AGENDA
○ Nokia replaced CEO
Rajeev Suri, who’s led the
mobile communications
pioneer since 2014, with
Pekka Lundmark, the chief
of Finnish power company
Fortum. Nokia has fallen
behind Ericsson, Huawei,
and other rivals in the critical
rollout of fifth-generation
mobile equipment.
○ International efforts to
stabilize war-torn Libya
were dealt a blow after the
UN envoyto the country,
Ghassan Salame, asked
to be replaced because
of failing health. Salame’s
decision to step down
comes just days after the
latest talks in Geneva to
broker a cease-fire in Libya
ended without success.
○ Harley-
Davidson is
looking for a new
boss to navigate
its uncertain
future.
At its annual meeting
on March 11, Disney will
bid farewell to Bob Iger,
who’s handing over the
CEO job after more than
a decade to theme-
parks head Bob Chapek.
Harvey Weinstein
returns to court on
March 11 to learn how
much time he’ll have
to serve in prison
after being convicted
in February of sexual
assault and rape.
The U.S. Department
of Agriculture releases
its latest supply and
demand estimates for
corn, soybeans, and
other crops on March 10,
a key gauge as the
planting season nears.
Elon Musk, whose
Starlink project is
launching thousands
of satellites to enable
remote internet access,
will deliver a keynote
at the Satellite 2020
conference on March 9.
The Healthcare
Information and
Management Systems
Society’s conference in
Florida from March 8-
will feature President
Trump as a speaker.
The European Central
Bank could shift its
monetary policy on
March 12. Ithas vowed
to support the region’s
growth prospects, which
have been dented by the
coronavirus outbreak.
On March 11, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak
presents the U.K.’s first budget since Brexit took effect.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who wants to reform taxes
and public spending, has a strong majority for his policies.
Budgeting Brexit Britain
ILLUSTRATION BY AHAOK. DORSEY: CHESNOT/GETTY IMAGES. BIKE: COURTESY HARLEY-DAVIDSON. DATA: COMPILED BY BLOOMBERG
8
Bloomberg Businessweek March 9, 2020
IN BRIEF
○ In the biggest leveraged
buyout transaction in
Europe in a decade, German
steelmaker Thyssenkrupp
agreed to sell its elevator
business to a group of
private equity firms for
€17.2b
The engineering icon needs
the funds to stabilize itself
after years of shrinking
demand and overseas
investments gone wrong.
The iconic American motorbike maker,
already struggling as its customer
base ages, has also faced higher tariff
costs from the trade war. For now,
Chairman Jochen Zeitz, a German
who used to run sportswear maker
Puma, will lead the company.
○ Jack Welch,
who became
a champion
of corporate
efficiency during
his years running
General Electric,
died at the age
of 84 of renal
failure. 16
○ Jack Dorsey,
Twitter’s co-
founder and
CEO, is coming
under pressure
from Elliott
Management.
The activist hedge
fund is building a stake
in the social media
company and pushing
for change, including
possibly replacing the
CEO, people familiar
with the matter said.
○ Apple agreed to pay
$500m
to settle a class action after
admitting to slowing down
older phones, including its
iPhone 6 and 7 models.
When the throttle was
discovered in 2017, Apple
said it was aiming to reduce
stress on older batteries to
avoid accidental shutdowns.
Owners of the covered
models stand to receive
$25 each.
Apple’s fiscal Q1 ’20 revenue
$91.8b
Class-action settlement