Uber is 'totally different' to Lyft, major investor Saudi Arabia says ahead of IPO

Uber can't be compared to Lyft because its business is spread across the world and it has more services to offer, according to Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is one of the largest shareholders in the ride-hailing giant, with a roughly 4% stake according to a regulatory filing. That holding is estimated to be worth around $3.4 billion when Uber goes public this month.

"Uber is totally different than Lyft," Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, managing director of the PIF, told CNBC's Hadley Gamble on Tuesday. "Of course it's a ride sharing company, but it's a ride sharing company not only in the U.S. but all over the world."

While Lyft has gained significant market share in the North American mobility space, Uber's strategy has been to grow its platform internationally. The firm is currently present in 63 countries and more than 700 cities while Lyft only operates in the U.S. and Canada.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi attends the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on Oct. 3, 2018.

Jerod Harris | Fortune | Getty Images

Uber has also been pitching itself to investors as a one-stop-shop for transportation, with a portfolio of different segments like electric scooters and bikes, self-driving cars, logistics and food delivery. Lyft can only tick two of those boxes — scooter and bike-sharing and self-driving.

Uber "has the market share in the U.S. and it has the market share all over the world and it's bringing some new services," Al-Rumayyan said.

Al-Rumayyan's comments come amid worries that Uber could face the same fate as Lyft once it debuts its shares. Since its IPO in late March, Lyft's stock has lost over 20% because of worries over its lack of profitability.

Uber could face valuation comparisons in that respect, given that it is yet to generate a profit, and has also cautioned it may never become profitable. It made $11.3 billion in revenue last year, while still booking a $1.8 billion loss.

Nevertheless, the firm's dominance in the mobility market appears to be unrivalled. While it's withdrawn from major markets like China and Southeast Asia, it still has equity stakes in the companies it sold out to there. And, more recently, it bought the Middle East ride-hailing giant Careem for $3.1 billion.

"Uber and Careem both will be considered as local companies in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East," Al-Rumayyan said. "The number of jobs that Uber brought to Saudi individuals — I think more than 100,000 jobs — which is something really great and that's why people like the whole idea of having ride sharing and Uber."

Uber in 2016 said its goal was to create "economic opportunities" for more than 100,000 Saudi drivers within five years.

The company is looking to raise as much as $9 billion in its IPO, a flotation that could value the company as high as $91.5 billion. Still, that valuation tag is actually lower than previously reported estimates of a $120 billion market value.

Saudi Arabia's PIF, which has $300 billion in assets under management, is also an anchor investor in SoftBank's $100 billion tech-focused Vision Fund, contributing $45 billion. The Japanese group is currently Uber's largest shareholder, with an almost 13% stake in the company.

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Europe's savior or disruptor? Macron wanted an EU revolution — but little has changed

French President Emmanuel Macron has frustrated many of his European counterparts with his approach to EU politics.

After being elected in May 2017, Macron was dubbed as the next leading figure in Europe — challenging German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the main champion of the European Union.

Macron, the youngest ever French president, defeated his country's nationalist forces and made big promises to reform the 28-member bloc. However, two years into his presidency he seems to be struggling to get the Europe he envisioned.

He has not been able to build the pan-European platform he wanted, Shahin Vallee, an economist who advised Macron when the president was France's economy minister, told CNBC over the phone.

"He has made his European policy entirely dependent on bilateral agreements with Germany," Vallee said, adding that this approach has been blocked by different coalitions inside the EU.

For example, Macron presented plans to put together a euro zone budget and an EU-wide taxation on tech firms. However, his proposals were clearly downsized to get the backing of the German government and were opposed by different governments, including the Dutch, the Finnish and the Irish.

Eugen Teodorovici, Romania's finance minister, has expressed his frustration toward this Franco-German alliance.

"All the financial and budgetary issues at EU level will be discussed first and foremost in this format, between Germany and France, and then what will remain for us? To discuss something that was already agreed at the highest level between the strongest member states? It's just something to be discussed and then we will be maybe informed?," Teodorovici told CNBC in early April.

Perhaps Macron's biggest drive for integration came just four months in his presidency, when he addressed students at the Sorbonne University in Paris. He declared that the EU should build a joint military force by the next decade, a common defense budget and have a finance minister for the euro zone with its own budget. There's no common agreement at the EU-level for any of these ideas yet.

More recently, during a European summit to decide on the conditions for another extension to Brexit, Macron played hard ball and found himself isolated.

So much for his European leadership … He didn't make any friends tonight.

Brussels-based official

Given the impasse in London over how the U.K. should leave the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May asked her counterparts for more time to deal with the issue. Most European countries favored a long delay, of about a year, to avoid repeated meetings over Brexit. However, with a new political cycle later this year, following EU elections, Macron pushed for a shorter extension. His efforts culminated with an agreement to delay Brexit day for six months only, until October 31.

In those discussions, the French president reportedly even wanted to remove the U.K.'s right to have a representative at the European Commission, the EU's executive body. Every member country has one commissioner in Brussels — preventing the U.K. from having one would diminish its ability to have any influence on European politics.

"The problem is that the stuff he asks for violates the treaty," a Brussels-based official, with knowledge of the summit's discussions but did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation, told CNBC on the night of the meeting.

"So much for his European leadership … He didn't make any friends tonight," the same official said.

Also recently, France was the only country in the EU to say no to starting trade talks with the United States. Macron is of the opinion that the EU should not work toward an agreement over trade while President Donald Trump doesn't support the latest climate change deal.

However, some analysts believe Macron is not truly cut-off from others and changing the EU would be a lengthy and arduous task for anyone.

"I don't think he has isolated himself at all. He is defending a viewpoint that is not widely shared by European partners, but that is shaping the European agenda," Jeremy Ghez, professor of economics and international affairs at H.E.C. Paris business school, told CNBC via email.

Arguably, without French opposition, the latest decision on Brexit could have resulted in a much longer delay.

"During the last European summit (in late March), the (leaders) were supposed to talk about China and never really did. More broadly, as the EU is preparing for a new round of trade negotiations with the U.S. and in the age of 5G technology and all its geopolitical and security ramifications, the European Union cannot be held hostage by this issue of Brexit. And this is an important point to defend," Ghez told CNBC.

"A redefinition of the EU project will not happen overnight. It's easier to brand Macron as out of touch with the 'regular people,' which he may very well be, than to redefine the way we do policy and politics within the EU," Ghez also said, adding that the upcoming European parliamentary elections will be a defining moment for Macron and the EU's future as whole.

