• Democratic Candidates Defend Criminal Justice Records at Presidential Debate Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 03:09

    Democratic candidates were quick to criticize the White House for erratic trade policies that have failed so far to produce a deal with China. But given the opportunity to say they’d peel off the president’s tariffs against China, none of the candidates said they would do so immediately.

    ...
  • Trump administration turns over official’s name amid dispute over Saudi role in 9/11 attacks Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    WASHINGTON—The Trump administration turned over a key piece of new information to lawyers for 9/11 victims’ families, a move that could cast light on long-disputed reports of Saudi government involvement in the terrorist attacks.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided the name of a Saudi official contained in a 2012 report that the bureau has long sought to shield from full public view. But it declined to release any other information the families had sought, which could have further complicated already-tense relations...

  • The event in Houston marks the first time Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders will share the debate stage Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    Vice President Joe Biden plans to defend President Obama’s legacy during the third round of 2020 Democratic presidential debates as all 10 of the top-polling candidates shared a stage for the first time.

    The hopefuls are likely to agree on what they see as the most important issues facing Americans today—a lack of universal health care, income inequality, the threat of climate change and the prevalence of mass shootings—but disagree on the government’s role in addressing them.

    ...
  • “That’s not the way it’s supposed to go.” Wall Street shorts schools and towns in a frenzy of municipal bond flips. Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    When the West Contra Costa Unified School District in California needed money to repair and upgrade deteriorating classrooms, it hired Piper Jaffray Cos. to sell $191 million of municipal bonds.

    As far as school officials knew, the March 2016 sale went off flawlessly, enabling the district to refinance older debt and tackle tasks such as removing asbestos and upgrading science labs.

    However,...

  • The drugmaker had intended to fund a research and treatment foundation but scrapped the project as its efforts to resolve lawsuits intensified Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP nixed plans earlier this year to launch a foundation to fund opioid-addiction treatment and research as the company rethought its strategy amid hundreds of lawsuits and a possible bankruptcy filing.

    Purdue staff pitched the foundation concept several years ago, and the drugmaker’s owners and executives spent several months developing the latest version, according to people familiar with the matter and internal company emails viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

    ...
  • Though Juul has decided to support the Trump administration’s ban on most e-cigarette flavors, some inside the company want to lobby for an exception for one or both of those flavors Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    Juul Labs Inc. is debating internally whether to embrace or push back on part of the Trump administration’s plan to pull most e-cigarettes from the market, according to people familiar with the matter.

    The policy—affecting sweet and fruity vaping products along with mint and menthol—would be a crippling hit to the startup, which generates more than 80% of its sales from flavors that would be banned. But Juul insiders agree that the move could help curb underage vaping and avert an even bigger threat to the market-leading e-cigarette...

  • Preliminary report on Conception boat fire concludes crew was asleep when fire began Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    Federal investigators released a preliminary report on the Conception boat fire that killed nearly three-dozen people this month off the coast of California, and said the entire crew was asleep when the blaze began.

    National Transportation Safety Board officials have said the full investigation could take more than a year, and preliminary findings highlight remaining questions as much as they provide answers as to how the tragedy happened.

    ...
  • Google subpoena questions tech giant’s dominance in the ad business Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    WASHINGTON—A coalition of state attorneys general is zeroing in on Google Inc.’s dominant presence in the digital advertising market, according to a civil subpoena.

    The subpoena, sent by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, includes more than 200 questions and demands for records. Many of the questions appear designed to solicit evidence that the Alphabet Inc. unit engaged in anticompetitive conduct in building up its powerful position.

    ...
  • U.S. deficit tops $1 trillion in first 11 months of fiscal year, Treasury says Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    WASHINGTON—The U.S. budget gap widened to more than $1 trillion in the first 11 months of the fiscal year, the Treasury Department said Thursday, the first time year-to-date deficits have topped that amount in seven years.

