Bloomberg Romania unexpectedly left borrowing costs unchanged, looking past the European Union’s fastest inflation as the economy cools. The National Bank of Romania kept its benchmark interest rate at 2.5 percent on Monday. Three of 18 analysts in a Bloomberg survey predicted the decision, while 15 saw a quarter-point increase. Governor Mugur Isarescu was expected to hold a briefing in ...
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Goldman mulls custody offering for crypto funds
Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could offer a boost for the burgeoning universe of funds betting on cryptocurrencies. The firm is considering a plan to offer custody for crypto funds, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That means the bank would hold the newfangled securities on behalf of the funds, reducing risk for clients seeking to guard against ...
Read More »Social Finance reports second-quarter loss of $200mn
Bloomberg Writedowns of underperforming loans drove Social Finance Inc. (SoFi) to a second-quarter adjusted loss of about $200 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The student-loan refinancer, which has been trying to transform itself into a broader online financial-services company, took a one-time charge on loans originated before the second quarter, one of the people said. The company ...
Read More »Power prices slip below zero as green energy floods grid
Bloomberg Bright and breezy days are becoming a deeper nightmare for utilities struggling to earn a return on traditional power plants. With wind and solar farms sprouting up in more areas — and their power getting priority to feed into the grid in many places — the amount of electricity being generated is outstripping demand during certain hours of the ...
Read More »GCL-poly shares tumble as $1.9bn unit sale collapses
Bloomberg China’s GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. sank to the lowest level in more than nine years as a deal for the company to sell a controlling stake in its polysilicon unit worth $1.9 billion to Shanghai Electric Group Co. fell apart. Shares of GCL-Poly in Hong Kong fell 7.6 percent to close at HK$0.61, the lowest since March 2009, paring ...
Read More »US considers oil sanction waivers as new Iran penalties start
Bloomberg The Trump administration will consider partial exemptions from oil sanctions against Iran for some countries as a first wave of non-oil penalties against the Islamic Republic snap back into effect on Tuesday, US officials said. President Donald Trump is still willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at any time, without preconditions, as the US ramps up economic ...
Read More »Beijing meets Trump’s tariff hardball with pledge to endure
Bloomberg After a weekend of claims by US President Donald Trump that he has the upper hand in the trade war with China, Beijing responded through state media by saying the nation is ready to endure the economic fallout. China is prepared for a “protracted war†and doesn’t fear sacrificing short-term economic interests, according to an editorial in the nationalist ...
Read More »Subaru joins Toyota in expecting ‘big impact’ from US auto levies
Bloomberg Subaru Corp. reported a sales slide in the US, its largest market, and predicted a “big impact†from President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imported vehicles following the escalation of a global trade war. Unit sales in the US dropped about 14 percent to 149,800 vehicles in the three months through June 30, the company said in a presentation. ...
Read More »TSMC blames WannaCry variant for plant closures
Bloomberg Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. blamed a crippling cyber-virus outbreak on a variant of the 2017 WannaCry ransomware, outlining how it shut several plants just as the company ramps up chipmaking for Apple Inc.’s next iPhones. Chief Executive Officer C. C. Wei said full operations have resumed and that the malware would reduce revenue this quarter by no more than ...
Read More »GE Appliances’ Chinese owner readies for ‘tariff hit’
Bloomberg One of China’s largest appliance makers is preparing for the impact of US trade tariffs as it seeks to expand its international footprint. About 5 percent of products sold in the US by GE Appliances — a unit of Qingdao Haier Co. — are imported from China and face tariffs now or will get hit by those being proposed ...
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