KKR Faces EU Probe Into Information Provided in $26 Billion NetCo Acquisition
The European Commission approved the companies' deal in May 2024, initially ruling that KKR's bid to snap up Telecom Italia's broadband network assets for up to 22 billion euros ($25.90 billion) wouldn't affect competition in Europe. The watchdog had said the merged company wouldn't be able to deteriorate the conditions for rivals' access to services due to long-term agreements that FiberCop—a joint venture between Telecom Italia and KKR—held with several companies.
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Boston Globe
13 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Countries scramble to strike trade deals with Trump as deadline nears
The European Union is, by some measures, America's single most important trading partner, a bloc of 27 nations that collectively make up one of the world's largest economies. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up There are still many details left to work out after Sunday's preliminary agreement. Separate negotiations are continuing this week on major details of the deal, including steel and aluminum tariffs. Advertisement Reactions in Europe have been varied, with some leaders voicing cautious support, while others called the deal unsatisfactory and lopsided. Still, the preliminary deal avoids a worst-case scenario. Nearly every European Union country had voted to support retaliatory tariffs on American imports, which would have started on Aug. 7 if an agreement was not reached. The prospect of retaliation had spread fear among European company executives, who said countermeasures could spark a broader trade war and incite even higher U.S. tariffs. Advertisement Pressure to reach a trade deal has also intensified for South Korea, whose biggest rival in East Asia cut a deal with the United States last week. Trump celebrated the 'massive' deal with Japan and its $550 billion investment in the United States. South Korea's trade and industry ministers were in Washington last week to try to match Japan's deal. But a highly anticipated meeting Friday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, was canceled because of Bessent's schedule. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday that South Korean officials flew to Scotland to discuss trade with him and Greer as the president secured the deal with the European Union. 'I mean, think about how much they really, really want to get a deal done,' Lutnick said on Fox News. 'But the president is in the driver's seat now. He's done these big deals. He's got really all the cards in front of him.' Lutnick told South Korean officials in Scotland to bring their 'best and final' trade offer to the table, according to Yonhap News. Before leaving for Washington on Tuesday, Koo Yun-cheol, South Korea's finance minister, told reporters that he would discuss a mutually beneficial trade deal involving the country's shipbuilding industry when he meets with Bessent this week, just days before Trump's deadline. Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of coffee, also faces the possibility of steep tariffs if it does not reach an agreement with the United States by Friday. Brazil's vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, is leading his country's tariff negotiations and spoke with Lutnick by phone Monday. Lutnick then signaled that imports of some natural products not plentiful in the United States, like coffee, could be exempt from tariffs -- good news for Brazil. Advertisement Before leaving for Scotland on Friday, Trump remained optimistic about his self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline. 'Most of the deals are finished right now,' he told reporters. Trump announced last week that the Philippines and Indonesia agreed to 19% tariffs, while Australia said it would relax import restrictions on U.S. beef. Trump announced the move on Truth Social and warned that 'other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE.' The Trump administration is still hashing out details of trade agreements that have already been made with some countries, including Britain and China. Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to do some 'fine-tuning' of the deal as well as 'a little celebrating' in Scotland. Trump said in June that the United States and China had reached an agreement that would require China to loosen its restrictions on exports of critical minerals. But both countries are still working to hammer out other details of the deal. Top officials from the United States and China agreed on Tuesday to continue discussions about extending a fragile trade truce that is set to expire in mid-August, but did not immediately reach an agreement to avert a potentially destabilizing trade war between the world's largest economies. Notably, one of the biggest U.S. trading partners isn't rushing to solidify a deal before the deadline. Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said Monday that Canada was engaged in 'intense' negotiations with the United States but reiterated that his nation would agree only to terms that were in the best interest of Canadians, suggesting that the country might walk away empty-handed. Advertisement 'The assurance for Canadian business, Canadians, is we will only sign a deal that is the right deal that's a good deal for Canada,' he said. Trump expressed the same skepticism that an agreement could be reached with Canada. 'We haven't really had a lot of luck with Canada,' he said. 'I think Canada could be one where there's just a tariff, not really a negotiation.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Markets mixed as China-US talks end, eyes on tech earnings
Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as investors kept tabs on China-US developments after they agreed to further talks to extend their trade truce, while eyes were also on tech earnings and a key Federal Reserve meeting. After deals were reached with the European Union and Japan over the past week, focus has been on negotiations between Washington and Beijing to extend an agreement to lower eye-watering tariffs that threatened the world's top economies. The two-day meeting in Stockholm ended without a resolution but with the US team voicing optimism they could announce a second 90-day truce. Neither side has made public any details, although US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said President Donald Trump would have the "final call" on any extension. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the tone of the talks "very constructive". Chris Weston at Pepperstone said: "Progress on a further extension remains the well-subscribed base case, but Trump holds the final call on that, and we note there is still ample time until we reach the deadline of 12 August. "For now, the markets are unperturbed by what they hear and have a further impending 90-day extension fully priced." The general feeling is that the moratorium will be extended but there remains some nervousness, with many other countries still to reach agreements ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline. In early Asian trade, Tokyo was flat, while Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila were down and Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta rose. Among those countries still to reach a deal are Brazil and India, with the South American giant facing the threat of 50 percent tariffs. On Tuesday, the president said New Delhi could face a 20-25 percent rate, adding: "India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country. "You just can't do that." Major earnings releases from tech titans Meta and Microsoft are due Wednesday, with Amazon and Apple coming Thursday. "It's been a solid US reporting season so far, but these mega-cap names need to run it hot and blow the lights out, given the bar to please has been sufficiently raised," Pepperstone's Weston said. As well as the results, focus will be on the firms' forecasts in light of Trump's tariffs and their colossal investments in artificial intelligence. The Fed is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates Wednesday, but investors will be looking for any hint of a cut in September after recent economic data indicated some softening in the labour market. Oil prices held Tuesday's gains of more than three percent -- their biggest in six weeks, according to Bloomberg News -- after Trump reiterated his warning of fresh sanctions on Russia unless it reaches a truce deal with Ukraine. - Key figures at around 0230 GMT - Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 40,682.14 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 25,409.75 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,624.08 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1567 from $1.1554 on Tuesday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3363 from $1.3357 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.06 yen from 148.50 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.55 pence from 86.47 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $69.25 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $72.68 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 44,632.99 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 9,136.32 (close) dan/lb Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rupee set to deepen losses as India braces for higher US tariffs
By Jaspreet Kalra MUMBAI (Reuters) -The Indian rupee is poised to weaken past the psychologically important 87-per-dollar level on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump pointed to a likely 20%-25% tariff on Indian exports to the U.S., compounding pressure from sustained portfolio outflows. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 87.11-87.13 range versus the U.S. dollar, its weakest level in four months. It had closed at 86.8150 on Tuesday. India is preparing to face higher U.S. tariffs, likely between 20% and 25%, on some of its exports, as it holds off on fresh trade concessions ahead of Washington's August 1 deadline, Reuters reported post market-hours on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Trump pointed to similar level of tariffs but said that the deal has not been finalised yet. New Delhi plans to resume the trade negotiations when a U.S. delegation visits next month, aiming to finalise a comprehensive bilateral deal by September or October, a government official told Reuters. Trump's remark will cause a "knee-jerk reaction," with traders likely reading it as a negative cue, a trader at a state-run bank said, adding that while India was expected to crack one of the first deals, it now appears to be a laggard. Regional peers like Indonesia and Vietnam and the U.S.'s bigger trading partners like Japan and the European Union have already finalised trade deals with Washington in July. It's "quite likely" the Reserve Bank of India may step in to support the rupee if the early losses extend, the trader said. On the day, the dollar index was a tad lower at 98.7, while most Asian currencies nudged higher. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision is due during U.S. market hours later in the day. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 87.27; onshore one-month forward premium at 13.25 paise ** Dollar index down 0.1% at 98.75 ** Brent crude futures rises 0.2% to $72.6 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.33% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $689 mln worth of Indian shares on July 28 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $66.4 mln worth of Indian bonds on July 28 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
