March, 2016

• 26 March

  France confident on public deficit target after beating 2015 goal

  

  Paris / Reuters France posted its smallest public deficit last year since the global financial crisis of 2008, data showed , making this year’s government target “perfectly credible” according to the finance minister. The INSEE statistics agency said the public deficit, which includes the combined shortfalls of the central state, local government and welfare system budgets, fell to 3.5 percent ...

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• 26 March

  Banks shun deal, Russia to face Eurobond setback

  Bloomberg Russia hasn’t been able to line up a suitable lead manager for a planned $3 billion Eurobond because of U.S. and EU pressure on major banks not to participate, meaning the high-profile sale is likely to be delayed or even shelved, senior officials said. Only two Western banks are still interested in helping sell the bond, one of the ...

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• 26 March

  US economy grew 1.4% in Q4, with consumer backing

  

  Bloomberg The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter at a faster pace than previously estimated, supported by stronger household spending that’s helping cushion the expansion from weakness overseas. The revised 1.4 percent increase in gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, compares with the Commerce Department’s previous estimate of 1 percent, according to figures issued ...

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• 26 March

  California leads as payroll climbs in 36 US states

  

  Bloomberg Payrolls rose in 36 states in February and the unemployment rate dropped in 22, a sign labor market slack is gradually diminishing in the U.S. economy. California led the nation with an almost 40,000 increase in employment, followed by a 25,100 advance in New York, figures from the Labor Department showed. Jobless rates in New Hampshire and South Dakota ...

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• 26 March

  House GOP bill would create oversight board for Puerto Rico

  

  Washington / AP House Republicans are preparing legislation to create a new oversight board that would help Puerto Rico control its finances, a move designed to deal with the territory’s $70 billion in debt. The legislation is in response to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s promise at the end of last year that the House would work with Puerto Rico to ...

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• 26 March

  Argentina settlement surprise leaves few investors in the cold

  Bloomberg Argentina’s historic return to capital markets is facing a new hurdle as holders of as much as $1.5 billion in bonds from its 2001 default say they’ve been unfairly left out of settlement offers. Some of those investors — including Fore Research & Management LP and Varde Partners — teamed with others seeking to keep a judge’s order in ...

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• 26 March

  On Cuba, Obama paves path for others to follow

  

  Bloomberg If the president can take his family to Cuba, other Americans will want to follow. And if blue-chip companies such as Google and Starwood are opening there for business, so will other companies. More important than any diplomatic negotiation during President Barack Obama’s historic visit, are images from his visit that the administration says solidify public perceptions of the ...

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• 26 March

  The biggest cyber heist ever?

  

  It’s a big story that has stayed beneath the radar of most American media. Somehow, cyber criminals stole $81 million from Bangladesh’s central bank (its Federal Reserve). The theft surely qualifies as one of the biggest cyber heists ever. It’s also a reminder that the world’s financial systems remain vulnerable to cyberattacks from groups or countries more interested in making ...

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• 26 March

  Economic incentives must for e-waste collectors

  From arsenic and lead to mercury and cadmium, discarded electronic gadgets generate hazardous waste that can be fatal. To tackle the health and environment threats these pose, many countries have put laws into place. Singapore and the Scandinavian countries are showing the way. India is the newest member to join the ‘Safe E-Waste Disposal’ club. It has proposed rules that ...

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• 26 March

  Why investors face roller-coaster markets

  Risk assets such as stocks, corporate bonds and bank loans have been trading in a wide and volatile range, taking investors on a roller-coaster ride up and down, including most recently a rally of about 10 percent in U.S. equity markets. This phenomenon is likely to continue in the short-term, so here are eight characteristics of this financial environment: Pronounced ...

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