March, 2023

• 5 March

  India’s services output in Feb sees sharpest rise in 12 years

  

  BLOOMBERG Activity in India’s dominant services sector climbed to the highest level in 12 years, aided by new business orders and moderation in cost pressures amid resilient demand in the economy. The S&P Global India Purchasing Managers Index for services rose to 59.4 in February from 57.2 in the previous month, according to a statement. A number above 50 shows ...

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• 5 March

  Sri Lanka to free rupee after surprise rate hike to win bailout

  

  BLOOMBERG Sri Lanka vowed to soon restore a flexible exchange-rate regime after unexpectedly raising its benchmark interest rate as the troubled nation looks to secure a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout to steady its economy. “Sri Lanka’s rupee will be fully market-driven from next week,” Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said at a press briefing after the Central Bank of ...

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• 5 March

  Mexico’s peso surges to key 18-per-dollar level

  

  BLOOMBERG Mexico’s peso briefly strengthened past a key 18-per-dollar mark for the first time in five years as the nation’s high interest rates and proximity to the US lure traders. The currency rose as much as 0.7% to 17.9952 against the greenback, the highest intraday level since April 2018. The peso is the best performer of the year so far ...

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• 5 March

  Federal says more interest-rate hikes needed to restore price stability

  

  BLOOMBERG The Federal Reserve said that further interest-rate hikes would be required to restore price stability. “The committee is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2% objective,” the Fed said in its semi-annual report to Congress. Officials expect that “ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is ...

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• 5 March

  Bank of Canada risks falling too far behind Fed: Scotia

  

  BLOOMBERG The Bank of Canada (BoC) is limited in how much its interest rate increases can lag behind those of the Federal Reserve, with the gap threatening to weaken its currency and fuel inflation, according to an economist at Bank of Nova Scotia. Canada’s central bank was able to tighten less than the Fed in previous cycles when core inflation ...

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• 5 March

  ECB’s policy pioneer warns of more inflation shocks to come

  

  BLOOMBERG One of the pioneers of European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy has a stark warning for officials about the threat of more inflation bearing down on the region’s economy. Otmar Issing, the former Bundesbanker who became the first chief economist of the Frankfurt-based institution in 1998, reckons further consumer-price pressures may already be in the pipeline. “I expect that ...

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• 5 March

  Boeing seals 737 Max order from HK’s Greater Bay Air

  

  BLOOMBERG Hong Kong’s newest carrier Greater Bay Airlines Co ordered 15 Boeing Co 737-9 Max jets and committed to five 787s as it looks to rapidly expand its network. The Max order is worth around $785 million, according to figures from aircraft appraiser Avitas Inc, while the five Dreamliners are worth $722 million, based on the 787-9 model and factoring ...

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• 5 March

  Amazon pauses construction on HQ2 in Virginia amid job cuts

  

  BLOOMBERG Amazon.com Inc is pausing construction on its sprawling second headquarters near Washington, a decision that coincides with the company’s deepest ever job cuts and a reassessment of office needs to account for remote work. John Schoettler, Amazon’s real estate chief, confirmed the pause in a statement to Bloomberg News. Schoettler said the company remains committed to Arlington, Virginia, where ...

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• 5 March

  Porsche, Ferrari e-fuel push at the heart of EU engine debate   

  

  BLOOMBERG Two of Europe’s most venerable names in the car industry, Porsche and Ferrari, are surfacing in an European Union (EU) debate about a plan to kill the combustion engine — and they’re changing the conversation. The luxury sports-car makers are seeking a carve-out for synthetic electro-fuels, or e-fuels, from the EU’s planned 2035 ban on new internal combustion engine ...

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• 5 March

  iPhone maker plans $700m India plant in shift from China

  

  BLOOMBERG Apple Inc partner Foxconn Technology Group plans to invest about $700 million on a new plant in India to ramp up local production, underscoring an accelerating shift of manufacturing away from Beijing as US-China tensions grow. The Taiwanese company, also known for its flagship unit Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., plans to build the plant to make iPhone parts ...

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