    Higher spending on the military, rising interest expenses on government debt and weak revenues early in the fiscal year combined to push the deficit up 19% from October through August, compared with the same period a year earlier. Government spending climbed 7%, to $4.1 trillion, outpacing higher federal...

  • Bahamas threatened with another storm Link
    WSJ Europe Fri 13 Sep 2019 00:19

    A storm brewing near the Bahamas is threatening to drench the islands, including areas devastated by the deadly Hurricane Dorian less than two weeks ago.

    A weather system located about 310 miles southeast of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island on Thursday afternoon was expected to become a tropical storm near the northwestern Bahamas, U.S. forecasters said. The Bahamas government issued a tropical storm warning for several islands, including the Abacos and Grand Bahama, which were hard hit by Dorian, forecasters said.

    ...
  • Charles Li, the head of Hong Kong’s stock exchange, could face the biggest challenge in his career as political and security concerns could scuttle his plans to unite two of the world’s top financial centers. Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 15:23

    Charles Li, the head of Hong Kong’s stock exchange, has built his career and company’s success on China. Now that could prove to be his biggest challenge.

    The prospect of tighter control from Beijing is threatening the rule of law that underpins Hong Kong’s role as a financial hub. And political and security concerns could help scuttle an unsolicited $36.6 billion offer for the London Stock Exchange Group Ltd, in what would be by far his biggest deal.

    ...
  • House panel approves procedures for Trump impeachment probe Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 15:13

    WASHINGTON—The House Judiciary Committee formalized procedures for its investigation into whether to recommend articles of impeachment against President Trump, ratcheting up a probe that has lasted all year.

    The resolution, passed by the committee early Thursday, authorizes Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York to designate certain hearings as part of the continuing investigation. It also gives committee lawyers the chance to question witnesses for an hour after all lawmakers have asked questions, and gives the White House...

  • The National Labor Relations Board has settled formal complaints against Google over workplace speech, an escape hatch for the search giant out of a thorny dispute with employees and ex-employees Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:53

    Federal regulators have ordered Google to assure employees they are allowed to speak out on political and workplace issues, people familiar with the matter say, as part of a settlement of formal complaints that the search giant punishes those who do just that.

    The move from the National Labor Relations Board offers Google an escape hatch from a thorny issue that has roiled the business in recent years. Though Google executives have long bragged about having a workplace culture designed to encourage open debate, current and...

  • Europe should block Facebook’s Libra and create a public alternative, French minister says, staking out a hard line amid broader resistance to the idea Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:53

    PARIS—Europe should block Facebook Inc.-backed digital currency Libra and create a public alternative, a senior French official said Thursday, staking out a hard line amid broader resistance to the idea from U.S. and international officials.

    Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, said the Libra project, announced in June, would lead to...

  • The Trump administration’s Treasury Department is looking for ways to take advantage of low rates to reduce debt-servicing costs Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:53

    The Treasury Department is “very seriously considering” issuing a 50-year Treasury bond next year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, as the Trump administration looks to take greater advantage of low interest rates to slow soaring borrowing costs.

    The Treasury said last month it was once again exploring the possibility of issuing debt with maturities beyond 30 years, after considering and then dropping the idea in 2017.

    ...
  • The University of Oxford topped a list of the best universities in the world for the fourth straight year Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:53

    The University of Oxford in the U.K. topped a list of the best universities in the world for the fourth straight year, and the California Institute of Technology rose to No. 2.

    The U.S. remained the dominant nation overall, with seven schools in the top 10 and 60 in the top 200, but China’s massive investment in higher education continues to generate dividends, including placing nine more schools than last year in the overall ranking of nearly 1,400 universities. For the first time, China is now spending more money than any...

  • With Zozo in its stable, Yahoo Japan hopes to attract younger fashion-conscious consumers. Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:53

    TOKYO—A billionaire entrepreneur’s midlife crisis helped SoftBank Group Corp. affiliate Yahoo Japan Corp. strike the biggest deal in its history and lift its e-commerce business against rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.

