Bloomberg Michelin & Cie. plans to accelerate cost savings through 2020 in a bid to match rival tyre manufacturers’ profitability, Chief Financial Officer Marc Henry said. Michelin is targeting spending reductions of €1.2 billion ($1.36 billion) from 2017 through 2020 with job cuts, shifting production outside of Europe, reducing the amount of raw materials used per tyre and introducing ...
Read More »Brexit opposed by Japan Inc. as $59 billion rides on ballot
Bloomberg Japan Inc. has $59 billion at stake on the June 23 referendum in the U.K., when Britons vote to either leave or stay in the European Union. That’s the amount Japanese companies have invested in the U.K., which benefits more from the Asian nation than any other country outside Europe apart from the U.S., according to figures compiled ...
Read More »Saudi to cut public sector wage bill in post-oil plan
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia plans to cut the public-sector wage bill as well as subsidies by 2020, scaling back the state largess that helped ensure political loyalty in the largest Arab economy. The reductions are a pillar of the National Transformation Program the Saudi cabinet approved on Monday. A major component of the Vision 2030 plan unveiled by Deputy Crown ...
Read More »Riyadh renewable goals favour gas
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is scaling back renewable power targets as the world’s biggest oil exporter plans to use more natural gas, backing away from goals set when crude prices were triple their current level, according to Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih. The kingdom aims to have power generation from renewable resources like the sun make up 10 percent of the ...
Read More »Lenders told to stop lowballing
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is cracking down on banks that are lowballing interest rate submissions, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency has written to banks instructing them not to submit levels to the Saudi Interbank Offered Rate that are below what they’re actually willing to lend at, four people said, asking not to be ...
Read More »GE buys stake in Sonnen to boost solar storage
California / Bloomberg GE Ventures bought a stake in Germany’s Sonnen GmbH to boost its presence in the fast-growing market for battery systems built to store solar power. GE’s unit is paying a “mid double-digit million-euro†sum for a minority stake in the company, according to a statement by Wildpoldsried, Bavaria-based Sonnen. The company said other investors are considering ...
Read More »Southwest Airlines hits 100 daily departures
Oakland / Tribune News Service Southwest Airlines has hit 100 daily departures from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The airline is the airport’s dominant carrier, with about half the market share, and has its own terminal. Its newest nonstop flights are to Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Cleveland. St. Louis passengers already could get to Cleveland and Portland directly on ...
Read More »â€˜Solar Impulse’ delays Statue of Liberty tour
New York / Bloomberg Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg postponed a flight of his solar aircraft around the Statue of Liberty due to gusty winds. The Solar Impulse project, which is flying an ultralight one-man aircraft around the world, will announce a new flight date later, according to its website. Borschberg, 63, had planned to take off in the fuel-free ...
Read More »Malaysia Air chief backs downsizing
Kuala Lumpur / Bloomberg Malaysia Airlines Bhd. Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller, midway through a six-month notice period following his surprise resignation in April, said the company should resist unwinding a turnaround strategy that’s cut 6,000 jobs and reduced capacity by almost a third. The Asian carrier is ahead of schedule with its restructuring, having reached break even recently, ...
Read More »Samsung to introduce bendable-screen phones
Seoul / Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. is considering introducing two new smartphone models that will feature bendable screens, including a version that folds in half like a cosmetic compact, people familiar with the matter said. The devices using organic light-emitting diodes could be unveiled as soon as early 2017, the people said, asking not to be identified because the ...
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