Bloomberg 7-Eleven Inc was ordered by US antitrust regulators to sell 293 gas-station retail stores acquired as part of its $21 billion purchase of Marathon Petroleum’s Speedway business. The order disclosed by the US Federal Trade Commission resolves lingering concerns over the transaction. In May, FTC Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and her fellow Democratic commissioner said the agency would ...
Read More »Nike forecast sends shares on their biggest rally since 1987
Bloomberg Nike Inc soared to an all-time high in the latest sign that consumers are opening their wallets more than expected as the pandemic eases in much of the world. The shares rose almost 16% to a record $154.35 after the company projected that revenue this fiscal year will surpass $50 billion for the first time, benefiting from rebounding growth ...
Read More »Joe Biden tells Afghanistan’s Ghani US will ‘stick with you’
Bloomberg President Joe Biden said the US is committed to its partnership with Afghanistan, even as American and other foreign troops withdraw from the country despite a surge of violence. “The senseless violence — it has to stop,†Biden told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the start of a meeting in the Oval Office. “It’s going to be very difficult ...
Read More »Sydney in two-week lockdown as Delta variant infections rise
Bloomberg Greater Sydney was put into a two-week lockdown to fight an outbreak of the highly-transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus, straining Australia’s so-called “Covid-zero†strategy as vaccinations lag behind other developed nations. Residents can only go out for reasons such as food shopping, medical care or essential work and education that can’t be done from their own homes, New ...
Read More »Harris rebuts critics after visiting migrant children at border
Bloomberg Vice President Kamala Harris shot back at Republicans who’ve criticised her efforts to curb Central American migration, after she visited migrant children on her first trip to the US southern border since taking office. “This issue cannot be reduced to a political issue,†Harris said at a US Customs and Border Protection station in El Paso, Texas. “We’re talking ...
Read More »US, EU, Canada willing to review Venezuela sanctions on conditions
Bloomberg The US, European Union and Canada said they are “willing to review sanctions policies†against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his regime provided there are “substantive, credible advancements†in negotiations to restore the democratic process in the South American country. “A time-bound and comprehensive negotiation process should restore the country’s institutions and allow for all Venezuelans to express themselves ...
Read More »United Nations condemns killing of three MSF workers in Ethiopia
Bloomberg The United Nations condemned the killing of three Medicins Sans Frontieres employees in Ethiopia’s Tigray region as a breach of international law. “This is totally unacceptable and an appalling violation of International Humanitarian Law,†UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement. “The perpetrators must be found and severely punished.†The three staffers — Maria Hernandez, MSF’s emergency ...
Read More »HSBC apology shows financial fears mounting in Hong Kong
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings apologised to customers in Hong Kong after an update to its online and mobile banking terms stoked fears over overseas access to its services in the financial hub. The quick mea culpa by Hong Kong’s biggest bank — triggered by a Twitter post — underscores growing concerns in the city over not only civil society but also ...
Read More »Danske Bank faces charges related to market abuse
Bloomberg Danske Bank has been charged by Danish police for allegedly violating rules intended to protect investors from market manipulation. Denmark’s biggest bank, which is separately being investigated in the US and Europe amid an ongoing money-laundering case, says it received notice of preliminary charges from the Danish State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime, or SOIK. The case ...
Read More »Thai central bank holds rates, cuts outlook on tourism slump
Bloomberg Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark rate unchanged, signalling a need to preserve policy space as the country grapples with its biggest wave of Covid cases and a weakening outlook for the tourism-reliant economy. The Bank of Thailand’s rate setting committee unanimously decided to hold rates at a record low of 0.5% for a ninth straight meeting, as expected ...
Read More »