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Showing posts from September, 2019

Drugmakers look to use Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy to settle U.S. opioid suits -WSJ

Endo International Plc, Johnson & Johnson and other drugmakers that face litigation over the opioid crisis are exploring a way to settle the cases by participating in Purdue Pharma LP's bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing internal documents and a person familiar with the matter. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2neIJJ7

U.S. Denies Apple Tariff Relief on Mac Parts After It Commits to Assembling Its Computers in Texas

Apple was denied relief for tariffs on five Chinese-made components for the upcoming Mac Pro computer, even after the company announced it was keeping some assembly operations in the U.S. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office refused to grant reprieve from 25% tariffs on the much-discussed optional wheels for Apple’s Mac Pro, a circuit board for managing input and output ports, power adapter, charging cable and a cooling system for the computer’s processor. The decisions, posted Monday, come about a week after Apple announced it would make new Mac Pro computers in Austin, Texas after originally considering shifting production to China like its other products. The move followed an announcement this month that the U.S. trade office had agreed to Apple’s request for tariff waivers on 10 of 15 Chinese parts. President Donald Trump on Monday linked on his Twitter account to a Fox Business story about Apple’s plans in Texas and praised the company for supporting U.S. jobs. “Great news!

Suggested PM Modi to resolve Kashmir issue through talks rather than by ‘invasion’, says Malaysian PM Mahathir bin Mohamad

Addressing a press conference on Friday in the UN Headquarters on the margins of the UN General Assembly, the Malaysian leader was asked if he has tried to talk to India and Pakistan to calm down and restraint themselves. from The Financial ExpressThe Financial Express https://ift.tt/2mWO2g1

Forever XXI ULC Announces Plan to Wind Down Canadian Operations

TORONTO -- Forever 21, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today that it plans to wind down its Canadian business operated by its Canadian subsidiary, Forever XXI ULC (“Forever 21 Canada”). To effect the wind down, Forever 21 Canada today filed for and was granted protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”) by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) in Toronto. PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. was appointed as Monitor in the CCAA proceedings to oversee a full liquidation, once approved by the Court, and the wind-down process. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2mTDpdS

Japanese shares slump on governance worries, JDI tumbles as bailout falters

TOKYO -- Japanese shares fell on Friday by the most in almost five weeks due to worries about corporate governance after a media report that executives from Kansai Electric Power Co Inc received payments from a former official of a town that hosts one of the utility's nuclear power plants. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2n9GGp9

Trump Plans Campaign Rally in Minnesota

President Donald Trump will visit Minnesota for a reelection rally in October. As impeachment talk swirled in Washington over Trump’s handling of a call with Ukraine’s president, his campaign announced Thursday that Trump will host a rally Oct. 10 at Target Center in Minneapolis. The president lost Minnesota to Hillary Clinton by just 1.5 percentage points in 2016, and he has frequently talked of his desire to win it in 2020. He’s made several visits to the state. Trump’s success in breaking the Democrats’ so-called blue wall in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania was key to him winning the White House. More must-read stories from Fortune : — A running list of questions on the impeachment inquiry, answered — 5 allegations made in the declassified whistleblower complaint — What is CrowdStrike? Trump mentioned the company in his Ukraine call —These are the key players in the Trump impeachment inquiry —How impeachment momentum massively shifted among democrats —The 25 most po

Whistleblower Complaint Opens Window Into Secret Government Computer Systems

The whistleblower complaint at the heart of Congress’ impeachment inquiry opened a window Thursday into government computer systems that White House and other government employees use to share and manage classified information on a day-to-day basis. The process is complicated. There are unclassified and classified systems that are not interconnected. Then there is still another where very sensitive information is stored — one that only a handful of officials can access. Memos and documents created to recount and transcribe presidential calls with foreign leaders typically are classified as “secret,” one of the lowest levels of classified material. That makes sense because presidents aren’t usually in the habit of sharing “top secret” U.S. information with leaders of other nations. This is exactly what happened with the information about President Donald Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The memorandum was classified as “secret,” and it was entered in

