International business briefs: Toyota to raise vehicle prices in US

DRC opts to extend ban on exports of cobalt

Kinshasa — The Democratic Republic of Congo has extended by three months a ban on exports of cobalt intended to curb oversupply of the electric vehicle battery material, a regulatory agency said on Saturday. The world’s top cobalt supplier imposed a four-month suspension on exports in February after prices had hit a nine-year low at just $10 a pound. The ban was due to expire on Sunday.

“The decision has been taken to extend the temporary suspension due to the continued high level of stock on the market,” the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances’ Markets said in a statement.

The authority said it expected to announce a subsequent decision to either modify, extend or terminate the suspension before the new three-month window closes in September. Reuters reported on Friday that Congolese authorities were considering extending the ban as they explored how to distribute quotas for shipments of cobalt among mining companies. Reuters

Novo Nordisk releases full results on obesity drug

Bengaluru — Novo Nordisk on Friday said full results from early-stage trials show that its experimental drug, amycretin, helped overweight and obese adults lose up to 24% of their weight as the Danish company readies for late-stage studies to start next year.

The company said side effects of the drug, tested as both a weekly injection and a daily pill, were mostly gastrointestinal with rates similar to other recent weight loss drugs.

The full trial results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago and published in the Lancet medical journal. Reuters

Toyota to raise vehicle prices in US to offset tariffs

Bengaluru — Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor said on Saturday it will raise prices for some vehicles sold in the US by an average of $270 starting in July.

The automaker's decision follows US President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and auto parts. A Toyota spokesperson, however, denied the tariff directly influenced the price increase.

“The latest price hike is part of our regular review of the prices,” Nobu Sunaga, a Toyota spokesperson, said.

Prices for Lexus models, Toyota’s luxury brand, would also increase by an average of $208, he said. Reuters

Malaysia holds anti-dumping duties on iron, steel

Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia said on Saturday it would maintain anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese and Japanese cold rolled coils of iron and non-alloy steel more than 1,300mm wide.

But the trade ministry said in a statement it would terminate anti-dumping duties on imports from South Korea and Vietnam on Monday.

The duties, to be in effect for five years, will exclude imports from all four countries of tin mill black plate and merchandise imported for automotive purposes, and fin wall for transformer use. Reuters

Voice of America parent slashes 639 more staff

Washington — The parent agency of Voice of America said on Friday it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85% decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda.

Kari Lake, senior adviser to the US Agency for Global Media, said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum.

“Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a long-overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy,” Lake said in a statement.

She said the agency had been “riddled with dysfunction, bias, and waste”. Reuters

Thames Water may have to restate financial accounts

Bengaluru — Britain’s Thames Water may be required to restate its financial accounts for the year ended March 2024, the Financial Times reported on Friday, marking another potential setback for the struggling utility as it seeks to avert nationalisation.

Thames Water is trying to understand the consequences of having to restate figures in its accounts published last year, the report added, citing documents seen by the newspaper.

There was concern within Thames Water that any amendment to the accounts could prompt one of its senior lenders to allege that a breach of debt terms had occurred, the report said.

The Financial Reporting Council, the UK’s accounting watchdog, was aware of the issue, it added, citing people familiar with the situation. Reuters

Apple ‘mulling acquisition of Perplexity’

Bengaluru — Apple executives have held internal talks about potentially bidding for artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Perplexity, Bloomberg News reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The discussions are at an early stage and may not lead to an offer, the report said, adding that the tech behemoth's executives have not discussed a bid with Perplexity’s management.

“We have no knowledge of any current or future mergers & acquisitions discussions involving Perplexity,” Perplexity said in response to a Reuters’ request for comment.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters