January, 2023

• 21 January

  Vietnam succession battle heats up as president ousted

  

    Bloomberg Over the past few years, Vietnamese Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong has won praise from investors for removing corrupt officials. Now as some big names fall, it’s becoming clear his campaign serves another purpose: strengthening his hand in choosing a successor. This week Nguyen Xuan Phuc was ousted as president after assuming “political responsibility” for the “violations ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  US wants to oppose China, EU wants to engage it: Le Maire

    Bloomberg Europe mustn’t get embroiled in a standoff between China and the US, and should instead forge its own path in strengthening economic relations, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. There is a “slight gap” between how Europe and the US deal with China, he told Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It’s ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Global bond issuance reaches record of nearly $600 billion

  

    Bloomberg The best start to a year for bond returns is helping fuel an unprecedented debt-sale bonanza by governments and companies around the world of more than half a trillion dollars. From European banks to Asian corporates and developing-nation sovereigns, virtually every corner of the new issue market is booming, thanks in part to a rally that’s seen global ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  UBS braces for hard landing in US credit

  

    Bloomberg UBS Group AG is recommending investors to buy European credit over US debt amid signs of distress in the US loan markets, cracks emerging in private credit and a potentially severe downside risk in US high-yield debt. “We acknowledge US high yield is better positioned — mainly on the shift in credit quality,” UBS analysts led by Matthew ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Indonesia delivers dovish hike after Malaysia’s surprise pause

  

    Bloomberg Two Southeast Asian central banks diverged in their policy settings on Thursday, with Malaysia unexpectedly standing pat and Indonesia delivering a widely expected interest-rate increase that brings it closer to the end of its tightening cycle. Bank Indonesia raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 5.75%, while Bank Negara Malaysia stood pat as predicted by Euben ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  ECB’s Lagarde says ‘stay the course’ is her policy mantra

    Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said policymakers mustn’t let up in their battle with inflation — even as the spike in prices appears to have peaked. “We have to also stay that course of resilience that we observed in 2022,” Lagarde told a panel on Friday at Davos. “‘Stay the course’ is my mantra for monetary-policy ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Australia’s central bank creates its own stablecoin

  

  Bloomberg National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) has created its own stablecoin pegged to the Australian dollar, a move it says will help large institutional customers with transactions that use blockchain technology. The Melbourne-based lender will start testing the token — named AUDN — before expanding its use cases and getting feedback on the needs of corporate clients, National Australia said ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Pakistan sees dollar inflows in coming days

    Bloomberg Pakistan’s central bank governor Jameel Ahmad said the nation will see dollar inflows in the coming days after funding commitments from some nations, a move that could bolster finances for cash-strapped nation. The central bank’s biggest strain is limited resources, Ahmad said at an event hosted by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The governor also said ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  EU bankers earning more than $1.1 million hit record

  

    Bloomberg The number of bankers and traders in the European Union (EU) earning more than €1 million ($1.1 million) rose to a record in 2021 as securities firms took in bumper revenue and investment banks relocated staff to the bloc after Brexit. The number of such “high earners” surged 42% from the previous year to 1,957, the European Banking ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Goldman, BofA say European stocks rally in 2023 is mostly done

  

    Bloomberg This year’s extension of the powerful European equities rally leaves limited room for more gains, according to strategists. After making its best ever start to a year, the Stoxx 600 Index will end 2023 at 452 points, according an average response in the Bloomberg survey of 19 market forecasters, implying a 1.2% drop. That’s even after several investment ...

  Read More »