Square sues San Francisco to reduce its tax bill: report

Square Inc. SQ, -1.50% is suing the City of San Francisco to reduce its tax bill. The San Francisco Examiner reported Tuesday that the mobile payments company, which is based in the city, filed a lawsuit last week seeking a $1.27 million refund from its gross receipts taxes. A win by Square could also reduce its future tax payments. Square claims in the lawsuit that it is not a "financial services" company as the city claims, but an "information" company; "information" companies are taxed at a lower rate. Square also claims the city’s application of the tax is unconstitutional, and that it was improperly taxed for money it was never in possession of. Square employs more than 2,000 workers in San Francisco, and CEO Jack Dorsey’s other company, Twitter Inc. TWTR, -2.28% , received a hefty tax break to locate its headquarters in the city. Dorsey also opposed a ballot measure last year to tax companies’ earnings in excess of $50 million to pay for homeless services, which voters overwhelmingly approved.

WeWork may make governance changes to proceed with IPO: report

WeWork may make changes to its corporate governance ahead of its initial public offering to reassure wary investors, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday night. It was unclear what changes WeWork’s parent company, We Co., might make. Bloomberg reported WeWork’s financial advisers have reservations about proceeding with the IPO if its valuation falls to as little as $15 billion, after being valued at about $47 billion during a funding round last year. WeWork intends to offer a three-class share structure, with co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann expected to control most of the voting power. The property-management company has posted significant losses and has included unusual metrics in its financial statements. On Monday, the Financial Times reported WeWork’s biggest investor, SoftBank Group Co., was urging the company to shelve the IPO. Bloomberg reported that the final call on what to do will be up to Neumann.

Brazilian model who accused Neymar of rape charged with fraud along with ex

• Barcelona to forget Neymar disappointment with exciting Serie A raid

NOAA chief defends Alabama office after Trump Dorian tweet

ALABAMA/WASHINGTON/BAHAMAS (REUTERS) – The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday (Sept 10) defended a regional National Weather Service (NWS) office in Alabama that told residents the state was not at risk from Hurricane Dorian and said no one will lose their jobs.

US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter on Sept 1 that “in addition to Florida – South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated.”

South Korea to lodge WTO complaint over Japan's export curbs

• South Korea's trade minister says the country plans to file a complaint over Japan's tighter export controls at the World Trade Organization on Wednesday.
• He accuses Tokyo's export curbs of "being politically motivated."

South Korea's trade minister said the country plans to file a complaint over Japan's tighter export controls at the World Trade Organization on Wednesday, accusing Tokyo's move of "being politically motivated."

Early in July, Japan imposed tighter export curbs on three materials to South Korea used to make smartphone chips or
displays, following a diplomatic row over compensation for forced laborers during Japan's occupation of Korea during the World War Two.

As the first step of WTO dispute settlement, South Korea will formerly request consultations with Japan and seek the
latter's withdrawal of export curbs. If the consultations do not resolve the issues, South Korea will request a WTO panel ruling on the cases, trade minister Yoo Myung-Hee said.

Creepy or cute? Robot pals for you and your dog

BERLIN (REUTERS) – Virtual assistants and robot toys are nothing new. But at a Berlin tech expo some companies are trying to push the envelope a bit further.

Can it replace a human, though? Probably not.

China to introduce measures to ease negative impact of trade war: Global Times

BEIJING (REUTERS) – China will introduce important measures to ease the negative impact of the trade war with the United States, Mr Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times newspaper, said on Wednesday (Sept 11), without citing a source.

“The measures will benefit some companies from both China and the US,” he said on Twitter.

The Global Times is a tabloid published by the People’s Daily of China’s ruling Communist Party.

China to Announce Policies to Cushion Trade War, Global Times Editor Says

In this article

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China will announce moves to ease the negative impact of the trade war, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said on Twitter Wednesday, as the world’s two biggest economies inflict higher tariffs on each others’ goods.

“Based on what I know, China will introduce important measures to ease the negative impact of the trade war,” Hu said, without specifying what the policies will be. “The measures will benefit some companies from both China and the U.S.”

The tweet came as the top negotiators from the two countries are set to restart face-to-face negotiations in the coming weeks. Hu is editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a tabloid published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily. He told Bloomberg earlier that his tweets that are “based on what I know” are “definitely true.”

— With assistance by Miao Han