Pelosi Announced Trump’s Impeachment Inquiry 24 Hours Ago—And a Lot Has Happened

It has been a bizarre and rapidly moving news cycle on U.S. President Donald Trump, his meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly—notably with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky —and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that an impeachment inquiry has begun. Early on Wednesday, the White House released a “ transcript ” which read more like a summarization or memo of the president’s July 25 call with Zelensky, just one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller had testified in front of Congress. The move was to quell the accusations of corruption after a whistleblower filed a complaint which said, among other things, that Trump asked Zelensky to “look into” potential 2020 election rival and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who held a seat on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. During a joint press conference after their bilateral meeting, Zelensky said he believed only the U.S. side of the phone call would be published. “I

Hands-on With Amazon’s New Gadgets: Echo Studio, Echo Buds, Echo Frames, and Echo Loop

Amazon on Wednesday announced a number of new devices to further its Alexa ecosystem, including the Echo Buds earbuds and Echo Studio speaker. But in addition to creating these already-popular form factors for voice-controlled digital assistants, Amazon also offered a few more experimental products, such as the Echo Frames eyeglasses and Echo Loop finger ring. Some improvements to Alexa’s software will benefit even older devices, too, like the option to have Alexa answer in the voice of actor Samuel L. Jackson . After the Amazon hardware event on Wednesday, reporters got to play around with the new gear. I checked out the top devices and here some of my initial impressions: Echo Buds Oddly enough, the most highly-awaited product from this year’s Amazon event on Wednesday wasn’t unveiled until roughly halfway through the fast-paced presentation. Somewhat like Apple’s AirPods, the $130 Echo Buds are two small, wireless speakers that connect to Alexa and fit inside a user’s ears to p

Juul’s CEO Steps Down. But What Comes Next?: Brainstorm Health

Hello and happy hump day, readers. Perhaps it was inevitable in the face of lawsuits, regulatory crackdowns, reports of horrifying lung illnesses, and a general sense of unease—but Kevin Burns, CEO of the privately-held firm Juul, is stepping down from his perch . The Juul CEO’s sudden departure is just one chapter in this rapidly unfolding story. Here’s another excerpt: The tobacco giant Altria , which bought a 35% stake in Juul last year at a reported $40 billion valuation, is no longer in talks with Philip Morris International (PMI) to bring the companies together again. Altria spun off PMI more than a decade ago while holding on to the U.S.-based Philip Morris unit (which controls major brands such as Marlboro in America). PMI has been focused on “heat not burn” tobacco products in international markets (these are not the same things as vapes). The divergent business strategies, and the public health outcry against vaping and e-cigs, almost certainly sunk any potential deal.

The U.S. Sees Taiwan’s Allies As Trade War Weapons—And Beijing Keeps Luring Them Away

The self-governing island of Taiwan is running out of friends. Last week the Solomon Islands—a Pacific Ocean archipelago and Oceania’s fifth-largest country by population—officially switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing, putting an end to 36 years of relations with Taipei. Days later, the Republic of Kiribati , a Micronesian state, severed ties with Taiwan as well, bringing the Chinese island’s remaining allies down to just 15. For nations making such decisions , the switch of allegiances reflects the need to tap into mainland China’s deep pockets. (Any country seeking diplomatic ties with mainland China must cut official ties with Taipei.) But amid the ongoing trade war, such moves carry even more weight, with some—especially those in Washington—seeing the choice between mainland China and Taiwan as picking sides in the China-versus-U.S. match. And the U.S. seems to be rallying against those congregating in China’s corner. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (R) shakes

AG Barr Seeks DOJ Facebook Antitrust Probe, Despite the Already Launched FTC Inquiry

The Justice Department intends to investigate Facebook after prodding from U.S. Attorney General William Barr, according to a person familiar with the matter, even though the Federal Trade Commission already has an inquiry underway. The social-media giant now faces parallel probes by two federal agencies over whether it has harmed competition in violation of antitrust laws. The Justice Department’s case will focus on conduct that’s separate from what the FTC is examining, said the person, who declined to be named because the matter is confidential. The two federal inquiries are in addition to investigations by state attorneys general and the House Judiciary Committee. The simultaneous Facebook probes are a departure from the agencies’ usual practice of dividing up scrutiny of companies based on staff expertise. They share antitrust enforcement power and often hammer out so-called clearance agreements, some of which can involve considerable behind-the-scenes wrangling, to avoid overl