European citizens will head to the polls in late May, in an election that could shake Brussels to the core. For the first time in 40 years, anti-establishment parties are expected to end the dominance of mainstream politics at the European Union.

Ghez argued that Macron has succeeded in stifling traditional political opposition at home and that his real opponents are Matteo Salvini (Italy's deputy prime minister) and Viktor Orban (the prime minister of Hungary).

Arguably, Macron's fiercest opposition in France are the regular street protests, the so-called Yellow Vests, who have complained about the president's reforms and have demanded his resignation.

"The stakes are high: it's not only about his presidency but about the ability of the EU to reinvent itself from the center … Expect many stakeholders, including Macron, to fight hard as a result. The jury is still out on who wins," Ghez said.

Emmanuel Macron, France's president, speaks ahead of the Balkan summit at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, April 29, 2019.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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Fortescue's CEO is seeing 'strong growth' in China's steel production

This photo taken on April 10, 2019 shows a Chinese employee pouring molten steel at a factory in Jinjiang in China's eastern Fujian province.

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Amid concerns about the state of the Chinese economy, Australian mining company Fortescue is seeing robust steel production coming from the country.

"When it comes to China, what we've really seen, particularly in that first quarter, is strong growth in steel production, " Elizabeth Gaines, CEO of Fortescue, told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Tuesday.

China is the world's largest steel making country. Data from the World Steel Association show the country increased its share of global crude steel production from 50.3% in 2017 to 51.3% in 2018.

"Last year, China produced a record 928 million tons of crude steel and, in the March quarter, we saw that up 9.9%. We have been expecting based on discussions with our customers in China that steel production will grow around 3% to 4% ... this year," Gaines said.

Furthermore, iron ore inventories at Chinese ports have been reduced to 136 million tons — the lowest level since October 2017 — she said.

Looking ahead, the Fortescue exec said there could be "some slowdown" but the demand for seaborne iron ore has been "very strong."

Gaines' comments followed the release of China's Purchasing Managers' Indexes for April on Tuesday, which showed the country's manufacturing sector growing slower than expected.

The Caixin/Markit factory Purchasing Managers' Index for April was 50.2 — lower than the March reading of 50.8, and missing the 51 projected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Results of the private Caixin survey came after China's National Bureau of Statistics released official manufacturing PMI for April, which fell to 50.1 from 50.5 in March. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that indicator to stay at 50.5.

PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that number signal contraction. The official PMI survey typically polls a large proportion of big businesses and state-owned enterprises, while the Caixin indicator has a larger mix of small- and medium-sized firms.

Earlier in April. Beijing reported better-than-expected economic growth for the first quarter of 2019. The GDP report said the world's second-largest economy grew 6.4 percent year-on-year in the first three months of this year, topping the 6.3 percent that analysts polled by Reuters had expected.

— CNBC's Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.

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Massive Saudi wealth fund zeros in on China, but US remains its top investment target

PIF (Public Investment Fund) Managing Director Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan attends the Russian-Saudi Investment Forum held at the Ritz-Carlton Moscow Hotel.

Sergei Bobylev | TASS via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's massive sovereign wealth fund has its eye on China as it expands international investments, though its "No.1 target" remains the U.S., its managing director told CNBC on Tuesday.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund is one of the Middle East's largest, with some $300 billion in assets under management and an aim to increase that to $2 trillion by 2030 as it aggressively invests in both domestic and international markets.

"This is the first time for me to go out and meet asset managers, companies, Chinese entrepreneurs, and they are really very impressive," Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, speaking on the topic of China, told CNBC's Hadley Gamble during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. "The GDP growth now is, I think, at 6.25% which is larger than most of the other countries around the world. But the concern is it came down from 11-plus percent. I don't mind growing the 6% if I'm entering now in China. The Softbank Vision Fund also deployed big amounts of money in China and some of the Chinese companies. So we are OK in the longer term."

Al-Rumayyan, who has served as the fund's director since 2015, was recently in Beijing for a forum on China's Belt and Road Initiative, which culminated in billions of dollars worth of deals to expand the flagship Chinese project that seeks to invest across Asia, Africa and parts of Europe.

But the fund's primary aim remains the U.S., Al-Rumayyan said.

"The U.S. is our No.1 target of investments. Most innovation happens in U.S. We have deployed directly and indirectly more than $50 billion in the past two years in the U.S. So that's a big demonstration to the interest that we have here."

The PIF agreed to partner with investment company Blackstone in 2017 for a new venture designed to invest more than $100 billion in U.S. infrastructure assets. The Saudi fund will commit $20 billion to the venture, which is expected to have $40 billion in total equity commitments in a permanent capital vehicle. It has also invested billions in Silicon Valley tech companies through Softbank's Vision Fund, and in 2016 sent Uber $3.5 billion in a lump sum.

"We are considering the rest of Asia, we're considering Europe to some extent, Africa is a good target for us," the managing director said.

"We haven't done anything yet but we're really looking at some of the opportunities. Of course, Saudi, mainland investment is currently 86% — it was 98% of our assets under management and the asset allocation will start going lower as the years go by until we reach and in year 2030 — we should be 50% international and 50% domestic," he said, adding that the strategy will help the fund reach its goal of $2 trillion in assets under management by 2030.

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US education groups McGraw-Hill and Cengage reportedly plan an all-stock merger

The McGraw-Hill Cos. signage is displayed outside of the company's headquarters in New York, U.S.

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Educational publishers McGraw-Hill Education Inc and Cengage Learning Holdings II Inc are planning an all-stock merger, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The merged company will be titled McGraw Hill and will hold about $3.16 billion in annual revenue, both companies told the newspaper on Tuesday, adding that Cengage Learning Chief Executive Officer Michael Hansen will head the new firm.

If the deal stands through, the new company would become the second-largest provider of college textbooks and other higher-education materials in the United States, the newspaper said.

The new entity, which could be valued at about $5 billion, would help both U.S.-based educational publishers to compete better as the rise of digital books and course materials pressures their businesses.

McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.

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Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund aims to tap debt markets twice this year

An employee looks out from the 32nd floor viewing platform of the Al Faisaliah Tower, as skyscrapers and commercial buildings stand beyond, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016.

