December, 2020

• 8 December

  BOJ is biggest Japan stock owner with $434b hoard

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has taken over as the biggest owner of the nation’s stocks, with the total value of its holdings climbing well above $400 billion. Massive exchange-traded fund purchases by the BOJ to support the market amid the pandemic this year combined with subsequent valuation gains pushed its Japanese equity portfolio to 45.1 trillion yen ($434 …

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• 8 December

  Global stocks slide as pound drops on Brexit deadlock

  

  Bloomberg Global stocks retreated from an all-time high and the pound weakened the most in three months on concern that Brexit talks could collapse. The pound slid 1.3% against the dollar with officials on both sides pessimistic about the prospect of a breakthrough. Banks and retailers led losses in the Stoxx 600 Index, while the export-heavy FTSE 100 Index climbed …

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• 8 December

  Hong Kong’s Chinese stocks decline on sanction risk concerns

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong stocks dropped, with investors selling some of the quarter’s top performers on concern more firms may be kicked out of global equity benchmarks and that Chinese banks may be targeted as China-US tensions grow. The Hang Seng Index retreated as much as 2.2% before paring to end Monday 1.2% lower, with volume 42% higher than the three-month …

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• 7 December

  Iraq to honour Opec oil-cut decisions as exports surge

  

  Bloomberg Iraq will remain committed to Opec’s decisions on oil output as it nudges crude exports higher in December. The country will export 2.8 million barrels a day this month, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said Sunday, up from 2.7 million in November. It will start shipping a new medium grade of its flagship Basrah crude in January and try …

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• 7 December

  Kazakh envoy lauds strong bilateral ties with UAE

  Abu Dhabi / WAM Menilbekov Madiyar, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UAE, highlighted the strong bilateral ties between the UAE and his country, noting that the UAE is Kazakhstan’s leading strategic, trade and economic partner in the Arab region, most notably in the petrochemical, energy, transport, logistical services, agriculture and space sectors. In an interview with Emirates News Agency on …

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• 7 December

  World’s top energy exporter starts preparing for life after fossil fuels

  

  Bloomberg The Finance Ministry of the world’s biggest energy exporter has started preparing for the possibility of lower budget revenues in case global oil demand declines sooner than expected. “The peak of consumption may have already passed,” Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev said in an interview in Moscow. “The risk is rising in the longer term” that hydrocarbon revenues could …

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• 7 December

  HitecVision in talks to buy UK assets of Exxon

  

  Bloomberg HitecVision is emerging as the frontrunner to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp’s oil assets in the UK North Sea, according to people familiar with the matter. The private equity firm is in advanced talks with Exxon about a potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. A sale could fetch around $1 billion for Exxon, …

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• 7 December

  UK power prices rise to four-year high

  

  Bloomberg UK power prices rose to a four-year high after the UK grid operator warned that its safety buffer of supplies was almost eroded for Sunday. National Grid Plc said it’s “monitoring the situation closely” in a warning published on Twitter. The network operator stopped short of issuing an official alert called an Electricity Margin Notice, which is published when …

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• 7 December

  Southwest ramps up layoff warning with notices on jobs

  

  Bloomberg Southwest Airlines dramatically expanded its furlough warnings, telling employees that 6,828 jobs are at risk as the company and its labour unions have failed so far to agree on how to cut $500 million in costs. Pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers and other workers got notices that they may be furloughed, Southwest said. The new warnings boost the number …

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• 7 December

  Lufthansa adds flights to meet rising demand

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG will expand its Christmas flight schedule after a surge in bookings from German tourists, a rare piece of good news for the carrier as it battles to recover from the coronavirus crisis. Lufthansa will add flights to southern European destinations including in Greece, Italy and Spain to meet the rising demand, the company said in a …

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