum to rebels northeast of Damascus

  

  BEIRUT / Reuters Syrian rebels in a besieged area northeast of Damascus have been told they must accept state rule or leave, a rebel group said on Tuesday, as the government and its Russian ally seek to wipe out the last pockets of opposition territory near the capital. The ultimatum to the rebels of eastern Qalamoun was served to civilians ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  China ‘appreciates’ N Korea’s efforts on denuclearisation

  BEIJING / Reuters China appreciates North Korea’s “important efforts” to ease tension on the Korean peninsula, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told the North’s foreign minister on Tuesday, hours after he called on all sides to stay focussed on talks. China has traditionally been secretive North Korea’s closest ally, though ties had been frayed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s ...

  Read More »
• 3 April

  Yemen, UN chief urge peace talks with Houthis

  

  GENEVA / Reuters United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the warring sides in Yemen on Tuesday to reach a political settlement to end a four-year-old conflict that has left 22 million people in urgent need of aid. Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi echoed the call for a return to the negotiating table and said that his internationally-recognised government was working ...

  Read More »