April, 2017

• 20 April

  Qualcomm’s chip expansion helps deflect lawsuit concerns

  

    Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc., the biggest maker of chips used in mobile phones, said a push into new markets such as automotive and connected devices bolstered sales in the second quarter, helping relieve concerns that growth will be hurt by legal challenges in its licensing business. Adjusted sales and profit topped analysts’ estimates in the period that ended in March. ...

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• 20 April

  Nestle, Unilever price rises spur food industry optimism

  

    Bloomberg Nestle SA and Unilever reported sales that beat estimates as the European food giants pushed through higher prices to combat slowing consumption in most parts of the world. KitKat maker Nestle said organic revenue rose 2.3 percent in the first quarter, compared with the 2 percent median estimate. Unilever’s sales growth of 2.9 percent exceeded analyst predictions of ...

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• 20 April

  GM halts operations in Venezuela after factory seized

    DETROIT / AP General Motors has stopped doing business in Venezuela after authorities took control of a factory in what GM called an illegal judicial seizure of its assets. The plant was confiscated on Wednesday as anti-government protesters clashed with authorities in a country that is roiling in economic troubles such as food shortages and triple-digit inflation. The Detroit ...

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• 20 April

  Who loves free trade? We do — sometimes

  

    Everyone ‘knows’ that Americans have soured on free trade and globalization, as President Trump keeps saying. But don’t tell the folks at Gallup. They’ve asked the same survey question since 1993: Do people see trade as an ‘opportunity’ or as a ‘threat’? The latest poll, conducted in February, found that 72 percent see trade as an “opportunity” and only ...

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• 20 April

  Road to $38 billion deal is paved with good intentions

  

    Donald Trump talks a good game on infrastructure but so far there’s been precious little action. Not so in supposedly sclerotic Europe, where Italian toll-road operator Atlantia SpA is mulling a multi-billion euro deal with Spanish rival Abertis Infraestructuras SA, Bloomberg reports. Sure, toll roads won’t win any prizes for sexiness. But it’s a good time to be in ...

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• 20 April

  May’s Brexit gamble

  

    With her decision to call an election in June, Theresa May becomes the second consecutive UK prime minister to take a gamble with Brexit. Her decision need not prove as disastrous as David Cameron’s, however — especially if she runs the right kind of campaign. May has reason to ask voters for her own mandate as leader of the ...

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• 20 April

  World must denuclearize Korean peninsula

    North Korea’s unbridled move to develop nuclear weapons capable of striking the US and its allies in the region is pushing the Korean peninsula towards its most severe crisis in years. According to an estimate North Korean regime possesses between 10 and 25 nuclear weapons and launch vehicles together with ballistic missiles that could strike South Korea and Japan, ...

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• 20 April

  Alarm bells start ringing for British economy

  

    Having long been considered one of the most stable democracies in the world, Britain will hold a new general election on June 8 — barely two years after the last. However, with the Conservative Party on course for securing a comfortable majority, political uncertainty may not be the biggest risk facing the UK. A weakening economy could well pose ...

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• 20 April

  Uber shouldn’t just be a thing for French to fear

  

    The traffic jams were worse than normal in Paris on Tuesday morning, and Uber Technologies Inc. was to blame. No, it wasn’t because too many of its black sedans were on the road, nor even that French taxi drivers were protesting again about the American interloper. Rather, it was a result of the fear the ride-hailing app casts over ...

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• 20 April

  Reconciling the IMF’s three growth messages

  

    Three important messages for the global economy emerged from the latest ‘World Economic Outlook’ released by the International Monetary Fund this week: The baseline for economic growth is essentially the same over the medium term, with slightly better shorter-term prospects; the risks are getting bigger and are tilted to the downside; and better national policy making and improved cross-border ...

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