February, 2020

• 2 February

  Earnings an afterthought in panic-stricken market

  

  Bloomberg Investors who assumed the quarterly deluge of corporate results would determine the direction of stocks in late January have obviously found themselves with much bigger concerns to cope with. Earnings season is fast being forgotten in a market where cascading fear about the human toll of coronavirus has come to dominate sentiment. The S&P 500 just dropped the most …

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• 2 February

  Pound ended tough month on bright note

  

  Bloomberg The pound ended a tumultuous month on a high note on the Brexit day. Sterling was on course for its biggest weekly gain since mid-December, a day after the Bank of England (BOE) kept interest rates unchanged, supporting the currency. Analysts expect it to climb more than 1% to $1.33 by the end of June, according to a Bloomberg …

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• 2 February

  WeWork to name real estate veteran as CEO

  

  Bloomberg WeWork plans to name Sandeep Mathrani as its new chief executive, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mathrani, who previously was chief executive of Brookfield Property Partners’ retail group, will replace Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham. The duo has served as co-CEOs of WeWork parent We Co since Adam Neumann stepped down in September following a failed …

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• 2 February

  PBOC to supply cash to bring stability in virus-hit markets

  

  Bloomberg Chinese policymakers prepared to shore up financial markets, which are bracing for a sell-off when trading re-starts on Monday. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and other regulators announced a slew of targeted measures over the weekend aimed at calming financial markets and helping companies, banks and individuals hurt by the viral pneumonia outbreak. The central bank will supply …

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• 2 February

  Half of banking assets in Malaysia to become Islamic in next decade

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia can expect half of its banking assets to be Islamic by 2030 as the industry’s growth outpaces conventional banking, according to a lenders’ association. Loans that comply with the religion’s ban on interest is set to increase by 10% to 15% annually over the next five years, outpacing the 5% to 7% growth seen for non-Islamic loans, said …

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• 2 February

  SBI reports biggest ever quarterly profit

  

  Bloomberg State Bank of India (SBI) posted its biggest ever quarterly profit as it wrote back provisions on bad loans and recoveries improved. Net income rose to 55.8 billion rupees ($782 million) in the three months ended in December from 39.6 billion rupees a year earlier. That’s broadly in line with the 58.7 billion rupee average of analysts’ estimates compiled …

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• 2 February

  ‘FX reserves enough to defend currency peg’

  

  Bloomberg Bolivia’s central bank reiterated its commitment to the nation’s currency peg and said its $6.5 billion international reserve levels are adequate, in a statement rejecting comments made by a Fitch Ratings analyst to Bloomberg News earlier this week. The nation’s foreign currency reserves “are at levels that are solid for covering internal and external payments in foreign currency under …

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• 2 February

  Fed’s Clarida says coronavirus a ‘wild card’ for outlook

  

  Bloomberg The US central bank’s No. 2 official said it’s too early to determine whether the coronavirus outbreak in China will significantly affect the US economy, which remains in a “good place.” “It is a wild card,” said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “We’re looking into how it translates into the outlook for …

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• 2 February

  Bitcoin’s network operations controlled by five firms

  Bloomberg Bitcoin’s infrastructure is more centralized than ever before —raising alarms about the security and viability of what is championed as a decentralised network. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are processed by so-called miners — mostly companies operating vast arrays of computers. As competition increased, many smaller participants became unprofitable and dropped out, while the larger operations have entered into …

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• 2 February

  Malaysia probes allegations Airbus bribed AirAsia bosses

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s anti-graft agency said it’s already investigating corruption allegations surrounding AirAsia Group Bhd as detailed in Airbus SE’s record $4 billion bribery settlement. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is in touch with UK authorities on the matter, Chief Commissioner Latheefa Koya said in a statement. Documents filed in the Airbus case said the planemaker paid $50 million in sponsorships to …

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