China factory gauge slips amid trade war

Bloomberg China’s official factory gauge fell more than expected in June, just as the world’s two biggest economies head toward a trade war. The manufacturing purchasing managers index stood at 51.5 in June, versus 51.9 in May, and the forecast of 51.6 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The non-manufacturing PMI, covering services and construction, rose to 55, the statistics ...

Read More »

Hong Kong to charge additional rates on unsold ‘homes’

Bloomberg Hong Kong will charge additional rates on unsold new apartments in a bid to limit hoarding by developers and cool a red-hot property market. Apartments left vacant for more than six months will be charged a 200 percent rate of the rental value, or equivalent to about 5 percent of the unit’s price, according to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, ...

Read More »

Nike thwarts Adidas threat in US with shares hitting record

Bloomberg After several quarters on the bench, Nike Inc. has finally healed the damage inflicted by Adidas AG. Nike increased sales in North America for the first time in a year, after its smaller European rival had been outmaneuvering the sneaker giant on its home turf. Nike’s improved performance, sparked by new products and a smartphone shopping app, unleashed a ...

Read More »

Bali airport reopens after shutdown due to volcanic eruption

Bloomberg Indonesia’s Bali airport resumed services after a halt caused by a fresh eruption at the Mount Agung that sent volcanic ashes several miles high into the sky above the popular tourist island. The airport opened at 2.30 pm local time on June 29, according to its twitter feed. The shutdown, the second in seven months, led to cancellation of ...

Read More »

China Southern invests $1.5bn in Xi’ dream city

Bloomberg China Southern Airlines Co. will invest 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in Xiongan, the new city spearheaded by Chinese president Xi Jinping that aspires to be a model for China’s future urban development. The airline operator will allocate 2.5 billion yuan in cash and 7.5 billion yuan in tangible assets to set up a subsidiary called China Southern Airline ...

Read More »

US air travellers expected to soar before July 4

Bloomberg Buckle up. The Friday before July 4 may approach a record for the busiest day ever for US airports, the head of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said. Traffic for the day could top 2.6 million passengers, making it “potentially one of the busiest in TSA history,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said. TSA says nine of the top 15 days ...

Read More »

Heathrow runway seems compatible with UK green targets

Bloomberg London Heathrow’s controversial third runway fits within Britain’s plan for reining in fossil-fuel emissions, according to the government’s Committee on Climate Change. “Another runway at Heathrow could be accommodated within those parameters,” said John Gummer, chairman of the committee. Modern technology “ought to give elbow room for about a 60 percent growth in demand,” he said at a briefing ...

Read More »

Novartis to spin off Alcon as CEO focusses on finding drugs

Bloomberg Less than halfway through his first year as chief executive officer of Novartis AG, Vas Narasimhan plans a third major transaction to narrow its focus on developing cutting-edge medicines. The Swiss drugmaker said that it will spin off its Alcon eye-care unit while using proceeds from the $13 billion sale of its stake in a consumer-health joint venture with ...

Read More »

Trump car tariffs would prompt retaliation, says EU

Bloomberg European Union leaders vowed an unwavering response to President Donald Trump’s protectionism, signalling a readiness to retaliate should the US escalate a trade war with tariffs on cars. The EU government heads repeated criticism of US duties on foreign metals and expressed support for the bloc’s retaliatory action over those levies, which Trump has justified on national-security grounds. The ...

Read More »

Canadian business sentiment nears record

Bloomberg Canadian business sentiment is running at near-record levels with companies facing the strongest capacity constraints since before the recession, according to a survey by the central bank. The Ottawa-based Bank of Canada’s second-quarter survey of executives — which mostly took place last month before trade tensions escalated with the US — shows an economy in which companies are finding ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend