December, 2022

• 5 December

  ECB likely to raise borrowing costs by half-point: Makhlouf

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will probably lift borrowing costs by a half-point this month, according to Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf, slowing the pace of its increases after inflation moderated for the first time in 1 1/2 years. A rise of 50 basis points “is about where we’ll end up,” Makhlouf told reporters in Dublin, saying that if …

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• 5 December

  Swiss say its $8b of frozen Russian assets is ‘only a fraction’ of total amount

  

  Bloomberg A group of about 100 Russians and businesses reported nearly $50 billion in Swiss deposits, the government said in its most detailed disclosure yet of Russian wealth stashed in the country’s banks. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland banned banks from taking more than 100,000 Swiss francs ($106,000) from Russians and said all existing deposits must be reported to …

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• 5 December

  ECB’s Villeroy calls on banks to remain cautious on buybacks

  

    Bloomberg Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau urged commercial banks to exercise caution on share buybacks — raising the pressure on lenders as they prepare their shareholder-payout plans for 2022. Addressing a conference in Paris, Villeroy reiterated that while French banks remain solid and should benefit from rising interest rates, heightened volatility and slower economy growth in …

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• 5 December

  Bitcoin sinks 70% more in StanChart list of ’23 upsets

  

    Bloomberg Speculators cleaving to the view that the crypto rout is mostly over are at risk of a rude awakening in 2023, according to Standard Chartered. A further Bitcoin plunge of about 70% to $5,000 next year is among the “surprise” scenarios that markets may be “under-pricing,” the bank’s Global Head of Research Eric Robertsen wrote in a note. …

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• 5 December

  Vietnam PM orders raising loan quotas for some banks

    Bloomberg Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed the central bank and credit organisations to immediately raise loan limits for banks and to businesses in good health to boost economic growth, job creation and inflation control, the government website reported. The State Bank of Vietnam, which currently limits the credit growth of the banking system to 14% and has said …

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• 5 December

  Australia to raise rates when tightening cycle ends

  Bloomberg Australia is set to raise interest rates as it closes in on the end of its tightening cycle, while nearby New Zealand just delivered a record hike and is poised to move higher, underscoring different central bank outlooks at year’s end. All-but one economist sees the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiking by a quarter-percentage point to 3.1%, with …

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• 5 December

  China stocks climb, yuan jumps past key level on reopening shift

  

    Bloomberg Chinese equities rallied and the yuan strengthened past a key level, as the authorities accelerated a shift towards reopening the economy and more investors turned bullish. The yuan breached the 7-per-dollar level, while a gauge of Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong surged 9.3% in a fifth day of gains. The dollar bonds of developers also rise as …

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• 5 December

  Stock faithful hope for a wild rally before merciful end to 2022

    Bloomberg Stock-market investors are hoping for a strong finish to a chaotic year. A less hawkish Federal Reserve and encouraging inflation data could unleash a mega-rally in December, which has proved to be a strong month for the stock market over the past 70 years. This year, though, it may get off to a late start: With all the …

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• 4 December

  Opec+ agrees to maintain oil production at current levels

  

  Bloomberg The Opec+ alliance decided to maintain production at current levels, pausing to take stock of a global oil market that’s roiled by uncertainty over Chinese demand and Russian supply. The outcome of the brief online meeting on Sunday reflects the unpredictability of supply and demand in the coming months, and the wild gyrations in prices of the past week. …

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• 4 December

  EU spent $12.43bn on imports of non-plug-in hybrid cars last year

  

    Brussels / WAM In 2021, the EU spent $12.43 billion (€11.8 billion) on imports of non-plug-in hybrid cars (41% of total extra-EU imports of hybrid and electric cars), €11.4 billion on full electric cars (39%) and €5.9 billion on plug-in hybrid cars (20%), according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. For all three …

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