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Trump May Soften Plan to Restrict Chinese Investments

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, New York Times

Trump May Soften Plan to Restrict Chinese Investments

President Donald Trump signaled on Tuesday that the White House may soften a plan to impose sweeping new investment restrictions on China, saying he supported giving more power to an existing government body that reviews foreign investments for national security threats. Trump could ultimately decide to move ahead with the type of tough bans on Chinese investment in U.S. companies he has been threatening as part of his crackdown on Beijing’s trade practices. The administration had promised to outline by Saturday proposed restrictions on Chinese investment to protect U.S. companies it says were pressured to hand over valuable technology and trade secrets to operate in China.

GE Is to Spin Off Health Care Division as Part of Major Reshaping

General Electric said Tuesday that it planned to spin off its health care business and sell its multibillion-dollar stake in Baker Hughes, a major producer of oil field equipment, as its chief executive, John Flannery, turns the embattled industrial titan into a much smaller company. The company said it would retain just three major operations: jet engines, electric power generators and wind turbines. Those businesses accounted for 60 percent of the company’s $122 billion in revenue last year. GE, once the ultimate U.S. conglomerate and a symbol of corporate power, had endured a painful decline in recent years. Shares in the company rose more than 8 percent Tuesday.

Uber Recovers Its London License, a Win for Its New CEO

Uber won an appeal Tuesday to regain its taxi license in London after agreeing to stricter government oversight, a crucial victory for efforts by its new chief executive to revamp the company’s grow-at-all-costs culture. The closely watched case could also serve as a template for other cities looking to extract concessions from Uber, the ride-hailing service that has upended the taxi industry worldwide, often by ignoring the concerns of regulators. The court case has been a test for the conciliatory approach toward regulators taken by Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive. Uber’s license was reissued for 15 months — less than the five years that is typical for taxi licenses.

Spotify, Nodding to Broader Ambitions, Hires Chief Content Officer

Spotify has hired Dawn Ostroff, a veteran television and video executive, as its new chief content officer, a move that may signal the music service’s wider ambitions in media. Ostroff, who had been president of Condé Nast Entertainment, the publisher’s video studio, will join Spotify in August, the company announced Tuesday. She will report to Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief executive, and be responsible for its content and editorial divisions, as well as the creator services side of Spotify’s business, which handles the detailed data reports it makes available to artists.

As Trade Fight Looms, China Turns Censors on Its Own Policies

China’s government has turned its censors against an unlikely target: its own economic policies. As Washington and Beijing spar over trade, news outlets have been ordered not to mention “Made in China 2025,” an industrial master plan that aims to turn the country into a high-tech superpower, according to two people at Chinese news organizations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the censorship authorities’ secretive workings. The Trump administration has repeatedly singled out the campaign to show that Beijing is using unfair means to acquire cutting-edge U.S. technology. Despite months of talks, the two countries remain at an impasse.

Trump Threatens Harley-Davidson as Company Shifts Production Overseas

President Donald Trump lashed out at one of his favorite U.S. manufacturers Tuesday, criticizing Harley-Davidson over its plans to move some of its motorcycle production abroad and threatening it with steep punitive taxes. In a series of tweets Tuesday, the president accused the Wisconsin-based company of surrendering in Trump’s trade war with Europe and said the firm would lose its “aura” if it produced bikes overseas. “If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end — they surrendered, they quit!” he wrote. “The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!”

Grammys Expand Number of Nominees in Four Top Categories

The Grammy Awards will expand the number of nominees in its top categories from five to eight, a move that may help increase gender diversity after the awards were sharply criticized this year for their lack of recognition for female artists. The change, announced Tuesday, will affect the four most prestigious categories: album, record and song of the year, and best new artist. (Record of the year recognizes a single recording, while the song prize is for songwriters.) The new rule will go into effect immediately, with members voting on nominations this fall for the 61st annual show next year.

‘Brain Performance’ Firm DeVos Invested in Is Hit for Misleading Claims

A “brain-performance” business backed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has agreed to stop advertising success rates for children and adults suffering from maladies such as attention deficit disorder, depression and autism after a review found the company could not support the outcomes it was promoting. The company, Neurocore, has received more than $5 million from DeVos and her husband, Richard DeVos Jr., to run “brain performance centers” in Michigan and Florida. The National Advertising Review Board, an oversight arm of the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body, announced its decision last week.

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