International

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 09:38 UTC

  New chapter of the legal saga: Google will appeal a 2.4bn Euro penalty from the EU's antitrust regulator

  

  Google and the EU have a big day in court on Wednesday as the search engine giant enters a new phase of a legal saga that began a decade ago. The Silicon Valley juggernaut is appealing a 2.4 billion Euro (US$2.6 billion) fine from 2017 that was the first in a series of major penalties from the European Commission, the EU's powerful anti-trust regulator.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 09:32 UTC

  Brazilian governor believes less protection of sugar will mean lower prices for consumers

  

  The governor of Sao Paulo said on Monday at an industry conference that less protection of sugar would guarantee better access and lower prices for consumers. “Sugar is the most protected product in the market, the reduction of tax and non-tax barriers would guarantee better access,” Joao Doria said in his opening remarks at a three-day industry meet in Dubai.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 09:30 UTC

  Guaido returns to Venezuela greeted by supporters but also attacked by Maduro government thugs

  

  Opposition leader Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela on Tuesday following a 23-day international tour in which he defied a ban on leaving the country imposed by President Nicolas Maduro's government. Guaido announced his return on Twitter before being greeted by a throng of cheering supporters at the Caracas international airport, where he arrived on a flight from Portugal.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 09:25 UTC

  The Danish central bank experience with record negative interest rate could be coming to an end

  

  Denmark and Switzerland have long shared the world record in negative interest rates, at minus 0.75%. But that may be about to change. Economists at some of the biggest Nordic banks say Denmark, which pegs the krone to the euro, is likely to raise its key rate in the coming months.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 09:20 UTC

  Coronavirus, COVID-19, “Public Enemy Number 1” and more powerful than a terrorist attack, WHO chief

  

  China's coronavirus outbreak poses a “very grave threat for the rest of the world” and should be viewed as “Public Enemy Number 1”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  US and German intelligence services had direct access to secret communications from governments

  

  US and German intelligence services raked in the top-secret communications of governments around the world for decades through their hidden control of a top encryption company Crypto AG, US, German and Swiss media reported on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 08:41 UTC

  Brazilian and Indonesia billionaires clash over the sale of a US$ 3.5bn pulp mill

  

  The business dispute between the disgraced billionaire Batista brothers in Brazil and the heir to an Indonesian pulp and paper fortune is throwing a wrench in meatpacker JBS SA’s plans to list its international operations in the United States.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 08:40 UTC

  Chinese company confident it will start its US$ 2,1 billion iron ore project in Brazil

  

  Chinese mining company Sul Americana de Metais (SAM), a unit of China’s Honbridge Holdings, is confident it will receive the necessary permits to start up its US$ 2.1 billion iron ore project in Minas Gerais, its chief executive said.

• Wednesday, February 12th 2020 - 07:43 UTC

  World's largest oil traders investing in climate friendly projects, but profits remain a big question mark

  

  The world's largest oil traders are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into climate-friendly projects: including wind farms, cow manure plants, and blue hydrogen: as they seek to match the profits they make from trading oil.

• Tuesday, February 11th 2020 - 08:10 UTC

  Major companies pull out of world business fairs because of coronavirus risks

  

  Sony and Amazon are the latest major companies to pull out of one of the world's largest tech shows because of risks posed by coronavirus. Sony said it would no longer take part in Mobile World Congress in Barcelona after “monitoring the evolving situation” after the coronavirus outbreak.