Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will stop making and selling its talc-based baby powder around the world from next year. The announcement comes more than two years after the healthcare giant ended sales of the product in the US. J&J faces tens of thousands of lawsuits from women who allege its talcum powder contained asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer. But the company reiterated its view that decades of independent research shows the product is safe to use. “As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder … Continue reading Johnson & Johnson to replace talc-based powder with cornstarch after cancer lawsuits

Heavily-indebted Chinese property giant Evergrande says it will receive $818m after cancelling a contract to buy land rights for a new football stadium. Construction of the stadium started more than two years ago but has been hit by issues for months. The stadium was for Guangzhou FC, a top tier team that Evergrande bought a controlling stake of in 2010. The money from the deal will be used to settle debts related to the project, the company added. The announcement comes as Evergrande tries to raise cash to make debt payments. Once China’s top-selling property developer, the firm has been … Continue reading Evergrande gets $818m as football stadium land deal cancelled

Tinder chief executive Renate Nyborg is leaving the firm less than a year after becoming the boss of the dating app. Her exit was one of a number of management changes at Tinder announced by parent company Match Group. Tinder’s plans to adopt new technology, including virtual currencies and metaverse-based dating, are also being reviewed in the strategic shake-up. The announcements came as Match reported second-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations. “Today we’re announcing the departure of Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg, and I have made some changes to the management team and structure that I am confident will help … Continue reading The CEO of dating app Tinder to leave company

American horror novelist Stephen King has taken the witness stand to testify against corporate consolidation. The author was the star witness in an anti-trust trial to block the two biggest US publishers’ $2.2bn merger. The US Department of Justice called on King to testify about how the proposed tie-up of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster could affect authors. King, 75, told the court in Washington DC that he felt “the move would be bad for competition in the industry”. Both publishing houses have argued the merger would not hinder competition because the companies would continue to bid against … Continue reading Stephen King testifies against merger of publishing giants

Airbnb said travel demand remains strong, despite concerns about economic slowdown and rising prices hitting households. Nearly 104 million nights and experiences were booked on the platform in the April through June period, a record high for the lodging website. Long-term stays continued to be the fastest growing type of travel, a shift driven by the rise of remote work. But international and city travel, which had lagged, have also recovered. The company said it was now in the middle of its strongest peak summer travel season yet, and it assured investors that it was well poised for whatever may … Continue reading Airbnb bookings hit record high as travel recovers

India’s largest auction for 5G airwaves has concluded after seven days, potentially setting the stage for a battle for supremacy over India’s digital future between two of Asia’s richest men – Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. A total of 72 gigahertz of spectrum worth at least $54bn (£44.5bn) in 10 bands was on the block in the auction. The government drew bids worth approx. $19bn from the three market incumbents – Mr Ambani’s Reliance-Jio (R-Jio), Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel as well as new entrant Adani Data Networks. Mr Adani, a surprise bidder who controls a sprawling conglomerate with interests … Continue reading Two of Asia’s richest men battle to dominate 5G in India

Crisis-hit Chinese property giant Evergrande says that one of its subsidiaries has been ordered to pay out 7.3bn yuan (£888.7m; $1.08bn) for failing to honour its debt obligations. Evergrande Group (Nanchang) Co. Ltd must make the payment to a guarantor of its liabilities, the firm says. It came just two days after it outlined plans to restructure its foreign debts. However, some commentators criticised the restructuring proposal for its lack of concrete details. On Sunday, in a statement to the Hongkong stock exchange, the company said its subsidiary had failed to fulfil its debt obligations to an unnamed guarantor. Evergrande Group … Continue reading Evergrande subsidiary ordered to pay $1.1bn over unpaid debt

Nine years after footballer Neymar moved from Brazil to Barcelona, he faces trial for alleged irregularities surrounding the transfer. In a legal saga that has dragged on for years, the Brazilian international who now plays for Paris Saint-Germain is accused of fraud and corruption. The trial is due to take place for two weeks from 17 October, a month before the World Cup in Qatar. Several other figures are also due to stand trial. Two former presidents of Barcelona football club, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as Neymar’s parents face the same allegations, according to Spanish reports. … Continue reading Brazilian footballer Neymar faces fraud trial in Barcelona

A US lender will pay $20m (£16.5m) to settle claims of discrimination against minority homebuyers, the justice department says. Trident Mortgage Company, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is accused of discriminatory lending in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The funds will be used to increase credit opportunities in underserved neighbourhoods, prosecutors said. It is the second-largest lending discrimination settlement in history. The practice, known as “redlining” was a common feature of the 20th Century, but is illegal under US law. Banks and other lenders would draw on maps in red marker, singling out neighbourhoods where they wanted to avoid … Continue reading Racism: US mortgage lender to pay $20m in redlining case

The owner of Facebook and Instagram was hit by a fall in advertising sales in the three months to July which caused the first year-on-year revenue decline in the firm’s history. Meta’s total revenue slipped 1% to $28.8bn (£23.7bn), but the company fended off a decline in users. Analysts fear the company’s growth may have peaked after years of large gains. Rivals such as TikTok have eroded its popularity, while more firms are competing for ad spending. Meta, which typically commands more than 20% of the global ad market, warned investors that ad sales were likely to fall again in … Continue reading Facebook’s Meta in first ever sales fall for

Amazon is to raise the price of its Prime service for UK customers. From September, monthly subscriptions will go up £1 to £8.99 and annual membership will increase from £79 to £95. Amazon said the price rise was its first in the UK since 2014 and was due to “increased inflation and operating costs”. Other services such as Netflix have also increased subscription prices due to increasing costs. Prime services offer unlimited delivery of products, and entertainment streaming services. Amazon said the new pricing will begin from September, or at the customer’s next membership renewal date – adding that switching … Continue reading Amazon Prime subscription price raised by £1 a month

Embattled Chinese real estate giant Evergrande is expected to deliver a preliminary restructuring plan this week, following the exit of two bosses. The firm says its chief executive and finance head have resigned, after an internal probe found that they misused around $2bn (£1.7bn) in loans. Evergrande has more than $300bn in liabilities and defaulted on its debts late last year. The crisis has spooked traders who fear contagion in China’s property sector. On Friday, Evergrande said it found that chief executive Xia Haijun and chief financial officer Pan Darong were involved in diverting 13.4bn yuan ($2bn; £1.7bn) in loans … Continue reading Crisis-hit property giant Evergrande faces deadline after bosses quit