U.S. corporations are more willing than ever to consider buying competitors amid private concerns they risk disappointing shareholders without making splashy deals, according to J.P. Morgan Chase global co-head of mergers and acquisitions Chris Ventresca. “With every day that goes by, they have a strengthening portfolio and balance sheet,” Ventresca said of companies across sectors […]
Read moreBritain finally cleared Rupert Murdoch to buy Sky on Thursday, removing the final obstacle to a head-to-head battle between Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox and U.S. rival Comcast for the European pay-TV prize. Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said: “It is now a matter for the Sky shareholders to decide whether to accept 21st Century Fox’s bid.” […]
Read moreUBS is getting less bullish over Netflix shares after the stock’s stunning rally this year. The firm lowered its rating to neutral from buy for Netflix shares, citing the internet company’s high valuation. “We believe Netflix’s core competencies in both content & tech should drive a virtuous circle of greater subs and increased viewing time, […]
Read moreIt may seem in the not-too-distant past, but when Anatoly Roytman started his own digital agency in the second half of the 1990s, digital was deemed “a very new field.” Yet it “worked great,” he said — that is until the internet bubble burst and he went bankrupt. So in a way, he had made […]
Read moreHot enterprise-focused start-up Snowflake Computing on Thursday said it’s making its software available on Microsoft’s Azure public cloud. Previously Snowflake, which people can use to store and run queries on data, only ran on the Amazon cloud. The development is a good sign for Microsoft, which lags behind Amazon in the cloud infrastructure business. Snowflake […]
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ECONOMISTS think prices, like spilt ketchup, are sticky. They move only slowly as firms digest economic conditions. Financial markets are an exception. Computerised trading by thousands of participants means prices, especially of currencies, can move in a McFlurry. Since The Economist last updated the Big Mac index (BMI), our lighthearted guide to currency valuation, burger […]
Read moreMicrosoft does not want to move jobs out of the United States but certain decisions out of Washington could potentially force its hands, the company’s President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith warned. The Trump Administration’s tough stance on immigration has attracted a lot of criticism from big technology firms, which rely heavily on skilled […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Trump protests are ‘embarrassing’ and ‘cringeworthy,’ overseas Republican leader says
The thousands of people in the U.K. preparing to protest against President Donald Trump’s visit have lost the plot, the chairman of Republicans Overseas told CNBC Thursday. Anti-Trump protests are scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday while the U.S. president is on a working visit to the country — one that includes meetings with […]
Read moreUber has laid off 100 self-driving car test drivers in Pittsburgh in the wake of a high-profile crash in Arizona. The company is replacing them with 55 so-called “mission specialists,” technical specialists trained on both on-road and test track conditions, as it continues to scale back operations in the wake of the crash. News of […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
‘Trump protests are an obligation’: Here’s what British newspapers are saying about the US president’s visit
President Donald Trump will be on his way to Britain later on Thursday, his three-day working visit will include meeting Prime Minister Theresa May, Queen Elizabeth II and business leaders before he heads to Scotland for a weekend of golf. A range of foreign policy issues ranging from Russia, trade, Brexit and the Middle East […]
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