The headline number is impressive: A quarter-trillion dollars worth of deals from China that President Donald Trump can use to show he’s creating opportunities for US businesses and jobs for his base. The reality, however, is that the roughly 15 agreements unveiled on Thursday are mostly non-binding memorandums of understanding and could take years to materialize—if they do at all. ...
Read More »Admin
Murdochs have a $25bn reason to break up Fox
What does the fox say? I’m still not sure. But I do know what Fox sees: a lot of money hiding, to the tune of $25 billion. Earlier this week came shocking news that the Murdoch media magnates had discussed selling a majority of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s assets to Walt Disney Co. — yes, to the owner of ABC ...
Read More »Social media has failed its self-driving test
The big problem with artificial intelligence right now isn’t that it’s taking over; it’s that it’s being entrusted with serious tasks with real-world consequences before it works properly. It’s the equivalent of letting self-driving cars operate in a city without lane markings. A viral post published on Medium by artist James Bridle is the latest case in point. Bridle took ...
Read More »Bond traders brace for inflation data that could rattle the Fed
Bloomberg In the eyes of Morgan Stanley, bond traders would be wise to remember November 15. That’s when the Labor Department releases October inflation data, the final reading of the consumer price index before the Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting next month. Officials are widely expected to raise interest rates again, with the market pricing in a ...
Read More »US equities post first weekly loss in two months on tax jitters
Bloomberg The stock market actually can go down. US equities posted the first weekly loss in more than two months as investors turned leery after congressional Republicans made little progress in passing tax cuts. Shares that would benefit most from a lower levy burden led declines, though selling spread to economically sensitive stocks as credit markets flashed warnings signs about ...
Read More »Wall Street titans to grow in China after frustrating era
Bloomberg Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. are finding patience pays off in China. The trio now have an advantage over some of their largest Wall Street rivals after officials in charge of the world’s No. 2 economy promised to let foreigners take majority stakes in securities firms there — raising limits that had long frustrated US ...
Read More »South Africa central bank has little policy space to boost growth
Bloomberg South Africa has limited space for counter-cyclical monetary policy to support economic expansion because inflation risks have increased, central bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. The balance of risks for growth in consumer prices is “on the upside,†with the rand weakening against the dollar, a higher oil price, and a chance that power prices will increase, he said in ...
Read More »CIMB’s Nazir plans to set up $1bn Southeast Asia fund
Bloomberg Nazir Razak, chairman of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. and brother of Malaysia’s prime minister, is helping start a regional private equity fund that will seek as much as $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. Nazir will keep his role at CIMB, Malaysia’s second-largest bank, while acting as one of the fund’s five partners, according to the ...
Read More »Guptas target S Africa bank regulator over account closures
Bloomberg A group of companies linked to South Africa’s politically connected Gupta family said the country’s banking regulator encouraged lenders to shut their accounts, broadening a battle to retain the last of their banking services. The 20 businesses, which are suing Bank of Baroda’s local unit to keep their accounts open, have now included Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago and ...
Read More »VietJet may buy 787s or A350s as airline weighs US route
Bloomberg VietJet Aviation JSC plans to expand its fleet to include wide-body jets as the Vietnamese low-cost carrier considers California as its first US destination starting about 2019. Vietnam’s biggest private airline would use the larger aircraft to begin the route after the US Federal Aviation Administration grants Vietnam airlines permission to fly to America, said Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, ...
Read More »