Long Haul Buffett Buys

4.39k followers • 8 symbols Watchlist by The Motley Fool

Here are eight Buffett-approved businesses built for the long haul.

8 symbols

Bloomberg
GM, LG Chem to Build $2.3 Billion Ohio Battery Plant
Dec.05 -- Mary Barra, chief executive officer at General Motors, and Hak-Cheol Shin, vice chairman and chief executive officer at LG Chem, discuss their $2.3 billion joint investment in a new electric-vehicle battery plant to be built in Lordstown, Ohio. They speak with Bloomberg’s David Westin on "Bloomberg Markets."
Reuters Videos
GM, South Korea's LG hook up in EV battery joint venture
General Motors is teaming up with South Korea's LG Chem to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Ohio - which would be one of the biggest battery building facilities in the world. Plans for the joint venture were announced Thursday. The two companies will pile in more than $2 billion combined to set up the unit, which will be built near the site of a shuttered GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio. This joint venture is expected to put more than 1100 people to work. Sources familiar with the plan said those employees would likely be part of the United Auto Workers union, which would make this the first unionized battery factory in the United States. GM has come under fire from President Trump for closing factories and shedding jobs. And Democratic presidential candidates joined the picket line with union workers who went on strike demanding better wages and angry about the use of lower-paid contract employees. Like most automakers, GM is looking to bolster sales by investing heavily in electric vehicles and newer self-driving technologies. Construction is set to begin the middle of next year.
Yahoo Finance
20 businesses that died in the 2010s
Yahoo Finance takes a look back at some of the biggest corporate busts of the last decade.
Bloomberg
Biden Super-PAC Makes Ad Buy in Iowa: Campaign Update
(Bloomberg) -- Unite the Country, a super-PAC started by former aides of Joe Biden, is launching a $650,000 advertising campaign in Iowa promoting his candidacy.The group’s first spot features a montage of photos starting with Biden as a young man and excerpts from a speech in which Biden highlights his stance favoring marriage equality, his sponsorship of the Violence Against Women Act and the assault weapons ban enacted as part of the 1994 crime bill he sponsored.The ad doesn’t mention other Democratic candidates. It also doesn’t mention President Donald Trump, whose attacks on Biden were cited by the super-PAC’s founders as the reason they were forming the group. Trump’s campaign spent $8 million on television and digital ads starting in late October that criticized Biden over his son’s work for a Ukrainian energy firm.Unite the Country bought air time starting Monday in four Iowa markets, according to Advertising Analytics, which tracks political commercials. Biden is in fourth place in the state, according to the Real Clear Politics poll average.Warren Gets Clean Bill of Health in Report (9:10 a.m.)Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is a “very healthy 70-year-old woman,” her doctor said in a medical report released by the campaign Friday.“Senator Warren is in excellent health and has been throughout the 20 years I have served as her physician,” said Dr. Beverly Woo, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and senior physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “There are no medical conditions or health problems that would keep her from fulfilling the duties of the president of the United States.”The records show that she got her most recent physical examination in January and her annual flu shot in October. Warren has “excellent” cholesterol levels and normal blood pressure. At 5 feet 8 inches, she weighs 129 pounds. Her only medical condition is hypothyroidism, for which she takes levothyroxine, which keeps her thyroid hormone levels normal, Woo said.Warren “has never smoked, used drugs or had any problem with alcohol use,” the report said. “She exercises regularly and follows a healthy diet despite her very busy schedule.”Warren is the only top-tier candidate to release medical records so far. Bernie Sanders, 78, who had a heart attack in early October, said he will make his available at “the appropriate time.” Joe Biden, 77, has not yet released his information but has said he will do so before the Iowa caucuses in February. Pete Buttigieg, who at 37 is the youngest candidate in the race, has not released any records. -- Misyrlena EgkolfopoulouSanders Aims to Break Up AT&T, Comcast (8:34 a.m.)Senator Bernie Sanders’ $150 billion plan aimed at bringing high-speed internet access to all U.S. households would break up Internet service provider and cable “monopolies,” singling out such companies as Comcast Corp., AT&T Inc., and Verizon Communications Inc.“The internet as we know it was developed by taxpayer-funded research, using taxpayer-funded grants in taxpayer-funded labs,” Sanders said in the plan, which was released Friday. “Our tax dollars built the internet and access to it should be a public good for all, not another price gouging profit machine for Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon.”Sanders said the internet, telecom, and cable companies “exploit their dominant market power to gouge consumers and lobby government at all levels to keep out competition.” He’d mandate providers offer a “basic, quality Internet plan at an affordable price.”The Sanders plan comes as one of his rivals, Senator Elizabeth Warren, is leading the charge to to break up large tech companies. Warren published an October essay titled “Here’s How We Can Break Up Big Tech,” calling for splitting up Amazon Inc., Facebook Inc., and Google.AT&T, Verizon and Comcast rose fractionally before regular U.S. trading, with gains of less than 0.5%. -- Elizabeth WassermanCOMING UPJoe Biden is on an eight-day, 18-county bus tour of Iowa through Saturday.Presidential candidates including Biden, Sanders and Pete Buttigieg will participate in a forum hosted by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday.Warren, Sanders and Biden are scheduled to take part in town hall meetings hosted by UNITE HERE Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas on Dec. 9-11.(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)\--With assistance from Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou.To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Allison in Washington DC at ballison14@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max BerleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
