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  Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son, sporting a black turtleneck similar in style to the late Steve Jobs, laid out his vision for the future of technology and called for partners to help make it happen at the smartphone industry’s biggest annual gathering. Son reiterated his belief that computers will exceed humans in intelligence in three decades, and that ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s scaling back of a program encouraging residential solar has Panasonic Corp. hopeful the market for home energy storage systems is about to receive a boost. In 2019, a program designed to buy back solar power flowing from rooftop panels at above-market rates will start becoming less enticing, potentially leaving homeowners who signed up with excess power on ...

  Bloomberg The biggest equity rally in Asia this year has yet to captivate global investors. The MSCI China Index, which is dominated by Hong Kong-traded Chinese shares, has surged 11 percent since December 31, its best start to any year since 2012. That’s been fueled by $9 billion of inflows through cross-border trading links as mainland investors seek to ...

  Bloomberg China’s economy remained generally steady during the Lunar New Year while sentiment readings show uncertainties over the outlook, according to the earliest private data for February. Sales managers perked up and satellite data showed activity hanging in near a five-year high. Meanwhile, the financial world’s outlook for next 12 months remained in negative territory and a gloomier mood ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s property market is setting new records, quashing attempts by the city’s leaders to tame surging home prices. Existing home prices reached an all-time high in the week ended February 19, according to the Centaline Property Centa-City Leading Index, which tracks sales of secondary homes. In another sign of buyer demand, two Chinese companies bid a record ...

  Bloomberg Mexico’s top trade negotiator doubled down on threats to break off talks to rework Nafta, saying his country will walk away if the US insists on slapping duties or quotas on any products from south of the border. “The moment that they say, ‘We’re going to put a 20 percent tariff on cars,’ Iget up from the table,” ...

  Bloomberg INTL FCStone Inc. is betting the $170 billion physical gold market will follow the rest of the bullion world in catching up with technology. The brokerage has started a platform that brings everyone from refiners to jewelers together to trade metal around the world, said Barry Canham, who heads the company’s precious metals division. At the moment, the ...

  Bloomberg Counterfeit goods, software piracy and the theft of trade secrets cost the American economy as much as $600 billion a year, a private watchdog says. In a report out on Monday, the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property says the annual losses range from about $225 billion to $600 billion. The theft of trade secrets alone ...

  Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP and Prudential Plc were picked as preferred bidders for about 12.5 billion pounds ($16 billion) of UK mortgages made by failed lender Bradford & Bingley, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The New York private-equity giant and London-based insurer were among winners in a contest overseen by UK Asset Resolution Ltd., a ...

  Bloomberg General Motors Co. boosted incentives on its pickup models this month after its biggest foes gained ground, intensifying a price war within the US auto market’s most hotly contested segment. Discounts averaged about $6,996 for the Chevrolet Silverado and $5,315 for the GMC Sierra this month through February 12, according to J.D. Power dealer data obtained by Bloomberg ...