Lawmakers in the United Kingdom released a trove of Facebook Inc. documents that provide an intriguing glimpse inside the company — and obliterate any remaining notions of its chief executive officer as an innocent babe in the woods. As Nate Lanxon and Sarah Frier wrote, internal emails show Facebook wielding user data like a “commodity that could be harnessed in ...
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Stocks rally on US-China trade wagers; oil gains
Bloomberg US equities rallied with European stocks on optimism about the prospects for success in American-Chinese trade talks. Tech shares and automakers led the S&P 500 Index higher after China was said to move towards cutting tariffs on US-made cars. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged the most in eight months. The dollar was steady while Treasuries and core European ...
Read More »Pound headed to Brexit lows as UK at crisis point
Bloomberg The UK has reached a crisis point and the pound is heading back towards its lowest levels since the Brexit vote, according to BlueBay Asset Management. A second Brexit referendum now seems the most likely outcome after Prime Minister Theresa May delayed Parliament’s vote on her divorce deal, according to the asset manager. The EU is unlikely to offer ...
Read More »Yuan most volatile since 2015
Bloomberg Yuan traders haven’t been this dizzy since China’s shock devaluation roiled markets more than three years ago. The currency’s 10-day volatility surged above 8 percent on Monday, the highest level since August 2015. The wild trading contrasts with the calm that descended on Chinese financial assets less than weeks ago, before a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald ...
Read More »ECB wins EU top court fight over legality of QE program
Bloomberg The European Central Bank didn’t overstep its mandate by setting up a quantitative-easing program to stave off deflation, judges at the European Union’s top court ruled. The ECB’s bond purchasing program is in line with the law, the EU Court of Justice said, dismissing the latest in a series of challenges from critics who argue the tool deployed by ...
Read More »Morgan Stanley clients push back on 2019 emerging-market call
Bloomberg Morgan Stanley is optimistic on emerging-market bonds looking ahead to 2019. Some of its clients less so. “We’ve spent the last two weeks discussing our year-ahead outlook with investors. We received pushback on our constructive view on EM fixed income,†Morgan Stanley strategists including James Lord wrote in a note. “Chief among concerns is the global growth outlook and ...
Read More »Patel’s exit as RBI governor roils Indian markets
Bloomberg Urjit Patel’s shock exit as governor of the Reserve Bank of India has roiled financial markets. The rupee dropped as much as 1.6 percent against the dollar in early trading on Tuesday, reacting to Patel’s decision to quit nine months before the end of his three-year term for “personal reasons.†Patel’s RBI had been at loggerheads with the government ...
Read More »Powell boosts efforts to build public trust
Bloomberg Jerome Powell is ramping up Federal Reserve communication to build public trust and help insulate it from political attack. In recent weeks, the Fed has announced a series of initiatives, including a monetary-policy review roadshow, a semi-annual assessment of financial stability, and its inaugural Supervision and Regulation Report. These follow Powell’s early promise of “plain-English’’ explanations and a doubling ...
Read More »Goldman sees greenback nearing a ‘messy top’
Bloomberg As market odds increase that the Federal Reserve will pause its rate-hike path, Goldman Sachs says its prediction for a weaker dollar could come sooner rather than later. Over the past week, worsening US economic data — including a tepid jobs report — have led some to consider the chance of a Fed pause in 2019. Goldman Sachs joined ...
Read More »Walmart, Amazon bring grocery wars to NY
Bloomberg For many years, FreshDirect has ruled the online grocery business in New York. In a city where most people don’t own cars, the company prospered by delivering a broad selection of fresh food to New Yorkers’ stoops and front lobbies. Families from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side came to rely on FreshDirect’s prepared meals, which were a snap ...
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