Bloomberg Investors in India’s bond market are already raising red flags on the potential impact from populist farmer bailouts being engineered by different state governments. Yields on the so-called state development loans, or SDLs, climbed at the most recent auction, widening their spread over sovereign rates. The increase comes amid concern that waiving billions of dollars in farm loans will ...
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Top iron shipper says price to go below $50 as supplies swell
Bloomberg Iron ore will sink back below $50 a metric ton next year as global supply expands and demand moderates in China, according to Australia, the biggest exporter, which released its revised outlook just hours before the country’s largest port reported record shipments for June. The raw material will average $49.10 next year, 4.8 percent below a previous estimate, and ...
Read More »World’s biggest pension fund has best performance in 2 years
Bloomberg The world’s biggest pension fund posted its best annual gain in two years, as Japanese and overseas stocks rose while government bonds slid. The Government Pension Investment Fund returned 5.9 percent, or 7.9 trillion yen ($70 billion), in the year ended March 31, increasing assets to a record 144.9 trillion yen, it said in Tokyo. That’s the biggest advance ...
Read More »China’s great reflation shows signs of being a let-down
Bloomberg China’s great reflation is showing further signs of being a let-down. Producer price gains have eased back from February’s eight-year high as activity in the property and infrastructure sectors slows amid a government crackdown on risky lending. Prices at the factory gate rose 5.5 percent in June from a year earlier, the same pace as May, according to a ...
Read More »UK factories cut output, clouding growth outlook
Bloomberg UK factories and construction firms unexpectedly cut output in May, casting doubt over the performance of the economy in the second quarter. Manufacturing fell 0.2 percent from April as vehicle production posted the biggest drop in more than a year, the Office for National Statistics said. Total industrial production declined 0.1 percent. Building output shrank by 1.2 percent. There ...
Read More »Syngenta settles farmer’s contamination suit ahead of trial
Bloomberg Syngenta AG reached a confidential settlement with a Nebraska farmer who claimed the company mishandled marketing of its genetically modified seed, causing US corn prices to plummet. With the settlement, Syngenta averts a trial that was scheduled to start July 10. Terms weren’t disclosed. Two weeks ago, Syngenta lost a $218 million jury verdict for a class of Kansas ...
Read More »US squeezes steel concessions from G-20
Bloomberg Group of 20 leaders agreed to address growing overcapacity and rock-bottom prices in global steel markets, bowing to pressure from the Trump administration after it threatened to impose punitive tariffs on its allies. In talks, US officials managed to get language inserted into the communique that sets deadlines for G-20 members to address excess steel production, according to a ...
Read More »US SUV recall may spread to more manufacturers
Bloomberg Faulty fuel pump parts that have spurred US recalls of more than 450,000 SUVs by Volkswagen AG and its Porsche and Audi brands were supplied to 13 other automakers and suppliers, German auto-parts maker Continental AG told US regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now probing whether vehicles and parts sold by those other companies also contain ...
Read More »Ex-Audi manager charged in emissions case
Bloomberg A former Audi AG manager was charged with fraud by the US for his alleged role in helping Volkswagen AG cheat US emissions standards. Giovanni Pamio, 60, conspired to defraud US regulators and consumers through software designed to cheat emissions testsin thousands of Audi vehicles marketed as “clean diesel,†the Justice Department said. “Pamio and co-conspirators deliberately failed to ...
Read More »Australia bets $68bn navy spend on export industry
Bloomberg Australia wants more from its $68 billion investment in new ships and submarines than just a more capable navy. With final bids due this month on a A$35 billion ($27 billion) contract for nine anti-submarine frigates, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said Australia is seeking a bigger role in naval shipbuilding. “From an industrial point of view, it’s a ...
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