U.S. Payroll Gain of 266,000 Trounces Forecasts as Wages Heat Up
(Bloomberg) -- Explore what’s moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast. Subscribe via Apple Podcast, Spotify or Pocket Cast.U.S. job gains roared back in November as unemployment matched a half-century low and wages topped estimates, giving the Federal Reserve more reason to hold interest rates steady after three straight cuts.Payrolls jumped 266,000, the most since January, after an upwardly revised 156,000 advance the prior month, according to a Labor Department release Friday that topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey calling for 180,000 jobs. It was the first full month that General Motors Co. workers returned to work after a 40-day strike, adding 41,300 to automaker payrolls following a similar drop the prior month.Stocks in the U.S. climbed on the report and headed for their best gain in a month, while Treasuries fell and the dollar rose.The jobless rate dipped to 3.5%, matching the lowest since 1969. Average hourly earnings climbed 3.1% from a year earlier, exceeding projections, and the prior month was revised higher. Private employment jumped by 254,000.The data back the Fed’s view that the labor market remains strong, supporting consumers and continued economic growth. That may give the central bank more room to keep interest rates on hold at their meeting next week amid the uncertainty of President Donald Trump’s prolonged trade talks with China. Wage gains should also support holiday shopping and ease concerns about a slowdown.“It’s a significant surprise because economists were ready to go with the idea that payroll growth was slowing down because the job market had gotten tight,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont. “The whole tenor has changed in terms of job growth. We’re back at steady-as-she-goes at a robust pace.”A separate report Friday showed consumer sentiment rose to a seven-month high and buying attitudes for household durables improved, adding to economic cheer as the holiday shopping season gets under way.Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, said in a Bloomberg Television interview that “despite a certain amount of pessimism, the economy is outperforming expectations, economic policies from the president are working.” Revisions added 41,000 jobs for the prior two months, bringing the three-month average to a 10-month high of 205,000.The report adds to recent data pointing to an economy holding up amid headwinds. Jobless claims remain near a half-century low, service-sector activity is expanding and consumer sentiment is within reach of the best levels of the expansion.What Bloomberg’s Economists Say“Bloomberg Economics is lowering its projection of the 2020 year-end unemployment rate to 3.3% from 3.4%. Hiring momentum continues to surpass the growth rate of the labor force, which is closer to 100,000-125,000 per month. On Nov. 3, 2020, as voters head to the polls, they will be facing the lowest election day unemployment rate since Dwight Eisenhower won his first term as president in 1952.”--Carl Riccadonna and Yelena Shulyatyeva. To see the full note, click hereManufacturers rebounded, adding 54,000 jobs after a 43,000 drop the prior month, mostly reflecting GM workers returning to work. Despite the boost, factories have faltered amid weak global demand and U.S.-China trade tensions curbing business expansion plans.Job gains were broad-based across industries, led by a 206,000 gain for private service providers that was the best since January.Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and other policy makers have said the labor market remains strong enough to maintain a stable economy. That’s contributed to expectations the central bank will hold rates through the end of 2021.The participation rate, or share of working-age people in the labor force, fell to 63.2% from a six-year high of 63.3% the prior month.The U-6, or underemployment rate, fell to 6.9%, matching the lowest level since 2000, from 7%; some analysts see this as a more accurate reflection of the labor market as it includes part-time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and those who aren’t actively looking.(Updates with consumer sentiment in seventh paragraph, Kudlow comment in eighth paragraph. An earlier version corrected the prior month’s figure in second paragraph to 156,000 from 128,000.)\--With assistance from Chris Middleton, Sophie Caronello, Alister Bull, Ana Monteiro and Reade Pickert.To contact the reporter on this story: Katia Dmitrieva in Washington at edmitrieva1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Jeff KearnsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Zacks
Verizon-Sony Partner to Boost Live Sports Viewing Experience
Leveraging 5G Ultra Wideband network, Verizon (VZ) partners with Sony to promote next-gen live sports viewing experience with excellent wireless connectivity, low-latency and high-definition video.