    Once a corporate cousin of the U.S. Yahoo website, Yahoo Japan is now a separate company under SoftBank’s control and increasingly focused on commerce rather than its original core business of selling advertising against content such as news and sports.

    ...
  • The maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes is cutting more than 2,000 jobs as traditional cigarette volumes decline Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:38

    LONDON—British American Tobacco PLC plans to cut thousands of jobs in a restructuring aimed at boosting the growth of new products as traditional cigarette volumes decline.

    The maker of the Kent, Dunhill and Lucky Strike brands, like much of the industry, is pushing further into vapor, oral and tobacco-heating products, which are tempting away smokers. BAT already sells Vuse e-cigarettes and the Glo heated-tobacco product.

    But...

  • Fresh probe into an ally of the French president is a setback for Emmanuel Macron, who has pledged to end nepotism and favoritism Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:18

    PARIS—French prosecutors have opened a probe into the past business activity of the speaker of the National Assembly, muddying efforts by President Emmanuel Macron to clean up politics in the wake of the yellow-vest crisis.

    Investigators in the city of Lille are examining whether Richard Ferrand, who ran Mr. Macron’s presidential campaign, abused his role as an executive at Mutuelles de Bretagne in 2011, when the health insurer decided to rent a building from Mr. Ferrand’s girlfriend, the prosecutor’s office said Thursday....

  • Chief executives of dozens of companies sent a letter to members of the Senate asking them to pass new legislation to prevent gun violence Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 13:58

    Chief executives of dozens of companies ranging from Levi Strauss & Co. to Uber Technologies Inc. sent a letter to members of the Senate asking them to pass new legislation to prevent gun violence.

    The letter asks senators to pass legislation requiring background checks on gun sales and said failing to take action on the issue is unacceptable.

    “We...

  • JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs are among the banks to have been chosen to underwrite the listing of Saudi Aramco Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 13:38

    Global investment bankers launched the underwriting process for the initial public offering of Saudi oil giant Aramco in Dubai on Thursday, a sign financiers who shunned the kingdom in the immediate aftermath of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are turning the page.

    Government-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. has so far chosen nine banks to underwrite its listing: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, Credit Suisse Group AG and...

  • The London Stock Exchange is too critical to the U.K.’s financial infrastructure for a takeover bid to succeed Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 13:13

    The U.K. government could refuse to approve a potential $36.6 billion takeover of London Stock Exchange Group PLC by its Hong Kong rival because it forms too critical a part of the country’s financial infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Officials at the Bank of England, who informally advise the U.K. Treasury, believe that the London Stock Exchange’s clearing arm, LCH, constitutes crucial market plumbing, according to a person familiar with the matter. This would make any tie-up unlikely to successfully...

  • ECB launches sweeping package of interest-rate cuts and bond purchases Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 12:53

    FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate and launched a sweeping package of bond purchases Thursday that commits the bank to ultraloose monetary policy for a long period, jolting European financial markets and triggering an immediate response from President Trump.

    The ECB’s pre-emptive move aimed at insulating the eurozone’s wobbling economy from a global slowdown and trade tensions.

    It...

  • The money that flowed through Jeffrey Epstein’s nonprofit, Gratitude America, followed an opaque path that appears to be designed to generate tax benefits. Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 12:33

    When Jeffrey Epstein created his Gratitude America Ltd. foundation in 2012, the nonprofit’s purpose was to “support the expression of gratitude for the ideals of America,” according to incorporation records filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    Instead, the money that flowed through the nonprofit followed an opaque path that appears to be designed to generate tax benefits.

    In...

  • China seeks to narrow trade talks with U.S. in bid to break deadlock Link
    WSJ Europe Thu 12 Sep 2019 12:23

    BEIJING—China is looking to narrow the scope of its negotiations with the U.S. to only trade matters, putting thornier national-security issues on a separate track in a bid to break deadlocked talks with the U.S.

    Chinese officials are hoping that such an approach would help both sides resolve some immediate issues and offer a path out of the current impasse, according to people familiar with the plan.

    The...

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