Stories for February 20th 2019

Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 09:34 UTC
Latam Airlines expected to have a 51% controlling interest in Latam Brazil

Chile’s LATAM Airlines Group SA has asked Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade to boost its voting stake in LATAM Airlines Brazil to 51%, formalizing a controlling interest in Brazil’s No. 2 airline that for years it was unable to achieve because of local restrictions.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 09:25 UTC
Eighth Labour MP joins Independent Group: blasts Stalinist clique which surrounds Corbyn

Joan Ryan has become the eighth British Labour MP to quit the party in the past 48 hours, citing its tolerance of a “culture of anti-Jewish racism”. The Enfield North MP said she was “horrified, appalled and angered” by Labor's failure to tackle anti-Semitism, saying its leadership allowed “Jews to be abused with impunity”.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 09:17 UTC
Ford closes oldest factory in Sao Paulo and exits heavy trucks business in Brazil

Ford Motor Co. said on Tuesday it will close its oldest factory in Brazil and exit its heavy commercial truck business in South America, a move that could cost more than 2,700 jobs as part of a restructuring meant to end losses around the world. Ford previously said the global reorganization, to impact thousands of jobs and possible plant closures in Europe, would result in US$11 billion in charges.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 09:12 UTC
Brexit melee: Mrs. May to Brussels to meet Juncker; on Thursday Corbyn talks to Barnier

Theresa May will return to Brussels on Wednesday to continue talks on her Brexit deal. She will meet the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. Earlier, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay updated Cabinet on talks with the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 09:06 UTC
Huawei founder: “there's no way the US can crush us: we are more advanced”

Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei said “there’s no way the US can crush us”, according to an interview he gave to BBC. “The world cannot leave us because we are more advanced. Even if they persuade more countries not to use us temporarily, we can always scale things down a bit,” he said.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 08:55 UTC
Senator Sanders launches his second bid for the White House calling Trump a “racist and pathological liar”

Senator Bernie Sanders launched his second bid for the White House on Tuesday taking direct aim at Donald Trump in an announcement that called the incumbent a “racist” and a “pathological liar.” Sanders, 77, joins an already crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to run against Trump in 2020.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 08:51 UTC
Fashion designer superstar Karl Lagerfeld dies in Paris aged 85

Superstar fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has died, aged 85, in Paris following a short illness. The German designer, who was the creative director for Chanel and Fendi, was one of the industry's most prolific figures and worked up until his death.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 08:32 UTC
UK record employment in 2018 fourth quarter; jobless rate 4%, lowest since 1975

The number of people in work in the UK has continued to climb, with a record 32.6 million employed between October and December, the latest Office for National Statistics figure show. Unemployment was little-changed in the three-month period at 1.36 million.
Wednesday, February 20th 2019 - 08:28 UTC
Global trade growth forecasted to slow this year, says

Global trade growth is on track to slide further the first quarter of 2019, the World Trade Organization said. WTO in September said it expects world merchandise trade growth will slow to 3.7% this year down from 3.9% in 2018.