Zacks
Stock Market News for Dec 6, 2019
Wall Street closed higher on Thursday as investors??? remained mostly optimistic on a possible interim trade deal between the United States and China.
Zacks
Kinder Morgan Unveils 2020 Guidance: A Detailed Analysis
Apart from laying emphasis on strengthening its balance sheet, Kinder Morgan (KMI) expects DCF to increase in 2020.
Zacks
5 Blue Chip Stocks to Buy on the Dip for a Stronger Portfolio
As stock market volatility continues, the blue-chip index is showing fluctuation. However, a closer look into the index reveals that not all stocks are erratic.
Investing.com
Stocks - Tesla, Crowdstrike Rise Premarket; Uber, Zoom Video Fall
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Friday, 6th December.
Investing.com
Top 5 Things to Know in the Market on Friday
Investing.com -- It's payrolls day, and hiring in the U.S. economy is expected to have rebounded in November from October's dip due to the end of the strike at General Motors (NYSE:GM). Elsewhere, OPEC and its allies are set to sign off on a largely symbolic cut in output through March 2021, while Saudi Aramco is now the world's most valuable company after completing its $25.6 billion IPO. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Friday, 6th December.
Financial Times
Robust US jobs data show labour market’s resilience
The US economy added 266,000 jobs in November, surpassing analyst estimates by a wide margin and demonstrating the continued strength of the US labour market. Analysts had estimated that the US economy would create 180,000 jobs in November. Hourly earnings increased 3.1 per cent over the past year, also beating estimates of a 3 per cent gain.
Bloomberg
Weather, GM Among Crosscurrents Seen Buffeting U.S. Jobs Report
(Bloomberg) -- Economists project nonfarm payrolls climbed by about 183,000 last month, one of the highest estimates this year ahead of a jobs report, while unemployment remained near a half-century low and wage gains stayed solid.Such a figure in Friday’s Labor Department data would reflect a temporary boost from General Motors Co. autoworkers returning from a strike. While gains have broadly moderated from last year’s robust pace, the labor market still isn’t close to signaling recession, a fear that confronted investors earlier this year but has since faded. The data will be released at 8:30 a.m. in Washington.Estimates in Bloomberg’s survey range from 70,000 to 237,000, while the median projection for private payrolls growth is 179,000. The report is expected to show the jobless rate held at 3.6% for a second month while average hourly earnings climbed 0.3% on the month and 3% from year earlier.Read more: Job-Market Strength Gives Trump, Fed a Rare Chance to Be PatientManufacturing payrolls, which tumbled in October by 36,000, the most in a decade, amid the GM strike, are projected to make up lost ground with a 40,000 increase for last month.Here’s what economists are saying, with payroll projections listed from low to high:Goldman Sachs180,000 jobs, 3.6% unemployment, 3.1% annual wage growth“The tight labor market may have pulled forward hiring or reduced layoff activity,” Spencer Hill wrote in a report. “However, temporary factors including the late Thanksgiving holiday and snowstorms in the Midwest will likely weigh on” the job numbers.Morgan Stanley180,000 jobs, 3.5% unemployment, 3.1% annual wage growth“We expect the November payrolls report will show continued solid job growth,” economists led by Ellen Zentner wrote. “Headwinds to our November forecast come from weather, slightly higher jobless claims during the survey week, and mild consumer confidence.”Citigroup 183,000 jobs, 3.6% unemployment, 3.1% annual wage growth“We expect details of the employment report to show continued strength in service-industry employment,” Veronica Clark and Andrew Hollenhorst wrote. “While we expect an overall solid November employment report, markets are now pricing a scenario more in line with our fairly optimistic base case. This implies that market risks tilt to the downside with a stronger reaction to a negative than to a positive surprise.”Wells Fargo190,000 jobs, 3.6% unemployment, 3% annual wage growth“While we look