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The Morning Ledger: U.S. Strikes Trade Deal in Asia Amid China Friction |
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President Trump greeted South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, N.Y., U.S., on Monday. PHOTO: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
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Good day. The Trump administration is pursuing trade deals in Asia and Europe as it takes steps to show it wants to preserve and expand trade amid frostiness with China, The Wall Street Journal reports.
New accords: President Trump signed a revised free-trade pact with South Korea on Monday, and hopes to persuade Japan to enter formal bilateral trade talks by Wednesday. Trump aides also have meetings planned with their European Union counterparts to advance a trade-expanding framework unveiled in July.
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Communication breakdown: U.S. relations with China continue to deteriorate, as Beijing decided over the weekend to pull out of further trade talks. Trump administration efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement hit a rough patch after talks with Ottawa broke down last week.
Cooling sentiment: Washington's U.S. trade policies are cooling economic sentiment amongst executives. The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index, which measures company plans for capital investment, hiring and sales, declined to 109.3 from 111.1 in the second quarter.
New tariffs, new problems: Customs brokers worked overtime to file paperwork and beat the new tariff deadline as thousands of cargo containers on ships bound for the U.S. became more expensive as of 12.01 a.m. on Monday.
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The Conference Board will release U.S. consumer confidence data for September at 10 a.m. ET. Economists predict the index slipped to 132.0 this month from 133.4 in August.
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The U.S. Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee begins its two-day policy meeting. Central bankers are expected to announce a decision to raise rates on Wednesday.
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The owners of the only remaining nuclear-power plant being built in the U.S. extended a vote on whether to continue construction until Tuesday, after one sought to impose conditions on footing its escalating costs.
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FactSet Research Systems Inc., Manchester United PLC and Nike Inc. are among the companies reporting earnings today.
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Switzerland’s Clariant AG will reduce the number of IT systems and logistics partners as part of its deal with Saudi Basic Industries Co., the company’s finance chief tells CFO Journal's Nina Trentmann.
Clariant and Sabic last week announced they would create a joint venture in plastics and specialty chemicals called High Performance Materials. The deal is expected to boost Clariant’s results after its failed attempt to by U.S.-based Huntsman Corp. last year.
“There will be dozens of IT systems that will be replaced,” said Patrick Jany, Clariant’s chief financial officer. Clariant only has one IT system for its more than 50 subsidiaries, while Sabic has substantially more, Mr. Jany said.
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Instagram founders Mike Krieger, left, and Kevin Systrom at the Webby Awards in New York in May 2012. PHOTO: STEPHEN CHERNIN/REUTERS
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Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the two co-founders of Facebook Inc.’s popular Instagram app, are stepping down in a move marking continued tumult at the social-networking giant.
Multinational companies, backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, say the Internal Revenue Service is incorrectly denying them refunds on their 2017 tax returns.
Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai plans to appear at a private meeting of top GOP lawmakers on Friday, responding to new scrutiny of the Alphabet Inc. unit's work with China, its market power and alleged bias against conservatives in its search results.
Sears Holdings Corp. Chief Executive Edward Lampert warned that the retailer is running out of time and money as he pushed creditors to restructure about $1.1 billion of debt.
Large merchants including Amazon.com Inc., Target Corp. and Home Depot Inc. are pushing the right to reject some rewards credit cards in a move that's likely to upset some consumers.
Apple Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. have formed a partnership aimed at improving apps for businesses.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is close to buying Italian fashion house Gianni Versace SpA for about €2 billion ($2.35 billion), in a move that would put one of the glitziest names in high fashion in the hands of a budding U.S. conglomerate.
McDonald’s Corp. said its President of International Lead Markets and Chief Restaurant Officer, Doug Goare, plans to retire at the end of the year. The company will restructure globally on Jan. 1.
Starbucks Corp. is planning significant changes to its structure that could include corporate layoffs, Bloomberg reports.
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. agreed to buy online-music firm Pandora Media Inc. for $3 billion, as the satellite-radio company looks to add streaming services in its fight for listeners.
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A flag hangs in front of the Deutsche Bank offices on Wall Street in New York. PHOTO: JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERS/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Regulator Pushes Deutsche Bank to Strengthen Controls |
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The BaFin, Germany’s financial watchdog, ordered Deutsche Bank AG to bolster its controls to prevent money laundering in a public reprimand Monday that comes amid a growing focus on European lenders’ progress policing financial crime.
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority cited Germany’s federal money-laundering and banking acts in assigning Deutsche Bank an internal monitor as part of the order and demanded “measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing” in a notice on its website.
Deutsche Bank said it will work with accounting firm KPMG LLP, the appointed monitor, “to fulfill the regulatory requirements as soon as possible.”
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Europe Plans ‘Special Vehicle’ to Maintain Companies’ Ties to Iran |
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The European Union said late Monday that it would establish a special payment channel to allow European and other companies to legally continue financial transactions with Iran while avoiding exposure to U.S. sanctions.
The move is a direct rebuke of President Trump’s policy on Iran and his decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal in May, and sets the stage for a confrontation between the U.S. and Europe in the days ahead at the U.N. General Assembly, where Iran is among the prominent themes.
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ECB President Mario Draghi delivered an upbeat assessment of the region's economy and confirmed a plan to end the ECB's bond-buying program later this year. BLOOMBERG NEWS
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European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank would push ahead with plans to phase out easy money as wages and inflation pick up across the eurozone, sending the euro higher against the U.S. dollar.
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Global oil prices surged above $80 a barrel, their highest close in nearly four years, amid fresh concerns about supply shortages.
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Health-care stocks have emerged as market leaders in the third quarter, helping push major U.S. indexes to new highs, as some money managers embrace the sector as a safety play.
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CenturyLink Inc., the Monroe, La.-based telecommunications provider, said Chief Financial Officer Sunit Patel has resigned to accept an executive role at another company.
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CenturyLink named Neel Dev, currently group vice president of finance, as interim CFO. The company will launch a search process for Mr. Patel's replacement that will include internal and external candidates.
Exelon Corp., the Chicago-based utility, named former Newmont Mining Corp. CFO Laurie Brlas to its board of directors. Ms. Brlas, who left the gold mining company at the end of 2016, currently serves on the boards of pharmaceutical company Perrigo Co. and chemical manufacturer Albemarle Corp.
Louis Dreyfus Co., a Rotterdam, Netherlands-based commodities trader, has appointed a new chief executive and chief financial officer, effective immediately. Ian McIntosh will replace Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena as CEO, the company said in a release. CFO Armand Lumens has left the company and will be replaced by Federico Cerisoli, currently deputy chief financial officer and group controller.
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