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BUSINESS Saturday 14 december 2019
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Pound jumps on expected Tory win; trade talk lifts shares

By ELAINE KURTENBACH were close to inking a mod-
Associated Press est trade deal that would
BANGKOK (AP) — The Brit- suspend the new tariffs
ish pound surged early Fri- and reduce existing ones
day as exit polls indicated by an unspecified amount.
a resounding election vic- In return, China would buy
tory for Prime Minister Boris more U.S. farm products, in-
Johnson’s Conservative crease American compa-
Party, as talk of a China- nies’ access to the Chinese
U.S. trade deal buoyed market and tighten protec-
share prices in Asia. tion for intellectual property
The British pound strength- rights, said Brilliant, who was
ened to $1.3468 from briefed by both sides.
$1.3385 late Thursday as Uncertainty over trade has
projections showed the been the biggest wildcard
conservatives likely to win for stocks this year, hurt-
a solid majority of seats in ing manufacturing around
Parliament. That would al- the world and causing U.S.
leviate uncertainty by giv- businesses to hold back
ing Johnson more politi- on making investments.
cal capital to push for the The saving grace for the
United Kingdom’s depar- In this Dec. 5, 2019, file photo, trader Gregory Rowe, left, and specialist Michael Pistillo work on the U.S. economy has been a
ture from the 28-nation Eu- floor of the New York Stock Exchange. strong job market and con-
ropean Union by the end Associated Press sumer spending.
of January, according to a “If we get a China trade
research note by Evercore said the U.S. was getting the market is looking at tar- 0.1% its record set on Nov. deal, it’s probably going
analysts. close to a “big deal” with iffs as the bellwether to a 27. The Russell 2000 index to catalyze another 12-plus
“This is the most positive China. Traders were also trade deal.” of smaller company stocks months of growth in the U.S.
near term outcome for encouraged by a Wall Markets have been quick climbed 0.8% to 1,644.81. and globally,” Phillips said.
markets,” Evercore analyst Street Journal report say- to react to headlines and China’s Ministry of Com- Banks helped lead the
Krishna Guha wrote. ing Washington has offered remarks out of the Trump merce said Thursday that its gains as bond prices fell,
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei to slash existing tariffs and administration about the negotiators were in “close sending yields higher.
225 index jumped 2.5% to cancel new ones set to kick 16-month trade war. communication” with their Bank of America rose 3.1%.
24,758.56 and Hong Kong’s in on Sunday in exchange The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% American counterparts Higher yields allow banks
Hang Seng surged 2% for more agricultural pur- to 3,168.57 and is up about ahead of the new round of to charge more lucrative
to 27,542.92. The Shang- chases and intellectual 0.5% from its last all-time tariffs. A spokesman gave interest rates on mortgag-
hai Composite index ad- property protection. closing high on Nov. 27. no indication whether the es and other loans. The
vanced 1.2% to 2,951.73 “If we do see the tariffs re- The Dow Jones Industri- trade talks were making yield on the 10-year Trea-
and South Korea’s Kospi moved, that’s saying, ‘OK, al Average rose 0.8% to progress. sury jumped to 1.90% from
climbed 1.4% to 2,167.25. China must be agreeing to 28,132.05, while the Nasdaq But late Thursday, Myron 1.79% late Wednesday.
That followed new record things or we must be right gained 0.7% to 8,717.32. Brilliant, head of interna- That’s an unusually large
highs for the S&P 500 and there,’” said Ben Phillips, The index, which is heav- tional affairs for the U.S. increase and signals more
Nasdaq on Thursday after chief investment officer at ily weighted with technol- Chamber of Commerce, confidence in economic
President Donald Trump EventShares. “That’s why ogy stocks, is now up about confirmed that both sides growth.q

T-Mobile CEO says if Sprint deal fails, prices may go up

By TALI ARBEL have already cleared the trum, the airwaves that
Associated Press merger. The Justice De- signals travel over and the
NEW YORK (AP) — T-Mobile partment approved it after lifeblood of a wireless net-
CEO John Legere said if T-Mobile and Sprint agreed work. Adding spectrum
his company’s $26.5 bil- to set up satellite TV pro- would shore up the net-
lion deal to buy Sprint fails, vider Dish as a new wireless work from the strain of its
it may have to raise prices competitor. The states say growing user base watch-
to slow user growth and that’s not enough. ing Netflix and uploading
relieve stress on the T-Mo- Legere’s testimony regard- cat videos to Instagram.
bile network. He said that ing T-Mobile’s potential Pomerantz presented an
would be his “worst night- pricing strategy Thursday email Legere sent in June
mare.” Legere’s testimony stemmed from a Septem- 2015 saying that a poten-
came on the fourth day ber 2019 T-Mobile docu- tial acquisition of Dish “su-
of a high-profile antitrust ment that made projec- per-charges” T-Mobile, the
trial. Fourteen state attor- tions about T- Mobile’s fu- same language T-Mobile
neys general are suing to ture as a standalone com- has used to describe its
block the combination of pany in 2020. Sprint deal. Dish, like Sprint,
T-Mobile and Sprint. They A lawyer for the states, has lots of spectrum, hav-
say the deal would cost Glenn Pomerantz, laid out ing spent $21 billion buying
consumers billions. evidence that T-Mobile it. Legere said he liked the
The trial with the states is had options beyond ac- possibilities of that deal but This combination of April 30, 2018, file photos shows signage
a major hurdle for T-Mo- quiring Sprint that would that T-Mobile wasn’t able for a Sprint store in New York’s Herald Square, top, and
bile, but federal regulators let it obtain more spec- to complete it.q signage at a T-Mobile store in New York.
Associated Press