for hiring to finish the year slower than last year, job gains should remain above what is estimated to be necessary to hold the unemployment rate steady,” the firm’s economists wrote. “There were five full weeks, compared to four, between the October and November payroll surveys, which traditionally results in stronger wage growth. These calendar considerations alongside the return of highly-paid GM workers should underpin earnings growth in November.”Bloomberg Economics205,000 jobs, 3.5% unemployment, 3% annual wage growth“Slowing growth is already taking a toll on the pace of hiring,” economists Carl Riccadonna and Yelena Shulyatyeva wrote in a report. “The six-month trailing average of nonfarm payrolls slipped to 156,000 in October compared to 234,000 in January. While slower job creation will weigh on household income generation, a tight labor market will mute the impact by averting a material deceleration in wage pressures.”\--With assistance from Sophie Caronello and Chris Middleton.To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Kearns in Washington at jkearns3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregorFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Zacks
Visa (V) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Visa (V) closed at $181.99 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.77% move from the prior day.
Bloomberg
Waymo’s Autonomous Taxi Service Tops 100,000 Rides
(Bloomberg) -- More than 100,000 trips have been taken in robotaxis operated by Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Alphabet Inc. Now the service is expanding to iPhone users.On the first anniversary of its pilot program in Chandler, Arizona, Waymo said it will begin offering an iOS app for its robot ride-hailing service for iPhones. It also revealed new details of the pioneering robotaxi service, which has been slow to offer fully autonomous service without human “safety drivers” behind the wheel to take over in an emergency.Waymo, which began a decade ago as Google’s self-driving car project, said its service has 1,500 monthly users and has tripled the number of weekly rides since January. Since late summer, Waymo has ramped up a “rider only” option without human safety drivers to a test group of a few hundred commuters. While those people weren’t always charged initially, they are now paying rates that are competitive with Uber and Lyft ride-hailing services, according to a Waymo spokeswoman.Most Waymo rides occur in the late afternoon and evening, with commuters using the service for everything from getting to work to having a “date night,” Dan Chu, the company’s chief product officer, wrote in a blog post.The service is expanding and will add more riders who will join a wait list by using the new iOS app. The service has been available on Android phones since the spring.Still, John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive officer, told reporters in October he is unsure when commercial robotaxis will take off. General Motors Co. has delayed the rollout of its service and Ford Motor Co.’s CEO has said the industry overestimated the arrival of self-driving cars.“It’s an extremely challenging thing to do,” Krafcik told reporters at a dinner in Detroit. “I do share your sense of uncertainty, even in my role. I don’t know precisely when everything is going to be ready, but I know I am supremely confident that it will be.”(Updates with comment from company spokeswoman in third paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at knaughton3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Alistair BarrFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Investing.com
Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch
Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top three things that could rock markets tomorrow.
Zacks
Zacks Market Edge Highlights: AAPL, GM, MSFT, SHW and VOO
Zacks Market Edge Highlights: AAPL, GM, MSFT, SHW and VOO
Zacks
Telecom Stock Roundup: T-Mobile's Nationwide 5G, Verizon 5G Edge Computing & More
While T-Mobile (TMUS) launches nationwide 5G network, Verizon (VZ) collaborates with Amazon's cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, for 5G edge computing.
