August, 2022

• 31 August

  US consumer confidence rises

    Bloomberg US consumer confidence rose by more than forecast in August to the highest since May, suggesting that Americans are growing more optimistic about the economy amid falling gas prices. The Conference Board’s index increased to 103.2 from a downwardly revised 95.3 reading in July, the first increase in four months, data on Tuesday showed. The median forecast in ...

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• 31 August

  Biden administration readies $1.1billion arms sale to Taiwan

  

  Bloomberg The Biden administration is preparing to sell $1.1 billion in missiles and radar support to Taiwan, according to an official familiar with the matter, in what would be the largest such transfer in almost two years. The package would include as much as $650 million in continued support for a surveillance radar sold earlier, about $90 million for roughly ...

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• 31 August

  Poland will double military spending as war in Ukraine rages

  

    Bloomberg Poland will more than double military spending next year, to as much as 138 billion zloty ($29 billion), in an effort to strengthen its defenses in the face of the war in neighboring Ukraine. Spending on army is expected to rise to 98 billion zloty from 58 billion zloty this year, Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news ...

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• 31 August

  EU to reach consensus on Ukraine training mission

  

  Bloomberg European Union countries agreed to start hammering out the details of a proposed training mission for Ukraine’s armed forces, with countries including Belgium and Slovakia offering to host the initiative. The bloc’s defense ministers agreed “on launching the work necessary to define the parameters for an EU military assistance mission for Ukraine,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, ...

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• 31 August

  Half a million forced into camps as floods ravage Pakistan

    Bloomberg Pakistan’s unprecedented flooding has forced nearly half a million people to leave their homes and move into relief camps as international aid starts to trickle in to help the South Asian nation already battling an economic crisis. At least 498,000 people are currently in temporary shelters after swirling waters either engulfed or damaged over a million homes, 3,500 ...

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• 31 August

  China takes aggressive steps in its latest battle to bolster yuan

  

  Bloomberg China took the most aggressive step yet in its latest battle to bolster the yuan, setting its reference rate for the currency with the second-strongest bias on record. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) fixed the yuan against the dollar at 249 pips stronger than the average estimate in a survey of market participants — which Bloomberg started compiling ...

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• 31 August

  Rupiah heads for test of key support as trade outlook darkens

  

    Bloomberg The rupiah looks poised to test a key support level in the coming months as falling commodity prices, a potential tax on nickel exports and the slow pace of interest rate hikes in Indonesia weigh down the currency. An earlier-than-expected hike from Bank Indonesia last week did little to support rupiah, with the 25-basis-points increase easily overshadowed by ...

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• 31 August

  UK credit card lending, mortgage interest rates increase, says BOE

  

  Bloomberg UK credit card borrowing rose at its strongest pace since 2005, and mortgage interest costs jumped to the highest in six years, indicating growing strain on household budgets. The Bank of England (BOE) said annual growth in credit card debt rise 13%, which was the most in 17 years. The average interest rate on new mortgages rose 18 basis ...

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• 31 August

  Kenya bourse sees first main-market listing

    Bloomberg Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange expects its first main-market segment listing in more than three years to happen before end of December and boost activity on the bourse. The All-Share index of the market valued at 2.15 trillion shillings has dropped 17% since January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “We have one application right now that’s being processed,” ...

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• 31 August

  BMO’s capital-markets revenue drops $974m

    Bloomberg Bank of Montreal (BMO) became another victim of the slowdown in capital markets last quarter, as a slump in equity and debt issuances reduced investment-banking fees. Capital-markets revenue fell 20% to $974 million in the fiscal third quarter, the Toronto-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Overall profit missed analysts’ estimates. Bank of Montreal, which generates a ...

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