The EconomistJanuary 20th 2018 The world this week 9Other economic data and news
can be found on pages 76-Having been blamed as one of
the culprits for the spread of
fake news, Facebookan-
nounced that it is altering its
newsfeed algorithm so that
users will see less content from
sensation-seekingpublishers
and websites and enjoy more
“meaningful” interactions
with friends and family. The
social network admitted that
this could reduce the amount
of time people spend on Face-
book, a measure closely
watched by investors. Ques-
tions also remain about how
Facebook will deem which
publishers are trustworthy.
John Flannery, the chief exec-
utive ofGeneral Electric,
touted the idea of breaking up
the struggling conglomerate
into separate businesses. GE
has already sold off many
non-performing divisions and
is restructuring around its
three core operations of power,
aviation and health care. But
this week the company re-
vealed a $9.5bn pre-tax charge
to cover reinsurance policies at
GECapital, a business whose
difficulties had been thought
to be in the past.
Something rotten in the state
Carillion, Britain’s second-
biggest construction company,
collapsed. Its troubles became
apparent lastyear when it
issued profit warnings. Caril-
lion employed around 20,
people in Britain, and a similar
number abroad. The govern-
ment is under pressure be-
cause many public services,
including in health care, de-
pend on the company. Despite
last year’s warningsigns,
Carillion was still awarded
contracts for infrastructure and
defence programmes. The
opposition claims the govern-
ment was “feeding” the com-
pany contracts to keep it afloat.
SoftBankwas reportedly
considering listing 30% of its
mobile-communications
business. That could fetch
¥2trn ($18bn), making it one of
the biggestIPOs in Japan. Also
testing the waters for an IPO,
Dropboxhas quietly filed
papers for a stockmarket list-
ing, according to reports.Tiptoe through the tulips
The bitcoinbubble deflated,
as the price fell below $10,000,
half its peak of a month ago.
Reports of regulatory crack-
downs on crypto-currencies in
China and South Korea have
contributed to the bust, as have
worries about the security of
bitcoin transactions.Britain’s annual inflationrate
slipped back to 3% in Decem-
ber from 3.1% in November,
easing the short-term pressure
on the Bank ofEngland to raise
interest rates again.Airbusand Boeingagain
jostled for the title of world’s
biggest planemaker. Boeing
delivered more aircraft in
2017—763 to Airbus’s 718—but
its European rival booked
more net orders: 1,109 to Boe-
ing’s 912. Airbus has held thelead in orders since 2013, but
was short on commitments for
the A380. This week the com-
pany said it would no longer
build the superjumbo without
orders from Emirates, the
A380’sbiggest customer, pro-
voking the airline into order-
ing 36.Bouncing back from its emis-
sions-cheating scandal, Volks-
wagenrevealed that it sold
10.7m vehiclesworldwide last
year (includingits 11 subsidiary
brands). That will make it the
world’s biggest carmaker if
Toyota’s figure later this month
confirms an estimate of10.4m
vehicles sold.BPbooked another $1.7bn
charge related to the Deep-
water Horizon explosion,
which killed 11 men in 2010
and caused the worst oil spill
in American history. The
charge arose from wrangling
about the economic costs of
the spill, though the energy
company says this legal pro-
cess is now winding down.
Still, BPraised the forecast of
how much it will have to pay
this year because of the disas-
ter to $3bn.America’s big banksreported
earnings for the fourth quarter.
All were affected by the recent
changes to America’s tax laws,which reduced the retrospec-
tive tax benefits on certain
assets. Goldman Sachs posted
its first quarterly loss since 2011,
of $1.9bn, as it adjusted to the
new rules. Citigroup booked a
$22bn tax charge, which led to
an $18.3bn quarterly loss,
bigger than any it endured
during the financial crisis.
JPMorgan Chase, however,
was able to turn a net profit of
$4.2bn, despite tax-adjustment
costs, as did Bank of America,
with net income of $2.4bn.Applealso adjusted to the
new tax regime, announcing
that it will pay $38bn in tax to
repatriate money it holds
overseas, taking advantage of a
new incentive for firms to
make a one-time payment on
foreign cash at a lower tax rate.
The tech giant also pledged to
spend $30bn on new offices
and data centres in America.Sweet
In the first big divestment by
the Swiss foods group under
its new boss, Nestlésold its
confectionerybusiness in
America to Ferrerofor $2.8bn.
Based in Italy, Ferrero makes
chocolate-wrapped hazelnut
sweets (very popular at ambas-
sadors’ parties, apparently).Business
Commercial aircraftSource: Company reportsNet orders05001,1,2012 13 14 15 16 17Airbus BoeingРЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА VK.COM/WSNWS