Bloomberg
GM, LG Chem to Build $2.3 Billion Battery Plant in Ohio
(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. and its battery partner, South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd., said they will jointly invest $2.3 billion in a new electric-vehicle battery plant to be built in Lordstown, Ohio, the same city where the automaker controversially idled and then sold a 53-year-old compact-car factory.The two companies plan to hire 1,100 workers, about the same number that were laid off when the Lordstown assembly plant that used to make the Chevrolet Cruze compact was idled in March. GM then sold the assembly plant to an electric pickup-truck startup called Lordstown Motors Corp.GM said that the new plant will lower battery costs as the automaker prepares to launch a global family of electric cars, SUVs and pickups in the next couple of years. The factory will make battery cells for GM’s next-generation electric vehicles, including the truck it plans to build in Detroit starting in 2021.“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said in a statement. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future.”For workers idled in Lordstown, the joint-venture plant is a mixed blessing. The company will make jobs available to those workers, but pay significantly less than the $32 an hour top wage that GM Assembly workers receive.The United Auto Workers would have to organize the plant like any new facility, Barra said. It is not part of GM’s master agreement with the union, which would make it a union plant governed by the national contract.“That’s up to the members, the workforce, because it’s a new facility,” Barra said.When Lordstown assembly stopped production in March, 1,200 workers were laid off. Many were transferred to other plants but some workers decided to leave GM and stay in their hometown.Lordstown Motors plans to build its Endurance pickup in the idle assembly plant, but the company is still raising money from investors to get the project moving.The battery plant will be a massive venture. GM and LG Chem said that the plant will have annual capacity to make 30 gigawatt hours of battery cells, compared to 20 gigawatt hours at Tesla Inc.’s Gigafactory in Nevada.GM and LG Chem have a long history together. The South Korean company supplies battery technology for the Chevrolet Bolt EV already. In a filing at home Thursday, LG Chem said it would invest about $900 million in its U.S. unit for the joint effort.Barra said GM is on a journey to get costs below $100 per kilowatt hour, to get electric vehicle costs close to that of gasoline powered cars. She also said that GM’s next-generation of EVs will be desirable, profitable and affordable.“Our intent is to grow and lead in electric vehicles,” Barra said.(Updates with CEO comment in the sixth paragraph. An earlier version corrected a name in second paragraph to Lordstown Motors Corp.)To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chester Dawson at cdawson54@bloomberg.net, Kevin MillerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Zacks
Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA)?
Sector ETF report for FSTA
Zacks
Major Regional Bank Stocks Outlook Rosy on Decent Loan Rise
Major Regional Bank Stocks Outlook Rosy on Decent Loan Rise
Bloomberg
British Icon MG Motor Unveils an Electric SUV in India
(Bloomberg) -- MG Motor unveiled an electric sport utility vehicle in India, becoming just the second automaker to launch such a product in a market where clean-energy cars have yet to make a dent.The iconic British brand also known as Morris Garages, now owned by Chinese giant SAIC Motor Corp., showed off its ZS model Thursday in New Delhi. The vehicle can go as far as 340 kilometers (211 miles) on a single charge, Rajeev Chaba, president of MG Motor India, told reporters.The vehicle will take on South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., the only other brand with an electric SUV in India. The companies are trying to grab an early mover’s advantage in the world’s fourth-largest automobile market as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes the country to adapt cleaner energy.SAIC Motor is the first Chinese entrant in a notoriously difficult market where the likes of General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have struggled. Electric cars have a particularly steep hill to climb to lure buyers away from more traditional offerings: the nation’s best-selling gas guzzler costs just $4,000, or about double of what an average Indian earns in a year.The ZS comes with a skyroof and an inbuilt air purifier, and it’ll initially be sold in five major cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai. While the price will be announced next month, MG has previously said it could be about 2.5 million rupees ($35,000).SAIC will be up against Hyundai, which launched its Kona electric SUV earlier this year, as well as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the local unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. Together, they control two-thirds of the market where 3.4 million passenger vehicles were sold in the year through March. In contrast, barely more than 8,000 EVs were sold locally during the past six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Challenging Hyundai and Maruti, which have a strong network of dealers and maintenance facilities across the country, has proven difficult. Ford in October agreed to move most of its assets in India into a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. after struggling for more than two decades, while GM pulled out of India two years ago, scrapping a $1 billion investment and stopping sales of Chevrolet models.To contact the reporter on this story: Anurag Kotoky in New Delhi at akotoky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Ville HeiskanenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
