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Microsoft’s acquisition of the social network LinkedIn is not easy to understand. Both companies’ chief executives, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Jeff Weiner, have described the $26.2 billion all-cash deal — one of the largest in tech history — in the blandest corporate-speak, with memos that sounded as if they were part of LinkedIn’s megaboring attempt to create a commentary ...

  When he promised a referendum on the U.K.’s membership in the EU, Prime Minister David Cameron was surely not picturing the white-knuckle ride his “remain” campaign is experiencing right now. What was intended as a campaign promise to get his Conservatives elected must seem in retrospect like a reckless gamble. The consequences will be felt long after the ballots ...

Several months behind schedule, the New Zealand Defense White Paper was released last week in Wellington. It has earmarked funding of around NZ$20 billion (US$14 billion) over 15 years for defense, which will be used, among other things, to replace frigates and aircraft and to provide the New Zealand Defense Force with a cyber warfare capability. This investment is the ...

  BLOOMBERG Increasing odds of a U.K. exit from the European Union boosted demand for havens, sending Germany’s 10-year bond yields below zero for the first time. Stocks fell and the pound slumped to a two-month low. Treasuries also jumped and yields fell to records in Australia and Japan after four polls showed the campaign to take the U.K. out ...

  Bloomberg A supply crunch in cocoa that’s boosted prices will last until year-end, when production may rebound in West Africa, according to Sucres et Denrees SA. The worst desert winds in three decades that reduced the quality of cocoa in West Africa means some beans won’t be processed this season, making an expected shortage of 280,000 metric tons appear ...

  Bloomberg Big Internet and software deals are rare. That may change in 2016. Microsoft Corp.’s $26.2 billion deal for LinkedIn Corp. could trigger other large-cap M&A for business software and Internet companies. NetSuite Inc. and Ultimate Software Group Inc. could both be targeted by companies including SAP SE, IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp. that want to strengthen their cloud-computing ...

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s liftoff from near-zero interest rates in December sparked angst over how quickly the central bank would start whittling down its US$2.5 trillion hoard of Treasuries. It turns out that investors in the world’s biggest bond market had little cause for concern. The weaker-than-forecast labour report for May wiped out bets that policy makers would follow ...

  Bloomberg India’s state-run banks will need more capital than promised by the government to boost credit growth as they grapple with bad loans of more than 4.7 trillion rupees (US$70 billion), the head of the nation’s largest lender said. “If you really want credit to speed up and infrastructure financing to take center stage then more capital is required ...

  Bloomberg Croatia’s central bank plans to raise its 2016 growth forecast next month, Governor Boris Vujcic said, acknowledging a faster-than-expected economic expansion that has helped temper the risks of a political crisis threatening to bring down the government. The central bank expects no review to the newest EU member state’s budget this year and fiscal consolidation will continue, said ...

  Bloomberg PPC Ltd is in the final stages of negotiating a 2 billion rand (SU$132 million) bridging guarantee facility, seeking to shore up its balance sheet after a credit-rating cut and warnings of a possible liquidity squeeze. South Africa’s biggest listed cement maker is also working on a plan to raise 3 billion rand to 4 billion rand and ...