February, 2016

• 25 February

  Stop being surprised by mediocre bank earnings

  Call it the new normal for European bank earnings. Standard Chartered shares plunged by the most in more than three years on Tuesday after the bank posted a “surprise” 2015 pretax loss of $1.5 billion, somewhat different from the $1.37 billion average profit estimate from 20 analysts. On Monday, HSBC delivered a “surprise” fourth-quarter pretax loss of $858 million, rather ...

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• 25 February

  The remote sensing imperative

  

  Four years into the Obama administration’s “Asia-Pacific Rebalance” and on the eve of a tumultuous national election, questions about the coming consistency of U.S. foreign policy are at the forefront of every policymaker’s mind. Yet even without these disruptive factors, there is one area in which the United States should continue to provide coordination, collaboration, and commitment with allies and ...

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• 25 February

  China lacks committed economic direction

  

  Last November, in a bid to internationalize its currency, China’s yuan was successfully admitted to the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket of reserve currencies, joining the Euro, the US dollar, Japanese yen and British sterling in the cohort of elite currencies. The yuan’s ascension is an economic milestone for China and a political victory for the world’s ...

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• 25 February

  Mobile World Congress A microcosm of a hyper-connected future

  

  Mobile World Congress 2016 has given us a glimpse into the innovations that will hit our stores this year. From the looks of things we will get much more than just thinner handsets. Many phone manufacturers have flooded the event with gadgets and accessories that can be bundled with phones. These include virtual reality headsets, 360-degree cameras, and a digital ...

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• 25 February

  Leaving Europe would be a terrible investment

  

  The countdown to Britain’s EU referendum has started. Prime Minister David Cameron has secured some important concessions from his European counterparts. This is all very welcome, but deal or no deal I would have argued for Britain to stay in Europe. I became involved in the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign —comprised of organizations and individuals that favour Britain remaining ...

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• 25 February

  ENEC showcases corporate excellence initiatives

  

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business As part of the Knowledge Forums that were launched in 2014, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) in coordination with the Office of the Abu Dhabi Excellence Program at the Secretariat of the Executive Council (GSEC), showcased its government excellence experience, initiatives and projects at the forum which was held at Dusit Thani hotel in ...

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• 25 February

  Brexit tripling chance of UK falling into recession

  

  BLoomberg Fancy another recession? Economists say voting to leave the European Union would dramatically increase the U.K.’s chances of heading down that road. As Britons contemplate their place in the 28-nation bloc before June’s referendum, respondents to a Bloomberg survey said the probability of a slump spikes to 40 percent in the event of an “out” vote. That compares with ...

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• 25 February

  Blues as plunging currency pounds British vacationers

  Bloomberg Rachel Holdsworth has the “Brexit” blues. The 38-year-old London resident is anxious that her already expensive planned holiday to Norway is getting pricier with each passing day. The pound is sinking under the weight of worry that her fellow subjects will vote to quit the EU. “How much I pay will be entirely dependent on the exchange rate,” says ...

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• 25 February

  Bank of England must be ready to tackle risks, says Cunliffe

  

  Bloomberg Bank of England Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Jon Cunliffe said risks to the UK outlook have increased and policy makers must be ready to act if needed. In a speech in London, Cunliffe said the global and domestic expansion has been weaker than he expected, pay growth will probably remain subdued and “deeper structural factors” may be at ...

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• 25 February

  German govt bonds resilient to inflation, raise outlook for ECB

  Bloomberg Investors are clinging to their German government bonds, looking beyond a report on Thursday that’s predicted to confirm that euro-area inflation accelerated last month to the fastest rate since 2014. As more forward-looking measures signal the European Central Bank is struggling to meet its longer-term consumer-price objectives, the yield on benchmark German 10-year securities stayed about 0.1 percentage point ...

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