Huawei Sues FCC in a Fight for Greater U.S. Market Access
(Bloomberg) -- Huawei Technologies Co. has sued the Federal Communications Commission, seeking to overturn a regulatory decision that will hurt the Chinese corporation’s business with its last major American clients.China’s largest technology company by sales said it has filed a lawsuit with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the American agency’s decision to bar the use of federal subsidies by rural carriers purchasing its equipment. Huawei complained it wasn’t accorded due process and was unfairly labeled a national security threat.The lawsuit is the latest attempt by Huawei to fight American sanctions and curbs that threaten the world’s largest networking business. Huawei, which the White House accuses of aiding Beijing in espionage, is stepping up a worldwide legal and publicity campaign to protest what it deems unfair treatment by the U.S. and its allies. It’s turned increasingly to courts to fight a plethora of issues from alleged defamation to American network restrictions.“The U.S. is great because it embraces openness, inclusiveness and the rule of law,” Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping told reporters at a briefing in Shenzhen on Thursday. “If it abuses its power, the ultimate loser may be itself.”FCC representatives weren’t immediately available for comment outside of normal business hours.Read more: Huawei Sues U.S. Over Equipment Ban, Escalating Legal ClashHuawei has initiated a number of high-profile legal actions to defend its business and reputation overseas. In March, the company brought the U.S. government to court in Texas, arguing a provision in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that barred it from certain networks violated the U.S. Constitution. It also filed defamation claims in Paris last month over claims made on TV about its alleged ties with the Chinese government, something the company has repeatedly denied. Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer who faces potential extradition to the U.S. for alleged fraud, has also sued the Canadian authorities for wrongful detention.Even as Huawei fights to safeguard its reputation abroad, it may be facing a public backlash back home. This week, news that it had reported an employee to police who was subsequently detained for 251 days -- then released without charges -- sparked a social media furor against the company’s infamously demanding work environment. Local media reported the longtime employee had sought severance pay upon dismissal over unspecified reasons, but was then detained on extortion charges. “We are obligated to report to the authorities if we find any suspicious or unlawful acts,” Song said Thursday, saying he had nothing more to add.The backlash stood in stark contrast to the consistent support Huawei has enjoyed at home since it ended up in Washington’s cross-hairs. Huawei is considered a central facet of sensitive U.S.-Chinese negotiations intended to defuse trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The Trump administration however has said issues related to the company won’t be included in any potential deal and is a separate process.The FCC’s move comprises one aspect of a broader campaign to contain a Chinese national champion Washington views with suspicion. In May, the White House placed Huawei on a blacklist that prohibited the sale of American software and circuitry. It’s so far defied those curbs -- reporting hyper-growth in quarterly sales and smartphone shipments -- but expects Washington’s ban to erase $10 billion in 2019 revenue. That’s down from the $30 billion Huawei’s billionaire founder, Ren Zhengfei, previously feared.The U.S. market itself has shrunk in importance in past years for Huawei. The country’s biggest telecom carriers, including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., barely buy any of its gear and dropped plans to sell Huawei phones last year under pressure from the U.S. government. Huawei still maintains business ties with a number of small American carriers serving rural areas.(Updates with comments from a press briefing from fourth paragraph)To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Financial Times
GM and LG Chem to invest $2.3bn in US battery plant venture
General Motors and South Korea’s LG Chem plan to invest a combined $2.3bn in a joint venture to build a new battery plant in the US, as the automaker prepares to ramp up production of electric vehicles. The companies announced on Thursday they will break ground in the middle of next year in the Lordstown area in north-east Ohio, near the location of a vehicle assembly plant GM has idled. The equally-owned venture also calls for the group to jointly develop new battery technologies with the goal of cutting costs.
Zacks
Bet Big on These ETFs on Verizon-Amazon Deal
Verizon-Amazon partnership on 5G puts these ETFs in focus.