August, 2022

• 23 August

  Power crunch in Sichuan adds to industry’s woes in China

  

    Bloomberg Sichuan’s worst drought in more than a half century spurred the Chinese province to extend industrial power cuts and activate its highest emergency response, adding to manufacturers’ woes as they shut down factories in the region. Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and scant rainfall, along with surging demand for air conditioning, have caused gaps in ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  US, South Korea begin biggest joint military drills in years

  

    Bloomberg The US and South Korea began on Monday their biggest joint military exercise in about five years, after a hiatus on large-scale drills failed to entice North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to make concessions in disarmament talks. The drills known as Ulchi Freedom Shield are expected to involve thousands of military personnel, and will run for two weeks. ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  Russia’s Putin calls killing of ally’s daughter ‘brutal’

  

  Bloomberg President Vladimir Putin called the car bomb that killed the daughter of Russian nationalist political ideologue Alexander Dugin a “dastardly” crime, and the Federal Security Service blamed it on Ukraine, which rejected the accusation. The car bombing that killed Darya Dugina was a “dastardly, brutal crime,” Putin said in a message of condolence to her father, a far-right political ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  Runner-up in Kenyan vote files lawsuit challenging outcome

  

    Bloomberg Raila Odinga, who narrowly lost Kenya’s August 9 presidential elections, filed a lawsuit challenging the outcome after alleging that the process had been marred by rigging and counting irregularities. None of the candidates garnered the outright majority of valid votes cast needed for victory, according to a 72-page petition filed with the Supreme Court. Based on this and ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  Serbian leader vows to keep up Kosovo talks before ID deadline

    Bloomberg Serbia will negotiate with Kosovo over the next 10 days to try to resolve a dispute affecting tens of thousands of local Serbs who face a September 1 deadline to change their identity cards and car plates. Kosovo’s demand that members of the Serb minority adopt documents issued by the predominantly ethnic-Albanian government in Pristina triggered tensions last ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  Trump search judge cites ‘historical interest’ in affidavit

    Bloomberg The judge who approved the search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate said “intense public and historical interest” in the FBI affidavit backing the warrant justified making an effort to unseal portions of it. US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in West Palm Beach, Florida, issued a written order Monday affirming his finding from a hearing last week ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  Citigroup struggled to monitor UK traders reaping $3.1 billion

  

    Bloomberg In 2017, after Citigroup Inc had paid billions of dollars in fines for rigging interest rates, manipulating currency markets and selling shoddy mortgage bonds, the Wall Street giant was still struggling to keep tabs on traders in London. Managers overseeing Citigroup’s European trading hub had hundreds of blind spots, allowing for potentially abusive transactions to go unnoticed in ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  India RBI staff warns against rushed sale of state-run banks

  

    Bloomberg Rushing to sell Indian state-run lenders to private investors may hinder the government’s financial inclusion efforts and monetary policy transmission, staff at the country’s central bank warned. “A big bang approach of privatization of these banks may do more harm than good,” wrote staff including, Snehal Herwadkar, in a research paper. The report recommended a gradual approach to ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  ECB to limit interest-rate hikes to 2022 only: HSBC

  

    Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will stop hiking interest rates after the end of 2022, when a euro-area recession and easing price pressures will restrain monetary-policy tightening, according to HSBC. Cuts to Russian natural gas supplies and resulting surges in energy costs will drive inflation higher than previously expected, to a peak of 10% in October, HSBC economists ...

  Read More »
• 23 August

  Pakistan names former deputy as central bank head to aid economy

  

    Bloomberg Pakistan appointed a former central banker to head the monetary authority as the nation contends with one of Asia’s fastest inflation rates and faltering foreign currency reserves. Jameel Ahmad, a former deputy governor will now head the State Bank of Pakistan for a term of five years, according to a statement of the finance ministry. He will replace ...

  Read More »