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is planning to tap the debt market twice this year, after an overwhelmingly positive response from international investors.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is seeking to raise debt over the coming months as part of a sustained effort to boost its firepower and help support the oil-rich kingdom's ambitious economic transformation plans.

"We asked for $8 billion syndicate loan and we got an amazing response from the markets. We got like $24 (billion)… That was sometime last year. This year, we will do at least two debt raises," Yasir Bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, CEO of Saudi Arabia's PIF, told CNBC's Hadley Gamble at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

When asked how much he was expecting the fund to raise over the coming months, Al-Rumayyan said: "I think it's going to be in the neighborhood of like 14 billion Saudi real and for the U.S. dollar I think it's going to be north of $8 or $10 billion."

"And still, I mean, this doesn't represent even 5% of our AUM (assets under management). Our target is to go between 15% to 20%. So, we'll continue on raising debt," he added.

Relationship-building exercise

Last month, Saudi Arabia's state-controlled energy giant Aramco received more than $100 billion in orders by April 9 for its debut bond sale — even after a prospectus said Riyadh would not guarantee Aramco's notes — but chose to sell only $12 billion.

The first-ever debt issuance from Aramco sparked massive global interest, with the move offering investors greater visibility into the financial performance of the world's most profitable company.

Many saw the debt deal as a relationship-building exercise ahead of plans to list a portion of Aramco on international stock markets in about two years.

That's largely because Aramco's bond sale took place about six months after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate of Istanbul. Intelligence agencies in the U.S. have since concluded the Saudi crown prince ordered the killing of Khashoggi.

Riyadh denies that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the murder.

Khashoggi's killing sparked concerns that international investors would shun the kingdom, but bond buyers do not appear ready to overlook an investment opportunity in Saudi Arabia — the world's largest oil exporter.

No reason for Aramco IPO delay after SABIC deal finalized

Aramco's debut bond sale came shortly after Aramco's planned $69.1 billion acquisition of a 70% stake in petrochemicals firm Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, PIF's Al-Rumayyan said the planned listing date of Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) in 2021 could yet be brought forward.

But, this could not happen before Aramco completed its bid for a majority stake in SABIC, he added.

"Once this transaction is closed I think there shouldn't be any reason for us to put Aramco IPO in a delay," Al-Rumayyan said.

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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China tackles worries about Belt and Road debt as it notches a Swiss endorsement

Railway workers inspect a Kenya Railways freight train before departure from the port station in Mombasa, Kenya, on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018.

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Beijing offered in the last week a nod to criticism about its Belt and Road Initiative saddling other countries with debt while also gaining a partner in one of the world's financial centers.

Swiss President Ueli Maurer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on trade, investment and finance for projects in third countries along the routes of Xi's signature foreign investment program. The central European country has a reputation of being an international leader in banking.

"I think it is helpful that China can engage more European countries for the BRI, " said Zhu Ning, professor of finance at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "Switzerland would provide very important help to BRI given (the) Swiss's advantage in global banking and financial services."

That comes as Beijing seeks to recoup the image of the Belt and Road, which has been tarnished by criticism it's a vehicle for "debt-trap diplomacy."

"The accumulating debt involved in the BRI has prompted China to think more carefully about the sustainability of the BRI projects and how to combine the power of the state and the market to make it work, for Chinese and global participants," Zhu said. "This becomes an even more important and pressing issue given that RMB internationalization process is not going as fast as a few years ago and it will post some challenges to China's currently mighty foreign reserve. "

The Belt and Road Initiative is widely seen as Beijing's effort to increase global influence, beginning with the construction of rail, sea and other transportation routes stretching from central Asia to Africa. The projects can provide needed infrastructure. But critics say Chinese companies, often state-owned, tend to benefit more since they are usually the contractors or providers of financing.

That puts China in control of overseas assets if a country can't pay back its loans. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called some of China's lending practices with other countries "predatory."

While it is encouraging that Chinese officials are talking more openly about prioritizing debt sustainability and environmental sustainability, real change will require more than signing symbolic documents.

Jonathan Hillman

Director of the Reconnecting Asia Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

The U.S. and India, another country critical of the Chinese-led program, did not send official representatives to the second Belt and Road forum that concluded in Beijing this past weekend. Thirty-seven national leaders attended the event, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Xi used his opening speech to acknowledge some of program's shortcomings in its first six years of existence. Analysts also noted that he did not make any pronouncements on China's financial commitment to Belt and Road.

"We need to pursue high standard cooperation to improve people's lives and promote sustainable development," Xi said, according to an official English translation of his Mandarin Chinese remarks. "We also need to ensure the commercial and fiscal sustainability of all projects so that they will achieve the intended goals as planned."

A day before Xi's speech, China's Ministry of Finance released a "Debt Sustainability Framework for Participating Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative." The document provides optional guidelines for making loans and a mathematical formula for determining a country's ability to handle debt.

Marie Diron, managing director at Sovereign Risk Group, Moody's Investors Service, said in an emailed statement on Friday that the framework is "comprehensive" and is based on principles similar to what other institutions use for trying to ensure a level of debt isn't excessive.

"Applied effectively, it may help reduce the financial stability risks that some borrowing countries face from the additional debt burden incurred from Belt and Road projects," Diron said. "The framework's effectiveness will depend on how widely it is applied, since it is not a mandatory tool, the borrowing governments' capacity to provide the necessary inputs to the debt sustainability analysis and the lending banks' use of the tool in their decisions."

Chinese financial institutions have provided more than $440 billion in funding for Belt and Road projects, People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said during a talk at the forum, according to an English-language release on Chinese state media.

"A country's overall debt capacity should be taken into account as a way to control debt risks and ensure sustainability of debt when it comes to the investment decisions," Yi said. He added that future financing and investment cooperation should be market-oriented and mostly from commercial funds.

The agreement Switzerland signed is technically between the country's federal departments of finance and economic affairs, education and research, and China's National Development and Reform Commission. The memorandum lists initiatives to connect Swiss, Chinese and third-party leaders to create business deals and establish a "Belt and Road Initiative competence-building platform" in Switzerland.

"Cooperation will be based on five key principles: private capital for private projects, sustainable handling of debts, consideration of social impacts, environmental protection criteria, and transparency," according to a press release from the Swiss embassy.

A representative did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for further comment on the agreement.

“We focus our analysis on the credit implications of China's lending to frontier and emerging markets, " Moody's Diron said in an email Tuesday. "We do not see any significant credit implications from Switzerland's MOU with China."

Last Wednesday, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun also signed a new memorandum of understanding for a three-year agreement to improve analysis of debt sustainability, among other areas of finance-related cooperation.

Still, it remains to be seen whether complaints about the Belt and Road's debt deals recede.

"While it is encouraging that Chinese officials are talking more openly about prioritizing debt sustainability and environmental sustainability, real change will require more than signing symbolic documents," Jonathan Hillman, senior fellow and director of the Reconnecting Asia Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an email over the weekend.

"For example, rather than launching a vague 'Clean Silk Road' initiative, China could make the terms of its deals public."

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Venezuela's Guaido calls for 'largest march in history' in uprising effort

Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido (C) speaks to supporters next to high-profile opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who had been put under home arrest by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime, and members of the Bolivarian National Guard who joined his campaign to oust Maduro, in Caracas on April 30, 2019.

Cristian Hernandez | AFP | Getty Images

Venezuelans were expected to take to the streets on Wednesday for what opposition leader Juan Guaido pledged would be the "largest march" in the country's history, a day after he called for the military to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

In his boldest effort yet to gain the support of the armed forces, Guaido appeared early Tuesday morning outside a Caracas air force base with dozens of National Guard members. That triggered a day of violent protests, leaving more than 100 injured but without any concrete signs of defection from the armed forces leadership.

"We know that Maduro does not have the backing or the respect of the armed forces," Guaido said in a video message posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday evening. "We have seen that protest yields results. We should keep up the pressure."

Whether the protest turnout meets those lofty hopes will provide a key test for Guaido, as some supporters grow frustrated that Maduro remains in office more than three months after Guaido — who leads the opposition-controlled National Assembly — invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's May 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

While Guaido earned the backing of the United States and most Western countries, the armed forces have stood by Maduro, who retains the support of allies like Russia, China and Cuba. That has frustrated Guaido's bid to assume the day-to-day functions of government on an interim basis - which he says would be a prelude to calling new elections.

Venezuelan living standards have declined even further in the first several months of the year, with a series of blackouts and water shortages adding to hyperinflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine that have prompted millions to emigrate.

"I hope this will be the last time we have to take to the streets," said Claudia Riveros, a 36-year-old bakery worker carrying a Venezuelan flag during Tuesday's protest. "I want to see the end of this usurping government."

Maduro, a socialist who calls Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to orchestrate a coup against him, has also called on supporters to march on Wednesday.

"Tomorrow, the first of May, we will have a large, millions-strong march of the working class," Maduro said in a Tuesday night television address. "We have been confronting different types of aggression and attempted coups never before seen in our history."

Guaido's choice of International Workers' Day for a major march comes as he is making appeals to union leaders and public workers, a traditional base of support for Maduro and his predecessor and mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.

"If he does get some degree of participation from labor movements, then that can be an additional feather in his cap," said Risa Grais-Targow, the Latin America director at Eurasia Group in Washington, adding that the march would be "a significant barometer of his support and capacity to mobilize."

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China and US kick off latest trade talks after 'nice' working dinner

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (R), US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (C) and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer pose before they proceed to their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on May 1, 2019.

ANDY WONG | AFP | Getty Images

China and the United States began their latest talks in Beijing on Wednesday aimed at ending a bitter trade war, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he had a "nice" working dinner the night before with China Vice Premier Liu He.

Mnuchin, along with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, are holding a full day of discussions, before Liu goes to Washington next week for another round of talks in what could be the end game for negotiations.

Liu greeted Mnuchin and Lighthizer as they arrived at a state guest house in Beijing and the three men exchanged pleasantries, but did not make comments directly to reporters.

"Nice to see you, it's good to be back here," Mnuchin told Liu. They then all went straight into the meeting room. Liu had entertained his U.S. guests on Tuesday night just after they arrived.

"We did. We had a nice working dinner, thank you," Mnuchin told reporters at his Beijing hotel, when asked if he had met with Liu on Tuesday. He did not elaborate.

Beijing and Washington have cited progress on issues including intellectual property and forced technology transfer to help end a conflict marked by tit-for-tat tariffs that have cost both sides billions of dollars, disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets.

But U.S. officials say privately that an enforcement mechanism for a deal and timelines for lifting tariffs are sticking points. Chinese officials have also acknowledged that they view the enforcement mechanism as crucial, but say that it must work two ways and cannot put restraints only on China.

In Washington, people familiar with the talks say that the question of whether and when U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods will be removed will probably be among the last issues to be resolved.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he may keep some tariffs on Chinese goods for a "substantial period".

The United States has also been pressing China to further open up its market to U.S. firms. China has repeatedly pledged to continue reforms and make it easier for foreign companies to operate in the country.

In comments published in Wednesday, China's top banking and insurance regulator said the government will further open up its banking and insurance sectors.

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Racked by swine fever, China creates new certification process for pork producers

Pigs raised by farmers are seen at Linquan county on December 5, 2018 in Fuyang, Anhui Province of China.

VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images

China has asked pork processors and pig dealers to obtain certificates proving their products are free from African swine fever, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The disease has spread rapidly in the world's biggest producer and consumer of pork, reaching every province on the Chinese mainland since its initial detection there last August.

"Processors and dealers should have all pork products examined for the swine fever virus," Xinhua said, citing a government notice.

It was unclear who would conduct the examinations or issue certificates, but the notice was jointly issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The order takes effect from Wednesday, with violators facing "harsh" punishment, the report said.

More inspections of markets, traders and restaurants have also been ordered, according to the report.

African swine fever kills almost all pigs infected, though it is not harmful to people. There is no vaccine or cure.

China's pork output fell 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared with a year earlier, according to official data issued last month.

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FAA bans low flights over Venezuela's airspace, citing political instability

An opposition demonstrator walks near a bus in flames during clashes with soldiers loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after troops joined opposition leader Juan Guaido in his campaign to oust Maduro's government, in the surroundings of La Carlota military base in Caracas on April 30, 2019.

Federico Parra | AFP | Getty Images

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday evening issued an order prohibiting U.S. air operators from flying below 26,000 feet in Venezuela's airspace until further notice, citing "increasing political instability and tensions."

The FAA notice said any air operators currently in Venezuela, which would include private jets, should depart within 48 hours.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday made his strongest call yet to the military to help him oust President Nicolas Maduro but there were no concrete signs of defection from the armed forces leadership.

