May, 2016

• 9 May

  Great ball of money dooms China to bubbles

    Christopher Balding Chinese markets have rarely looked more like Vegas casinos. In recent weeks, investors have driven up trading volumes in China to astronomical levels, betting on everything from rebar to eggs. China traded enough steel in one day last month to build 178,082 Eiffel Towers and enough cotton to make at least one pair of jeans for every ...

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• 9 May

  Trumpism meets with its first defeat — in London

    Donald Trump became last week the presumptive Republican nominee in the U.S. presidential elections. But those condemned to agonizing suspense and anxiety until November should note that Trumpism, or the politics of hate and fear, also suffered a major defeat last week. I refer to the election of former human rights lawyer Sadiq Khan as London’s mayor. That the ...

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• 9 May

  Australian budget opens door to Islamic finance

  

    SYDNEY / Reuters The Australian government has proposed removing tax barriers to asset-backed financing arrangements as part of its federal budget, a move likely aimed at facilitating interest-free transactions used in Islamic finance. Islamic finance is gradually catching on in Australia, with National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) helping fund a A$160 million ($114 million) Brisbane property purchase in February, ...

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• 9 May

  India’s auto sales rise at fastest pace in 5 months

  

    New Delhi / Bloomberg Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Hyundai Motor Co. and Renault SA paced India’s biggest gain in passenger vehicle sales in five months, as new compact SUVs, hatchbacks and minicars drew buyers to their showrooms. Deliveries of passenger vehicles, including sport utility vehicles and vans, climbed 11 percent to 242,060 units last month, the Society of Indian ...

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• 9 May

  Top China paper warns of crisis risk over debt

  

    Jakarta / Bloomberg China must turn off the taps of credit-driven growth to avoid a financial system crisis in the face of rising bad loans and other risks, the Communist Party’s official mouthpiece newspaper said on Monday, citing an unnamed “authoritative” source. The prominent article, in question-and-answer format, started on the front of the broadsheet paper and took up ...

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• 9 May

  Good rain forecast in India lifts growth prospects

  

    New Delhi / Bloomberg After back-to-back droughts battered India’s farmers, a forecast for above-normal rainfall this year is brightening the outlook for Asia’s third-largest economy. Economists at DBS Bank Ltd., State Bank of India and Standard Chartered Plc say India’s gross domestic product this year may grow more than they previously predicted if the monsoon is as good as ...

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• 9 May

  Eurozone ministers wrangle over Greece debt relief

  

    BRUSSELS / AFP Eurozone finance ministers on Monday tackled crucial talks on unlocking vital cash and debt relief for Greece just hours after Greek lawmakers adopted unpopular reforms demanded as part of the country’s bailout. The 19 ministers, meeting in Brussels, are aiming to finally sign off on the long-delayed first review of Greece’s massive EU-IMF bailout — the ...

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• 9 May

  Brexit from EU would have ‘unforeseeable consequences’: Junker

  

    Frankfurt / AFP A British exit from the EU would have “unforeseeable consequences” for European cooperation, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has warned in an interview with German media. Britain is to hold a closely-watched June 23 referendum on whether or not it should stay in the 28-nation bloc, and opinion polls are showing that the nation is still ...

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• 9 May

  ‘Remain’ battle ups as bigwigs take on economic risks

    Bloomberg Get ready for a pro-European Union onslaught. This week, voters tuning into the fraught battle over the U.K.’s future will hear from three heavy-hitters who have already warned about the risks of leaving the single market. The chancellor of the exchequer, the governor of the Bank of England and the head of the IMF are set to speak, ...

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• 9 May

  Switzerland’s EU model seen through lens of Brexit debate

  

    Bloomberg It’s not hard to see why Brexit campaigners tout Switzerland as a model for Britain’s life outside the European Union. The Swiss have kept prospering as one of the world’s richest countries despite opting for treaties instead of membership to define their relationship with the bloc that surrounds them. While the EU accounts for 1 in 3 francs ...

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