$30bn Santos takeover collapses after Abu Dhabi consortium withdraws offer

09/17/25 9:47 PM

Withdrawal spares federal government from making high-stakes decision on whether to back the dealFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Abu Dhabi-led consortium has withdrawn its $30bn takeover bid for Australian oil giant Santos, sparing the federal government from making a high-stakes decision on whether to back the deal.XRG, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said in a statement late on Wednesday that “a combination of factors” had affected its assessment, without elaborating. Continue reading...

'Complete surrender': Trump trashed over latest deal with China

09/16/25 3:53 PM

U.S. law limits media ownership by non-U.S. citizens, which has caused complications for the Chinese app TikTok's operations in the U.S. Now President Donald Trump is being accused of rolling over for the Chinese government in an effort to solve the company's problems.The tech company Oracle, which is owned by a close ally of President Donald Trump, will play a key role in a reported deal between Trump and China, CBS News reported Tuesday. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's son, David Ellison, runs the company Skydance Media, which recently purchased Paramount Global, which runs networks like CBS and Comedy Central, where shows have been critical of Trump.Rush Doshi, assistant professor at Georgetown and director of CFR China Strategy Initiative, noted on X, "The TikTok deal is looking like a complete surrender by the admin. And it may even be illegal. If true, the US will let Beijing determine what appears on the news feeds of 180 million US TikTok users. Not quite America first. Even advisors to the deal are renouncing it!"He pointed to a Financial Times report Tuesday in which parent company ByteDance said the U.S. TikTok will use part of the Chinese algorithm, but it will be trained using data from Americans. Doshi noted the comment from an Asia-based investor who said, “Beijing’s bottom line is a licensing deal. Beijing wants to be seen as exporting Chinese technology to the U.S. and the world.” “It’s the ultimate Taco trade,” commented a U.S. advisor close to the deal, referencing to the mocking acronym “Trump always chickens out.""After all this, China keeps the algorithm," the U.S. advisor said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed to reporters that U.S. investors might control the new U.S. app, but it will preserve some "Chinese characteristics," Reuters reported. Read the full report here.

'Godawful mess' in US has foreign businessmen second-guessing working with Trump: NBC

09/10/25 3:37 PM

Donald Trump’s desire to deport immigrants from the U.S. by force is running headlong into his drive to increase foreign investments in the U.S. in the hope that it will improve his dismal job numbers.Asked about an immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia by agents working for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that led to a round-up of 475 employees, many of them South Koreans sent to help with the set-up, NBC’s Christine Romans said foreign investors are becoming nervous."So talk about the concerns you've heard from South Korean business leaders,“ she was asked on MSNBC.“Well, it's the collision of two Trump administration policies, right?’ she began. “Aggressive immigration enforcement and then using these trade deals to to get countries to invest more in the United States. Now, are you more likely in South Korea or elsewhere to invest more in the United States? If the 200 people that you've sent over to build the factory, literally, to train the American workers around it.”“They just said they're the top investor,” MSNBC host Joe Scarborough prompted his guest.”That's right, that's right and this is what part of the trade policy is to get more countries to send their companies here to build in the United States,” Romans replied. “At the same time, you have this very messy public image that is being broadcast here.”“It's just these things are at cross purposes,” she elaborated. “What you hear from business leaders, overseas business leaders ,is that the us immigration system is a godawful mess, and that they need better visa pathways for skilled workers to get here. What you hear from MAGA, of course, and from many traditional Republicans as well, is that skilled worker visas take away American jobs, so it's not an easy sell on that end. It's a big mess and this is front and center here.”You can watch below or at the link. - YouTube youtu.be