10 The EconomistNovember 16th 2019
The world this week Business
Disney’s streaming video
service went live, the latest in a
lengthening line of challengers
to Netflix’s dominance of the
market. The trove of program-
ming on Disney+not only
includes its archive of animat-
ed classics, but also catalogues
of material from other studios
that Disney owns, which in-
clude Marvel, Pixar and 20th
Century Fox. Along with rivals
like Amazon and Apple (but
not Netflix) Disney wants to
entice customers into its wider
product range—in its case,
theme parks and cruises.Donald Trump increased the
pressure on China to agree to a
“phase one” trade deal, threat-
ening to raise tariffs “substan-
tially” if it does not. Whether
America removes all tariffs or
just those that are scheduled to
come into effect in December
remains a sticking-point in the
negotiations. Diplomats are
also searching for a neutral
venue where the two countries’
presidents can sign a deal in
front of the world’s cameras,
after Chile cancelled the apec
summit in Santiago where the
ceremony was supposed to
take place.gdpin both Germanyand
Japangrew by just 0.1% in the
third quarter compared with
the previous three months.
Germany avoided a recession
(its economy shrank by 0.2% in
the second quarter), helped in
part by a welcome rise in the
country’s exports, which have
struggled during global trade
tensions. Britainalso dodged a
recession, chalking up growth
of 0.3% following a previous
contraction. Solid perfor-
mances in the construction
and services sectors offset flat
growth in agriculture and
manufacturing.Alibaba was reported to have
secured approval from the
Hong Kong stock exchange to
sell shares in a secondary
listing. The Chinese e-com-
merce giant listed on the New
York bourse five years ago. It
had been expected to float
shares in Hong Kong earlier
this year, before the outbreak
of huge street protests; the
threat of escalating unrest to
the financial hub still remains.The prospectus for Saudi
Aramco’sipoprovided few
details for investors, such as an
indicative share price or an
exact date for its stockmarket
debut on the Riyadh exchange.
Those particulars are expected
to be announced soon. The
prospectus did indicate that
1bn shares in the state-owned
oil company will be offered to
Saudi Arabia’s small investors.The California Trucking Asso-
ciation launched a legal chal-
lenge against the state’s new
law giving wage and benefit
protections to independent
contractors. The rules are
aimed at workers in the gig
economy, though they will
also apply to caretakers, maids,
carers and many others. The
truckers’ group says its drivers’
ability to set their own
timetables will be hampered
and interstate commerceundermined. Uber and others
want a measure to be put
before voters next year that
would exempt them from the
law, which comes into effect
on January 1st.National health mistrust
A deal that will see Ascension,
an American hospital network,
share patient data with Google
attracted the ire of lawmakers
worried about privacy. Suspi-
cion about Google’s intentions
in health is a running theme: it
was also criticised for a col-
laboration with a British hospi-
tal in 2016, and with the Uni-
versity of Chicago a year later.
It was also reported that Google
wants to move into banking,
which could set up a clash with
financial regulators.In an update on the progress it
is making towards regulatory
approval to fly the 737 max
aircraft, which has been
grounded for most of the year
following two crashes, Boeing
said it was “possible” that
deliveries to airlines could
resume in December and that it
hopes soon to secure consent
for new pilot-training require-
ments. Southwest and
American Airlines pushed
back the dates for when they
expect the 737 maxcan take off
again until early March.British Steel, which has been
in liquidation following a
Brexit-induced slump in or-
ders, received a takeover offer
from Jingye, a Chinese steel-
maker. There is some uncer-
tainty about Jingye’s long-term
commitment. bsspecialises in
railway tracks and construc-
tion girders, technology that
Jingye lacks back home.Carl Icahn, an activist investor,
revealed that he has built a
4.2% stake in hpand will push
it to accept a takeover offer
from Xerox.Teslachose Berlin as the site
for its first factory in Europe,
making electric cars and bat-
teries. “Berlin rocks,” raved
Elon Musk, Tesla’s boss. Pro-
duction should start in 2021.No need to be bitter
American connoisseurs of
craft brew were crying in their
ale upon the news that
Anheuser-Busch InBevhas
struck a deal to buy Redhook, a
pioneer in the small-brewers
revolution that began 40 years
ago. The global beer conglom-
erate decided now was the time
to swallow the roughly 70% it
does not already own of Craft
Brew Alliance, which also
owns Kona and other brands,
after its share price fell flat.