On 6 June 1944, American soldiers stormed the beaches of France, beginning a campaign that would roll back Nazi Germany’s control of Western Europe. It was an unprecedented display of military might and organizational prowess for the US. The man who led that heroic effort was himself of German descent—general and future president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s family, which changed ...
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HK’s China loan pipe is gurgling too loud
While Hong Kong’s stock and bond investment pipes to mainland China get much attention, a third link between the financial center and the People’s Republic has largely flown under the radar. The hidden “connect†hooks up banking flows from the city with borrowers up north; it’s large, and growing fast. Left unchecked, it could weaken Hong Kong’s lenders. Fitch Ratings ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank’s future is more Fannie than Lehman
It’s hard to recall the last time there was good news out of Deutsche Bank AG. Record fines and criminal charges. Restructuring plans with layoffs and write-offs, that don’t seem to work. Losses. Senior management infighting. Credit-rating downgrades and new lows for the stock price. Added to a US list of troubled lenders. Only three of the 33 equity analysts ...
Read More »Hedges get test as $300bn FAANG surge continues
Bloomberg The world’s favourite stocks fought through to their seventh rally in nine weeks, though not without landing a few blows on traders. For about 24 hours on Thursday and Friday, losses in the FAANG block looked liable to snowball, bringing back memories of a similarly out-of-the-blue lurch almost exactly a year ago today. But the nervousness abated, possibly aided ...
Read More »Pound set for wild ride as Brexit bill goes to parliament
Bloomberg The pound could be in for a wild ride as the UK’s Brexit bill goes to a vote in Parliament. Traders will be watching for signs of what kind of Brexit UK lawmakers will decide on, as well as how Prime Minister Theresa May is faring, with the pound set to sell off if her leadership looks to be ...
Read More »HSBC’s Major softens Treasury, credit calls after market shakeup
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s Steven Major is starting to show a little less conviction on two of his big investment calls of recent years: bullish Treasuries and bearish credit. The shift comes as traders shaken by weeks of turbulence across asset classes regain their footing. In European credit markets, the biggest high-grade sell-off in more than two years has created ...
Read More »Banks turn to blockchain technology to speed up Indian internal trade deals
Bloomberg Banks responsible for about half of India’s internal trade have joined a consortium that aims to introduce blockchain technology in order to speed up processes and reduce hurdles to approving new loans. Fourteen local banks have signed up for the India Trade Connect consortium, which hired the Bengaluru-based software firm Infosys Ltd. to develop a blockchain platform for loans ...
Read More »UBS cuts 100 asset-management jobs
Bloomberg UBS Group AG’s asset-management head Ulrich Koerner is adding job cuts to a raft of initiatives intended to turn around the 792 billion-franc ($807 billion) business. The Swiss bank is trimming jobs as it focusses on growth in China and lower-margin passive and sustainable investing, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The unit eliminated at least 100 ...
Read More »Traders are souring on euro before Fed, ECB stimulus move
Bloomberg Currency traders are wagering that even a potential European Central Bank announcement on its timing for ending bond purchases will fail to keep the euro rallying. The euro is on track to gain about 1 percent this week versus the dollar, for its best performance since February. While it’s perked up from the weakest levels of 2018 on signals ...
Read More »Emerging market bankers say Fed must be mindful of rout
Bloomberg Indonesia’s new central bank chief joined his counterpart in India in calling on the Federal Reserve to be more mindful of the global repercussions of policy tightening amid a rout in emerging markets. In his first interview with international media since he took office two weeks ago, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said the pace of the Fed’s balance ...
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