Bayer wins US approval for $66bn Monsanto takeover

Bloomberg Bayer AG won US antitrust approval for its $66 billion takeover of Monsanto Co, clearing the last major regulatory hurdle to forming the world’s biggest seed and agricultural-chemicals provider after a nearly two-year global review. The companies reached a settlement with the Justice Department that resolves the gover- nment’s concerns that the merger as initially structured would harm consumers ...

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Salesforce jumps on rosy revenue forecast after acquisitions

Bloomberg Salesforce.com Inc. gave a revenue forecast that topped analysts’ estimates, signalling the company’s expensive efforts to expand its software products and customer base may be paying off. Sales will be as much as $3.23 billion in the current quarter, the San Francisco-based company said in a statement. Analysts on average projected $3.1 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. ...

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EU braces for US metal import curbs

Bloomberg European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom gave her clearest signal yet that the EU will come up short in its bid for a permanent, unconditional waiver from US metal tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on national-security grounds. Speaking just days before a temporary waiver for the EU from the duties expires, Malmstrom said the bloc would likely face ...

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Euro-area confidence slips over ‘political risks’

Bloomberg Euro-area confidence extended its slide in May as cooling economic growth in the region was met with budding political uncertainties. The European Commission’s index of sentiment slipped to 112.5 from 112.7, taking the gauge to its lowest in nine months. While the decline was less than economists had forecast, it’s the fifth straight drop after optimism reached a 17-year ...

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KKR buys Bain’s BMC in deal worth $8.3bn

Bloomberg KKR & Co. agreed to acquire BMC Software Inc. in a deal that valued the information technology management provider at about $8.3 billion including debt, according to a person familiar with the matter. KKR will buy BMC from an investor group led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital together with GIC Pte Ltd., Insight Venture Partners and Elliott ...

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German unemployment rate falls to record low

Bloomberg German unemployment fell to a fresh record low as companies in Europe’s largest economy stepped up hiring to work through backlogs even amid signs of slowing growth. The jobless rate dropped to 5.2% in May, Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said on Wednesday. The number of people out of work fell by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 2.358 million, ...

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US-China military tensions rise ahead of Asia security forum

Bloomberg Tensions are rising between the US and China ahead of Asia’s biggest security conference this week, even as the two powers push for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Defense Secretary James Mattis said while en route to the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that he was planning to raise US concerns about China’s recent moves to “militarise” the ...

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India, Pakistan ready to implement truce post Kashmir clashes

Bloomberg India and Pakistan agreed to abide by a 15-year-old ceasefire agreement after years of sporadic firing across the disputed border in Kashmir, a move which signals a potential thawing in deteriorating relations between the arch-rivals. The nuclear-armed nations agreed to put an end to ongoing border fighting and to fully implement the ceasefire understanding of 2003, India and Pakistan’s ...

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Italy’s populists divided in push for power

Bloomberg Italy’s League leader Matteo Salvini dismissed an offer from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement to revive efforts to form a populist government, calling instead for early elections without revealing whom he might form an alliance with. “Di Maio’s overture? We’re not at the market and it’s also a question of dignity,” Salvini of the anti-immigrant League told a rally ...

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Anti-Kremlin journo shot dead in Kiev

Bloomberg A Russian journalist critical of President Vladimir Putin was shot dead at his home in Kiev, the third assassination in two years of a Kremlin foe in Ukraine’s capital. Arkady Babchenko, who moved to the city last year following threats in his homeland, was fired on after returning from buying bread and died of his injuries in an ambulance, ...

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