COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish hearing aid maker Widex and German rival Sivantos have reopened an application seeking European Commission approval for their planned $8 billion merger, public records show. The companies in October 2018 withdrew their previously announced merger. Sivantos owner EQT said at the time it still remained committed to the deal. A spokesman […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning, We’re looking ahead to President Trump’s visit to the southwest border today. We also have an update from the trial of the drug lord El Chapo, and contested election results in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Shutdown talks were a “waste of time,” […]

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play This week on “The Argument,” which side of the border wall debacle will prevail? Michelle Goldberg points to public polling, unhappy Republican lawmakers and Donald Trump’s rampant lies as proof that the president is […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. U.S. shutdown talks collapse, Britain’s Parliament takes up Brexit, and Belgium debates a law on animal slaughter. Here’s the latest: On the 19th day, the president pounded a table President Trump’s frustration boiled over as a partial government shutdown in the U.S. lurched […]

Oh Marie Kondo, how I love you, with your tiny white cardigans, your charmingly broken English, and your lovely, calm, graceful manner as you incite near nervous breakdowns in the homes of those you visit. I’ve been glued all week to Marie’s addictive new Netflix show, ‘Tidying Up With Marie Kondo’, where the pint-sized Japanese […]

The only thing surprising about US President Donald Trump’s address from the Oval Office was how totally unnecessary and un-newsworthy it was. Trump did not declare he was reopening the government. He did not issue an “emergency” declaration. He did not even offer any new arguments for a border wall that voters say they don’t […]

The struggle in the abortion debate is, in many ways, a struggle over language. For example, I am pro-life. I strongly support rights and protections for mothers and children, including prenatal children, and other vulnerable populations. I want to see the laws of this country protect these people as well. In my view, this makes […]

To the Editor: Re “Deal With Altria Vexes F.D.A.” (Business Day, Jan. 5): One in five high school students uses e-cigarettes. The deal between Juul and Altria is more likely to increase use than encourage people to quit. As a national youth ambassador for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, I spoke at a news conference […]

To the Editor: Re “In Era of San Francisco-ization, What Do San Franciscans Fear?,” by Emily Badger (The Upshot, Dec. 27): Elected officials are right to fear the San Francisco-ization that Ms. Badger describes. And at this unique moment in New York’s economic development history, which includes Amazon’s arrival, New York City leaders have looked […]

FRANKFURT/ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s Clariant (CLN.S) has begun the sale of its pigments business as part of wider a streamlining which it has said it will complete by the end of 2020, sources said. Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) bought a 25 percent stake in Clariant last year, ending a dispute between the Swiss […]