American Airlines Group in March said it was indefinitely suspending its flights to Venezuela, as the country continued to struggle with political turmoil and unrest.

OPSGROUP, which provides safety guidance to air operators, said options for those choosing to avoid Venezuelan airspace would include routes west via Colombia, or east via Guyana.

"The (FAA) order comes on a day of an information battle waged between Maduro and Guaido, and although the coup status is uncertain, one thing is clear: taking your aircraft to Venezuela is not a good idea," OPSGROUP said on its website.

Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 on Tuesday evening showed some flights between South America and Europe were crossing Venezuelan airspace, but at altitudes above 26,000 feet.

Early on Tuesday, several dozen armed troops accompanying Guaido clashed with soldiers supporting Maduro at a rally in Caracas, and large anti-government protests in the streets turned violent.

Venezuelans were expected to again take to the streets on Wednesday for what Guaido pledged would be the "largest march" in the country's history.

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How two Filipino brothers staved off competition from McDonald's to build a global fast food brand

In business, there's nothing like a little healthy competition to keep you motivated.

Only, for brothers Tony Tan Caktiong and Ernesto Tanmantiong, that healthy competition came early on — in the sizable form of fast food icon McDonald's.

It was then 1981 and the brothers were just setting out on the ambitious dream of creating a fast food empire in their native Philippines when McDonald's arrived in town and threatened to consume the market with its vast appetite for international expansion.

Jollibee had already grown substantially from what started in 1975 as an ice cream parlor in Quezon City, just outside of the capital Manila. But, with just a couple dozen fast food outlets scattered across the fractured archipelago, it was a small fry next to McDonald's thousands of branches in the U.S. and international markets.

Tony Tan Caktiong, chairman of Jollibee Foods Corp., speaks during the Hong Kong Asian Financial Forum (AFF) in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

Indeed, friends told the pair as much, and advised them to retreat from the challenge, Tanmantiong revealed in a recent episode of CNBC's "Managing Asia."

"When we learned that McDonald's was coming into the country, friends were telling us to shy away from the competition — do (like) other businesses and to not try confronting the global giant," Tanmantiong, Jollibee's president and CEO, told CNBC's Christine Tan.

But Tan Caktiong refused to hear it, Tanmantiong explained. Instead, the then-28-year-old founder called the business together to form a plan of attack.

We did a SWOT analysis on our strengths, our weaknesses and what the gaps were.

Ernesto Tanmantiong

CEO and president, Jollibee

"What we did was to have a strategic planning internally," said Tanmantiong.

"We did a SWOT analysis on our strengths, our weaknesses and what the gaps were," he continued, referring to a common analysis technique which aims to assess a business' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

While McDonald's benefited from economies of scale and decades' more experience, Tanmantiong said they identified one major area in which the U.S. giant could not compete: Taste. Filipinos tend to favor sweeter and spicier flavors, he said, and it would be difficult for McDonald's to adapt to that without hurting the iconic American taste for which they had become famed.

"After that strategic session, we came out quite confident. So instead of chickening out, we jokingly said, we actually serve Chickenjoy," Tanmantiong said, referring to the company's core fried chicken dish.

It's that unique menu — which includes a sweet "Jolly Spaghetti," hot dogs and spicy burgers — that has fueled the now expanded Jollibee Foods' vast international growth in the years since. The company now has more than 3,500 stores in the Philippines and another 1,000 internationally, including under its additional brands like Smashburger, Burger King Philippines and Panda Express Philippines.

But as the business embarks on further expansion into the U.S., one of its key strategic markets next to China, it will again come head to head with McDonald's — this time on the American rival's home turf. Earlier this year, Jollibee launched its first branch in Manhattan, New York, one of currently just 37 outlets in the U.S.

Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO of Jollibee Foods Corp., speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tanmantiong said he, Tan Caktiong (now Jollibee chairman), their two other brothers and the rest of the team, initially planned to embark on that path by by targeting Filipino customers living overseas. But, in fact, he said, they've been surprised to find Jollibee's distinct taste has a home among non-native patrons, too. Indeed, they account for 50 percent of the company's overseas customer base.

That should help Tan Caktiong on his latest mission to turn Jollibee into one of the world's top five restaurant companies in terms of market capitalization. Having become the largest restaurant in Asia in 2014, Jollibee will have to face off against the likes of Starbucks, Yum! Brands and Domino's to secure that accolade.

Tanmantiong said, however, that his brother loves a challenge.

"Tony is a visionary and he loves to dream big," Tanmantiong said. "That's primarily the reason why (Jollibee Foods Corporation) is where it is today. Because of that bold vision, the entire organization has been challenged, but it has been fulfilling trying to achieve the vision."

Don't miss: How these women went from earning 20 cents a day to sending their children to college

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Employees serve customers inside a Jollibee Foods Corp. restaurant in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

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Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn hosting fundraiser for Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during the introduction of the Climate Action Now Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 27, 2019.

Joshua Roberts | Reuters

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn is hosting a fundraiser at his Los Angeles mansion for House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, CNBC has learned.

In an email to CNBC, Horn confirmed details of the event that he and his wife, Cindy, are holding for Pelosi.

"We are in fact hosting an event for Nancy and the DCCC at our home on May 30," he said on Tuesday.

There are at least 12 other House Democrats attending the event, including House Intel Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA, DCCC Chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-IL, Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-CA, Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-IA, Rep. Katie Hill, D-CA, Rep. Nita Lowey, D-NY, Rep.Richard Neal, D-MA, Rep. Harley Rouda, D-CA, and Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-IL, according to a senior Democratic congressional aide with direct knowledge of the matter.

Horn has been a longtime backer of the DCCC, the official campaign arm for Democrats running for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. He donated just over $95,000 to the committee during the 2018 congressional midterm elections, according to Federal Election Commission records. During former President Barack Obama's second term in office, Horn hosted at least one DCCC fundraising event with the then-commander in chief as the featured guest.

He was also a supporter of Hillary Clinton when she ran for the White House in 2016, helping her raise at least $100,000 and contributing $50,000 directly to her joint fundraising committee, the Hillary Victory Fund, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Horn referred questions about how much each ticket will cost and names of other attendees to his political consultant who declined to respond to follow up requests for comment. Tickets for a prior fundraiser with Obama as the marquee guest ranged from $15,000 to $66,800 per couple.

A spokesman for the DCCC said that the event was closed to the press while a representative for Pelosi's office did not return an email seeking comment.

