U.S. President Donald Trump stated, the United States and China would “very shortly” sign the so-called Phase One trade pact. “We just achieved a breakthrough on the trade deal and we will be signing it very shortly,” said Trump at… Read More ›
Creativity
Private equity firm Lone Star acquires BAF’s construction chemicals business for $3.5 billion
On Saturday, in a statement BASF’s construction chemicals business stated, Lone Star, a private equity firm has entered into a deal to acquire it for $3.5 billion (3.17 billion euros) on a cash and debt-free basis. The deal, having immediate… Read More ›
China’s Big Fund trim stake in tech sector
On Saturday, China’s state-backed semiconductor fund announced plans to trim its stakes in select tech firms, even as foreign investors continued to increase their exposure to its tech sector. China’s National Integrated Circuitry Investment Fund, which is known as the… Read More ›
U.S. approach to industry-standard patents undergoes policy-shift
In a far-reaching policy shift, officials from the United States antitrust and patent office stated they no longer deem holders of industry-standard patents anti-competitive if they sue to stop the sale of infringing products. In a joint statement, the U.S…. Read More ›
Britain to enact law to safeguard assets of national security
The British government is set to table a bill which will enable it to intervene in mergers and acquisitions that threaten national security; intervention measures will include blocking the purchase of assets, including those related to intellectual property, as well… Read More ›
Britain to close Brexit Department on January 31, 2020
A spokesman for the British government has disclosed, Britain’s Brexit department will be shutdown once the country leaves the European Union on January 31. Britain’s Brexit department was originally set up in July 2016 to oversee Britain’s negotiations to leave… Read More ›
Britain’s financial watchdog extends probe into EY
On Thursday, Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) stated it has added an extra year to its investigation into EY’s audit of Thomas Cook. The holiday company had collapsed in September leaving tens of thousands of people stranded abroad. The FRC… Read More ›
Hedge funds got early access to market sensitive info from BoE’s audio feeds
Following a report by The Times newspaper, the Bank of England (BoE) has admitted that a rogue supplier has been misusing feeds of its press briefings, to make available market-sensitive information available to traders seconds before rivals. This third-party supplier… Read More ›
Swatch threatens to pursue damages over Swiss competition authority move to cut off its revenue source
Following a statement from the Swiss competition authority, COMCO, saying it wants to prohibit the Swatch Group from supplying watch mechanisms to other companies during 2020, Swatch, the world’s biggest watch maker, has threatened to pursue damages. “The provisional measures… Read More ›
Mercedes-Benz USA to pay $20 million fine over U.S. vehicle recall
Mercedes-Benz USA has agreed to pay $20 million in civil penalty over its handling of U.S. vehicle recalls following a year-long investigation by the U.S. government into the recall of 1.4 million vehicles. Under the terms of the settlement, Mercedes-Benz… Read More ›