Beijing proposes punishing officials on data manipulation

Bloomberg A draft amendment to China’s Statistics Law will make officials and their bosses directly accountable for data accuracy and also increase the ceiling on fines for companies that report false information. The draft amendment was published by the National Bureau of Statistics on its website, with the bureau calling for feedback until November 9, according to a statement. If ...

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Exxon Mobil considers sale of offshore assets in Malaysia

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering a sale of its oil-producing offshore assets in Malaysia as part of the US energy giant’s global divestiture program. The company is working with an adviser on the potential sale, which could raise about $2 billion to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The focus is on selling upstream assets operated ...

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J&J unit ordered to pay $8b in anti-psychotic drug case

Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit was hit with an $8 billion punitive-damages verdict — the largest jury award in the US this year — over its alleged mishandling of an anti-psychotic drug blamed for disfiguring the physique of adolescent boys. A state court jury in Philadelphia concluded the Janssen’s wrongful marketing of its Risperdal drug to teens warranted the ...

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Tesla’s cell supplier hires battery expert for key gigafactory role

Bloomberg Panasonic Corp has hired a former Tesla Inc battery guru to a senior role at the so-called gigafactory the two companies share in the US. Celina Mikolajczak, who left Tesla in early 2018 for short stint at Uber Technologies Inc, joined Panasonic this month as vice president of battery technology. She’ll be based in Reno, Nevada, where Tesla and ...

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American farms face long-term losses from trade war, says BCG

Bloomberg US farmers and agribusinesses face a rising threat of long-term losses in export sales as President Donald Trump’s trade war with China continues, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) warned in a report. The finding by a blue-chip management consulting firm could feed mounting fears among major US agricultural players that the damage done from a tariff war that has already ...

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US loses top spot to S’pore in competitiveness rankings

Bloomberg The US dropped from the top spot in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual competitiveness report, losing out to Singapore. Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland made up the rest of the top five, according to the WEF survey published on Wednesday. On the US, it noted growing uncertainty among business leaders. The forum focussed its report on continued ...

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GE gaping pension deficit tiny part of companies’ $269b gap

Bloomberg General Electric’s gaping pension deficit certainly stands out for its size. But the company is hardly the only one at risk of potentially shortchanging some of its employees come retirement. All across corporate America, underfunded pensions have become the norm. Even now, a decade after the financial crisis, the largest plans face a shortfall of $269 billion, right about ...

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Credit Suisse mulls return to US private banking after exit

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is considering a return to US wealth management after a four-year absence as Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam seeks to boost growth in private banking. Talks have focussed on adding $15 billion of assets under management at a new base in Miami, mostly catering to wealthy Latin Americans, people familiar with the matter said. If ...

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Hong Kong banks fall after Morgan Stanley downgrades outlook

Bloomberg Hong Kong banks declined after Morgan Stanley cut the sector’s outlook, saying the stocks will underperform as a slowing economy and falling rates hurt profitability. Bank of East Asia Ltd slumped 4.2%, while Hang Seng Bank Ltd lost 3.3%. The MSCI Hong Kong Index dropped 1.3% after briefly dipping below the 14,000 point level for the first time since ...

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African bank hires HSBC, JPMorgan for London IPO

Bloomberg The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said it’s considering an initial public offering to help finance rapidly increasing trade flows on the continent. The Cairo-based lender hired JPMorgan Securities Plc and HSBC Bank Plc as joint global coordinators and bookrunners, and Exotix Partners LLP as co-lead manager, according to a statement. The bank said the offering of global depositary receipts ...

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