Month: August 2020

(Bloomberg) — Nestle SA agreed to buy Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. in a $2.6 billion deal, adding a leader in the treatment of peanut allergies in its biggest health-science push yet.The Swiss owner of Nespresso will pay $34.50 a share for the U.S. biotech firm, almost triple its market value. Aimmune makes Palforzia, the first regulatory-approved treatment to help reduce allergic reactions to peanuts in children and teens in the U.S.Chief Executive Officer Mark Schneider has been cultivating Nestle’s health-science arm while shedding slower-growing businesses in areas such as bottled water and sweets. Palforzia, which exposes patients to small doses of …read more […]

Aug.31 — Japan’s ruling party is set to decide the process for picking a new prime minister tomorrow after long-serving leader Shinzo Abe resigned for health reasons on Friday. Local reports put Abe’s right-hand man as the favorite for the top job. Bloomberg’s Stephen Engle reports on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe.” …read more […]

Aug.31 — Stephen Chang, portfolio manager for Asia at Pacific Investment Management Co., discusses the opportunities he sees in regional credit markets, the dollar’s fall and its implications for emerging markets. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” …read more […]

Nestle said on Thursday it was offering $34.50 per share for the remaining 74.4% in peanut allergy treatment maker Aimmune Therapeutics it does not already own as it adds what it hopes will be a lucrative treatment to its portfolio. The offer values the California-based biopharmaceutical company at $2.6 billion, including the $473 million that Nestle had already invested in Aimmune, Nestle said in a statement. The price represents a 174% premium to Aimmune’s closing share price on August 28 of $12.60, said the food giant, which has been gearing its traditional portfolio towards health and wellness products. …read more […]

As the final trading session of the week prepares to kick off, US stocks are turning to more data releases to see if the market rally can continue. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Zhang Yiming’s plan to sell the U.S. operations of his short-video app TikTok to avoid a shutdown was thrown into jeopardy after China asserted its authority over a deal already under scrutiny by the Trump administration.Beijing on Friday injected more uncertainty into already thorny negotiations over the sale of ByteDance Ltd.’s prized asset, claiming the ability to block a sale to foreign suitors Microsoft Corp. or Oracle Corp. with tighter restrictions on artificial intelligence exports. The commerce ministry added speech and text recognition and personalized recommendations to a list of products that require approval before they’re sold abroad.These …read more […]

…read more […]

Aug.30 — Eisuke Sakakibara, Japan’s former top currency official known as “Mr. Yen,” talks about Abenomics, which are the policies of the country’s outgoing prime minister, and who he expects to become Shinzo Abe’s successor. Sakakibara speaks with Rishaad Salamat and Yvonne Man on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” …read more […]

Mainland Chinese investors are scouring Hong Kong’s commercial property market for bargains after prices plunged 30%, signalling a new wave of demand following anti-government protests last year that kept a lid on investment activity. Property agents expect the influx of Chinese capital, which has helped Hong Kong become one of the world’s most expensive property markets, can once again prop up the sector as China recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and stands ready to deploy liquidity. “A majority of recent large-value building deals were bought by Chinese investors; their number has really grown in the third quarter,” said …read more […]

– Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,971.68 per ounce by 0043 GMT, after hitting its highest since Aug. 19 at $1,976 in early Asian trade. – U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,982.50. – Last week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would adopt an average inflation target, meaning rates are likely to stay low for longer. …read more […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Imagine a bidder wanting to buy KFC, but being told the deal might not include the Colonel’s seven secret herbs and spices. That’s effectively what Beijing has told the list of U.S. companies keen to purchase short-video app TikTok: The key ingredients may be out of reach. At first it looked like the Trump administration had it all figured out. ByteDance Inc., it decided, was a risk to national security and the Chinese company’s main product for international markets had to be sold. For reasons that remain confounding, Satya Nadella entered the fray and Microsoft Corp. put …read more […]

…read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. took stakes in five Japanese trading companies, expanding its reach abroad.Buffett’s company announced Sunday night that it acquired “slightly more” than 5% of the shares of Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corp., according to a statement. The purchases, made through one of its insurers, National Indemnity, are valued at more than $6 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.The move marks a big push abroad by Buffett’s firm, which has long accumulated stakes in U.S. companies including Apple Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. Berkshire has also sought investments abroad with …read more […]

Posted by OFX AUD – Australian Dollar The Australian dollar is stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback reaching a high on Friday of 0.7366. A level that was last seen in December 2018 on the back of overall Greenback weakness and a surge in commodity prices. On Friday we saw … Continue reading “Australian dollar hits highest level since December 2018″The post Australian dollar hits highest level since December 2018 appeared first on . …read more […]

Berkshire Hathaway’s wholly-owned subsidiary, National Indemnity Company, will notify Japan’s Kanto Local Finance Bureau of the purchase of the stakes in Itochu Corp , Marubeni Corp , Mitsubishi Corp , Mitsui & Co Ltd and Sumitomo Corp , the company said in a statement. Berkshire Hathaway intends to hold its Japanese investments for the long term, but may increase its holdings up to a maximum of 9.9% in any of the five investments depending on price, the company said. …read more […]