Christine Lagarde is famous for her lively and engaging speaking style. But when she holds her first press conference as president of the European Central Bank, she would be wise to play it safe. It takes time to build a reputation as a central banker who can speak clearly and then deliver on her promises. A wrong foot could make ...

Along with never invading Russia or getting into a Twitter argument, we can add another golden rule — this one specifically for US oil majors: Never buy a shale-gas business. Chevron Corp.’s $10-11 billion impairment relates mostly to the Appalachian gas assets it picked up in 2011’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Atlas Energy Inc. Back then, the Permian basin was ...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues sent a message with their final interest-rate decision of 2019: Don’t expect us to be subject to the whims of America’s ever-shifting trade policy in the year ahead. The Federal Open Market Committee, in its first unanimous decision since May, kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged in a range of 1.5% to ...

Yes Bank Ltd.’s latest $2 billion rescue plan was perfect except for one minor detail: Most suitors for the beleaguered Indian lender aren’t the kind the board can really take to meet the regulator for tea. Yet in a five-hour meeting, the directors decided to do exactly that. Jane Austen would have been proud of their desperation to marry off ...

It’s the worst nightmare of supermarkets and food delivery firms alike: Amazon.com Inc. turbocharging its grocery business with a network of couriers who can have grub on your doorstep within an hour. So you can see why Britain’s competition regulator decided to challenge the e-commerce giant’s planned investment in Deliveroo, the UK rival to UberEats. The Competition and Markets Authority ...

For those following 2020 market outlooks, the past two days have been dominated by BlackRock Inc. The world’s largest money manager began unveiling its calls for the coming year added TV appearances and journalist discussions with its most senior investors and strategists around the globe. The broadest takeaway is that 2019’s “extraordinary returns” across asset classes won’t continue over the ...

Bloomberg US government approvals needed to return Boeing Co’s 737 Max to the skies won’t be completed until 2020, the top US aviation regulator said, dashing the company’s hopes to complete key milestones this year needed to end the aircraft’s nine-month grounding. “If you do the math, it’s going to extend into 2020,” Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Stephen Dickson told ...

Bloomberg Thomas Cook is set to be relaunched by its Chinese owner, who plans to use the 178-year-old British tour operator’s brand on a travel platform targeting European customers. Fosun Tourism Group, the Shanghai-based company that bought Thomas Cook’s trademark following its dramatic collapse in September, will debut the platform in the first half of next year, according to a ...

Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc will leave the private-jet charter business after 20 years, selling the struggling operation to Wheels Up Partners in a deal expected to close early next year. The airline will retain an unspecified equity stake in closely held Wheels Up, Delta said. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Wheels Up Chief Executive Officer Kenny Dichter will continue leading ...

Bloomberg Nestle SA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Schneider keeps cutting the sugar and fat. The question is what he’ll add to spur growth at the world’s biggest food company. In the CEO’s second-biggest disposal, the Swiss company sold its US ice cream business to a joint venture with private equity firm PAI Partners for $4 billion. That adds the ...