A strong year of fundraising before the next congressional election in 2020 will likely prove crucial for House Democrats if they want to successfully defend their majority.

In 2018, the party flipped at least 40 seats and pulled off enough victories to retake control of the House.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, however, shows that in 2020, 31 Democrats are up for re-election are in districts carried by President Donald Trump when he first ran for president three years ago. It marks 17 Democrat-held seats as toss-ups, which includes districts in New York, Iowa, Virginia and South Carolina.

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Judge rules Democrats' suit against Trump over foreign payment can proceed

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes the Baylor women’s NCAA championship basketball team in the Oval Office at the White House April 29, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A U.S. federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Democrats in Congress can move forward with a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of violating the law by accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments through his businesses.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan denied a motion by Trump to dismiss the lawsuit filed by 198 members of Congress.

The lawmakers charge the president violated the Constitution's "emoluments" clause, which prevents federal officeholders from accepting payments from foreign governments without the "consent" of Congress.

The constitutional provision is designed to prevent corruption and foreign influence.

Sullivan said in his 48-page decision that he found Trump's attempt to narrowly define the emoluments clause to be "unpersuasive and inconsistent."

He said he agreed with congressional Democrats who brought the case that the clause should be read more broadly as barring an official from taking any payment of any kind whatsoever from a foreign state without congressional approval.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kelly Laco said: "As we argued, we believe this case should be dismissed, and we will continue to defend the President in court."

Democratic U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler called the ruling "an important milestone in seeking to hold the President accountable for his ongoing violations" of the emoluments clause.

Trump, a wealthy real estate developer who as president regularly visits his own hotels, resorts and golf clubs, maintains ownership of his businesses but has ceded day-to-day control to his sons. Critics have said that is not a sufficient safeguard.

The lawsuit by congressional Democrats is one of two cases against Trump involving the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In the other case, Democratic attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia argued that Trump's failure to disentangle himself from his hotels and other businesses made him vulnerable to inducements by foreign officials seeking to curry favor. The case was later narrowed to focus specifically on Trump's hotel in Washington.

Since his election, the hotel has become a favored lodging and event space for some foreign and state officials visiting the U.S. capital.

A federal judge in that case also rejected Trump's narrow view that emoluments were limited essentially to outright bribes. But an appeals court is reviewing the case and has temporarily frozen evidence-gathering that could force disclosure of Trump's financial records.

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Judge approves agreement between Elon Musk and SEC over the CEO's Twitter use

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., waves while departing from federal court in New York, U.S., on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

A federal judge on Tuesday approved a deal struck between Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over Musk's use of Twitter, a court filing showed.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan approved the deal worked out on Friday that settled the dispute in which the SEC had sought to find Musk in contempt of a securities fraud settlement last year.

Earlier this month, Nathan had ordered the parties to work out an arrangement between themselves.

The new deal lays out in more detail what types of statements by Musk must be reviewed by Tesla's legal counsel before publication, such as financial statements, previously unreported production or delivery numbers, and other topics.

Regulators had claimed that a February tweet by Musk about Tesla's production numbers violated the earlier settlement, as it had not been vetted by the company's attorneys. Musk countered that the tweet was not material.

The SEC sued Musk last year for making fraudulent statements after he tweeted on Aug. 7 that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share.

The parties eventually settled, and the deal called for Tesla's lawyers to pre-approve written communications, including tweets with material information about the company.

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Sri Lanka's tourism sector counts the human and financial toll of Easter attacks

Sri Lankan hotelier Roman Scott swung into crisis mode after the Easter Sunday attacks, driving across the island to make sure his employees and guests were safe.

"First you go through absolute shock and then you start quickly moving ... you have to close things down, assess the situation ... see what happened to your staff," he told CNBC on Friday.

Luckily, no harm came to them, though many did lose family in the western coastal city of Negombo where dozens died after suicide bombers targeted worshippers attending mass at St Sebastian's church.

"All of them have lost family ... sadly, we had funerals to deal with," Scott said.

Some 10 years on from Sri Lanka's three-decade long civil war, the country stands "terribly wounded," Dilhan Fernando, CEO of Sri Lankan tea company Dilmah, said in an e-mail. The island "experienced violence at a level of ferocity that we did not see even during the 30 year conflict," he said, adding that "everyone knows someone" who has been affected.

Sri Lankans and business owners like Fernando and Scott are now asking if the Easter Sunday attack was a one-off, or whether it is the start of a cycle of violence that could send an already shaky economy into a downward spiral.

Signage for the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Kuni Takahashi | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"The last 18 months economically have been a big challenge," said Lahiru Pathmalal, CEO of Sri Lanka's largest ecommerce website, Takas.lk. "This will only make it worse."

That may be especially true for the country's tourism sector.

With its ancient Buddhist temples, surf-worthy beaches and lush hill-country tea plantations, Sri Lanka was named Lonely Planet's top destination for 2019. Now, tourism revenue, which accounts for nearly 5% of economic activity, is in question.

Ratings agency Fitch, in its latest Asia-Pacific regional sovereign credit review on April 24 warned that the Easter weekend bombings "will undermine tourism receipts, which had been rising steadily in recent years, and create new downside risks to the growth outlook."

As the hospitality industry tries to come to terms with the human and financial costs, the government is under pressure — from the International Monetary Fund, the country's central bank and more — to act decisively to bring the security situation under control and restore confidence. That could prove challenging.

"One way or the other, we should expect plenty of accusations and counter-accusations in the coming days which is not a good thing for the general well being and governance of the country," said Alastair Newton, a political analyst and former British diplomat.

"Add to this the inevitable 'hit' to inbound tourist numbers in the coming weeks and things are not looking particularly good for an economy which has really only recently been getting back on its feet fully following the civil war," he added.

Now, as a wounded country tries to pick up the pieces, the threat of communal polarization and further attacks lingers. Divided government threatens to make matters worse.

"From an investment perspective, we are closely assessing any negative fallout on tourism receipts," said Neeraj Seth, head of Asian credit at BlackRock. "A significant slowdown would widen the current account deficit and increase rupee vulnerability."

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Mnuchin says he had a 'nice' working dinner in China with Vice Premier Liu

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrives at a hotel in Beijing on April 30, 2019.

GREG BAKER | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that he had had a "nice" working dinner the night before in Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

"We did. We had a nice working dinner, thank you," Mnuchin told reporters at his Beijing hotel, when asked if he had met with Liu the night before. He did not elaborate.

Mnuchin, along with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, is in China for the latest round of talks aimed at ending their bitter trade war.

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Qantas seeks backing from pilots, regulator for record-long routes

Alan Joyce, chief executive officer of Qantas Airways, speaks during a news conference in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019.

Brendon Thorne | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Qantas Airways, which hopes to buy planes this year for record-breaking 21-hour flights between Sydney and London has two hurdles left to overcome: getting pilots and Australia's aviation regulator to agree to unprecedented duty times.

Airlines around the world are planning longer flights to compete with one-stop rivals and collect a fare premium of about 20 percent on non-stop routes, which are especially popular with corporate travelers.

Airbus and Boeing say their aircraft are ready, with only details like seat configuration left to hammer out, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.

But there is a human cost to flying from Sydney to London or New York that must be resolved before tickets are sold, Joyce added.

"We don't have the ability to do that length of duty today so you do need to negotiate that and get the regulator comfortable with it," Joyce told Reuters in a phone interview. "If the business case works ... (we can) put an order in by the end of this year and have aircraft arriving in 2022."

Qantas pilots say the unprecedented length of the new flights means the airline needs do more research, consider more training, use more experienced pilots and change what they say is a flawed fatigue-reporting system.

The maximum pilot duty time on the Sydney-London flights is expected to be around 23 hours, more than the current limit of 20 hours. "Duty" includes time on the ground before and after flights during which the flight crew is working.

Qantas already has 17-hour non-stop journeys between Perth and London with four pilots onboard.

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will evaluate the proposed longer duty time based partly on a study of pilot fatigue on the Perth-London route, agency spokesman Peter Gibson said.

It could approve longer hours, reject the proposal, approve a shorter duty time or require new measures like a more experienced crew or extended rest periods.

"The technological change is obviously there but the human physiological side hasn't changed since the Wright brothers flew," said Mark Sedgwick, the head of the Qantas pilots union, The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA). "We really need to understand the effects on human performance on the flight deck of these ultra-long range flights."

Reporting fatigue

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau in January released a study on pilot fatigue that found 60 percent of long-haul pilots had experienced moderate to severe fatigue on their most recent flight.

One issue: take-off times that work best for passengers on long flights are not ideal for easing pilot fatigue.

"From a passenger's point of view, a night flight at the end of the day makes it easier to adjust to the time," former Qantas head of safety Ron Bartsch said. "Obviously being up the front end, (the pilots) are doing some work."

Managing fatigue is a serious issue for airlines globally, and CASA is overseeing a new data-driven fatigue risk-management system at Qantas. The agency says the new system, which also takes into account fatigue reports from pilots, will create a flexible framework for duty times rather than prescriptive rules.

CASA and AIPA are also sponsoring a detailed fatigue study by Monash University that monitors sleep patterns of pilots on the Perth-London route.

Measures to fight fatigue could include putting more flight crew onboard; adding crew beds; requiring more rest before and after flights; providing transport home; and reducing subsequent duty periods, Gibson said.

According to Qantas, pilots who feel too fatigued must complete a report.

The time off is then treated as sick leave, the airline said, but Brad Hodson, a Qantas captain and union official who has flown from Perth to London, said the policy could lead to under-reporting.

"It is easier just to go sick because you don't have to fill in reports," he said.

How pilots are paid when they take time off because of fatigue is an "industrial issue" outside CASA's jurisdiction, Gibson said.

Qantas and AIPA are negotiating a new union contract for long-haul pilots. Joyce said he hoped for an agreement this year.

"AIPA is supportive of the commercial benefits that may flow to Qantas in being able to operate these long premium routes with minimal competition," Sedgwick said. "We want to make sure the safety and fatigue management issues are adequately addressed in the process of enabling these flights."

Experience levels

Crew experience on long-haul flights also will be part of contract negotiations, Sedgwick said.

The world's longest flight is Singapore Airlines' almost 19-hour journey from Singapore to New York.

Singapore's aviation regulator said in a statement that it requires the airline to have two captains and two first officers on shifts of more than 18 hours, including time before and after takeoff, to "optimise their alertness throughout the flight."

Qantas, which has a maximum duty period of around 20 hours on its Perth-London flights, also has four pilots. Crew can rest in bunks.

But the Australian airline uses one captain, one first officer and two second officers. Second officers are paid less, can fly only at cruising altitudes and cannot take off or land.

Hodson said Qantas did not necessarily need to put two captains and two first officers on each flight. More training for second officers or adding a first officer in place of one second officer were options, he added.

"I think having another qualified pilot who could sit in the seat for take-off and landing would ameliorate a lot of the issues there," Hodson said. "But Qantas won't like that because it costs money."

Joyce said the final crew mix and training had not been decided.

"We will need to work through the safety case and our requirements and then talk to pilots and regulators," he said.

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US judge orders Chinese banks to hand over North Korea records

North Korean and US flags stand side by side at the location where North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un will meet with US President Donald Trump for a US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

SAUL LOEB | AFP | Getty Images

A U.S. district judge has ordered three Chinese banks to comply with U.S. investigators' demands that they hand over records connected to the alleged movement of tens of millions of dollars in violation of international sanctions on North Korea.

In a heavily redacted court opinion released by the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday and dated March 18, Beryl Howell, Washington D.C.'s chief federal district judge, said the subpoenas were for records of dealings between a now-defunct Hong Kong-based front company and a North Korean state-run entity.

The publicly released court document did not name the banks, the Hong Kong company, or the North Korean entity. It said the front company was established by a North Korean national and a Chinese individual, who were also not named.

It said the Chinese government had ownership stakes in all three of the banks, the first two of which have branches in the United States.

The subpoenas were issued in December 2017 as part of a U.S. investigation into violations of sanctions targeting North Korea's nuclear weapons program, including money laundering and contravention of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.

According to the court document, the subpoenas demanded a wide range of bank records dating back to January 2012.

The document highlighted transactions totaling $105.34 million, including $45.78 million that went through a U.S. correspondent account of the first Chinese bank; $1.63 million that went through a correspondent bank account of the second bank, and $57.93 million that went through a U.S. correspondent account of the third.

The judge's ruling said U.S. Justice Department officials visited China in April and August last year to discuss the failure of the banks to respond to the requests for evidence.

The documents were not produced and in November, U.S. prosecutors filed a court motion seeking to compel the banks to comply.

