Switzerland│Novartis buys Seattle biotech for more than $3 billion
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to buy Seattle biotech Chinook Therapeutics for up to $3.5 billion to expand its pipeline of kidney drugs. According to the agreement, Chinook shareholders can receive US$3.2 billion or US$40 per share in cash, a 66.7% premium to the closing price on the 9th, and up to US$300 million in contingent value rights (CVR). Novartis expects to close the transaction in the second half of this year.
Denmark│The technology industry plans to raise the age limit for collecting children’s personal information
The Danish government intends to adjust the age limit for high-tech giants to collect children’s personal information, and intends to set limits on technology companies’ large-scale access to young people’s data. Denmark intends to raise the age at which children agree to share personal information with technology companies from the current 13 to 15-16. In addition, companies need to obtain parental consent to use personal information below this age.
Italy│Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi died on the 12th at the age of 86. Berlusconi, who served as the prime minister of Italy for four terms, was previously diagnosed with leukemia and recently suffered from a lung infection. Berlusconi was a media tycoon before entering politics and founded Italy’s largest media company, MediaForEurope (MFE).
United States│Broadcom acquires cloud computing VMware, EU is expected to nod
Chipmaker Broadcom’s $61 billion deal to acquire cloud computing company VMware is expected to receive conditional approval from the European Union if Broadcom proposes interoperability remedies to address competition concerns, sources said. EU antitrust authorities are due to rule on the deal by July 17.
Japan│PPI increased by 5.1% in May, lower than the previous month
According to the announcement by the Bank of Japan on the 12th, Japan’s producer price index (PPI) increased by 5.1% in May, lower than the annual increase of 5.9% in April, mainly due to the decline in the price of crude oil and other energy products. Although the increase in PPI in May was lower than the previous month, it still continued to rise, reflecting that companies continued to pass on the increased cost of raw materials to consumers.
Turkey│Unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage point to 10.2% in April
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute announced on the 12th, Turkey’s unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points from March to 10.2% in April, and the labor force participation rate climbed to 53.9% from 53% in March. The report showed that the number of unemployed people over the age of 15 increased by 74,000 from the previous month to 3.58 million in April. The unemployment rate for men was 8.1 percent in April and 14.3 percent for women.
Turkey│April current account deficit of $5.4 billion higher than in March
According to the latest report released by the Central Bank of Turkey on the 12th, Turkey’s current account deficit reached US$5.4 billion in April, higher than the deficit of US$4.48 billion in March, mainly because there was a commodity deficit of US$7.01 billion in that month, which meant that imports exceeded exports. But thanks to the pick-up in tourism, the service surplus hit $2.92 billion in April.
The post 6/13 Global Scan to grasp the pulse of global investment appeared first on Business Times.