Judge Howell ordered the first two banks to produce the records promptly or testify before a grand jury. She ordered the third bank to produce the subpoenaed records by March 28. It was not clear how or if the banks responded. China is North Korea's neighbor and main trading partner but has committed to enforcing international sanctions aimed at pressing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.

Beijing has also said it opposes unilateral sanctions outside the U.N. framework, and has accused Washington of using "long-arm" jurisdiction in targeting Chinese entities.

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Two dead, four injured in shooting at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

A medic walks between police cars after a shooting on the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte in University City, Charlotte, on April 30, 2019.

Logan Cyrus | AFP | Getty Images

Two people were killed and four others wounded — two with life-threatening injuries — in a shooting on Tuesday at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, according to the Mecklenburg Emergency Management Services Agency.

Local media reported that a suspect believed to be a student at the school was taken into custody.

Television station WBTV in Charlotte reported that gunfire erupted about 5:45 p.m. (2145 GMT) near the university's Kennedy Hall administrative building, and that one person had been arrested.

The Mecklenburg EMS, an independent agency that handles emergency services for the county, confirmed on Twitter that two people were dead on the scene and that four others were taken to a nearby hospital, two of them with life-threatening injuries. A spokesman, Lester Oliva, also confirmed the casualty toll.

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Amazon closes Souq, the company it bought for $580 million, to launch a new Middle East marketplace

Amazon launched a new Middle East marketplace on Tuesday, two years after buying the Dubai-based e-commerce company Souq.com for $580 million.

With the launch, Amazon said Souq.com will effectively shut down. The Souq.com URL now automatically takes you to Amazon.ae.

"We are proud to announce that we are now Amazon.ae," Amazon wrote in a letter posted on the new Middle East marketplace.

The launch of the new Middle East marketplace, which was first reported by CNBC in January, comes at a time of slowing international sales for Amazon. In its most recent quarter, Amazon's international sales only grew 9% from a year ago to $16.2 billion.

Amazon's representative wasn't immediately available for comment.

The change gives Amazon's Middle East service a more unified look and brand in the region. Until now, Amazon's only presence in the region was through Souq, which it acquired in 2017. It also comes with the same seller back-end system used in the U.S., and access to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), the company's storage and shipping service, according to multiple sellers.

Amazon.ae

Amazon.ae

In the letter announcing the launch, Souq's cofounder Ronaldo Mouchawar wrote Amazon's new Middle East service will sell over 30 million products, "including those available on Souq and five million products from Amazon US." It will also offer the option of shopping in Arabic for the first time, he said.

This isn't the first time for Amazon to shut down a company it acquired. In 2017, it closed Quidsi, the parent company of diapers.com and soap.com, which it acquired for $545 million seven years earlier. Though it cited profitability challenges for the closure, Amazon had little need for Quidsi because it was selling the same products on Amazon.com.

WATCH: Rakuten vs Amazon: The battle for Japan's e-commerce market

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Mueller reportedly criticized Attorney General Barr's summary of special counsel report on Trump

President Donald Trump gestures as he addresses the 148th National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 26, 2019.

Lucas Jackson | Reuters

Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller reportedly raised criticisms about Attorney General William Barr's summary of the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election because he felt it left the impression that U.S. President Donald Trump was cleared of any possible obstruction of justice, according to multiple reports.

Mueller's critical letter was obtained by the New York Times and Washington Post, which first reported the existence of it late Tuesday. That news was confirmed by NBC News.

Mueller wrote a letter in late March to Barr complaining about the four-page summary, which was sent to Congress on March 24 and later released to the public. Mueller felt that the summary from the attorney general "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this office's work and conclusions."

Barr said in the summary released last month that the probe did not conclude that Trump or anyone in his campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia in its influence campaign.

According to Mueller's letter to Barr, "There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department [of Justice] appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations."

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

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Australian stocks poised for tepid open as most Asian markets stay shut for holidays

Apple is finally moving beyond the iPhone as the smartphone industry stalls out

Apple's iPhone is an incredible moneymaking machine. In the first three months of 2019, Apple sold $31 billion worth of iPhones.

At the same time, the iPhone is becoming less important to Apple's total sales as the smartphone industry stalls globally.

iPhone revenue accounted for 53.5% of Apple's revenue for the company's fiscal second quarter, which it reported on Tuesday. Last year, during the same quarter, iPhones sales were 61.4% of sales, and in the most recent quarter that ended in December, it accounted for 61.7% of Apple's total sales.

The smaller share of iPhone revenue indicates that Apple is getting more skilled at selling other hardware and software products to its installed base of 900 million iPhone users.

Part of the iPhone's diminished importance on Apple's balance sheet can be attributed to sales shrinkage. iPhone revenue was also down 17.33% year-over-year.

But part of it can be attributed to growth in other categories.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also highlighted two big and growing businesses during a call with analysts: Apple's Services revenue, which includes subscriptions like Apple Music and iCloud, and Apple's Wearables business, which includes hardware products such as AirPods and the Apple Watch.

"It was our best quarter ever for services, with revenue reaching $11.5 billion," Cook said. Services revenue was up 16% from $9.19 billion in sales the same period last year. Apple has been emphasizing its services business as iPhone sales stall, and held an event in March to launch four new services, including two new video services and a credit card.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated that Apple's streaming services could sign up as many as 100 million customers over the next three years.

Apple also had success with what it calls its "wearables" business, which includes AirPods, Apple Watch and Beats headphones.

Although Apple doesn't break out that number by itself — it has a similar category that includes other accessories such as cords and HomePod — Cook said on Tuesday that wearables grew at a rate close to 50% during the quarter. AirPods and Apple Watch are the two most important completely new hardware lines for Apple, and they are selling well.

Apple can increasingly sell additional gadgets and software to its installed base of 900 million active iPhones. As Apple executives have said, that is now a critical number to understand the company — think of it as the closest stat to Apple's userbase.

Apple  did not provide new installed base figure from its last update of 1.4 billion devices, but Cook did say that it hit an all-time record last quarter across all categories in an interview with CNBC's Josh Lipton.

The message is clear: Apple still makes a majority of its money from iPhones, and that won't change any time soon, but it has a lot of different ways to get Apple customers to open up their wallets, and those businesses are growing as the iPhone business shrinks. That dynamic puts Apple in a great position versus other smartphone makers who are facing the same industry-wide slowdown.

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