February, 2020

• 19 February

  Canada’s CPI rises to 2.4% in January

  Bloomberg Consumer price inflation in Canada ticked up in January, while the average of the central bank’s core measures slowed down. The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 2.4% from a year earlier, after a 2.2% gain in December. That beat economist expectations for 2.3% increase. Excluding gasoline, inflation rose 2% in January. On a monthly basis, inflation rose …

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• 19 February

  Singapore dollar vulnerable to 2017 low on easing risk

  

  Bloomberg Singapore’s currency may tumble to the lowest level since 2017 if the central bank responds as strongly to the spread of the coronavirus as it did to the Sars epidemic two decades ago. That’s the view of Tan Teck Leng, a macro strategist at UBS Group AG’s Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Office, who thinks the Monetary Authority of …

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• 18 February

  Reliance, Aramco accelerate talks on refinery stake sale

  

  Bloomberg Reliance Industries Ltd.’s talks to sell a minority stake in its oil-to-chemical division to Saudi Aramco have been gathering pace in recent weeks, according to reports. Aramco officials and bankers on the deal have been working at Reliance’s offices in Mumbai for due diligence this month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information …

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• 18 February

  Oil snaps five-day rally as virus weighs on demand

  

  Bloomberg Oil fell, snapping a five-day rally, amid renewed fears over the impact on the global economy and fuel demand from Asia’s deadly coronavirus. Brent futures fell 2.3% to trade near $56 a barrel in London, slipping with equity markets as Apple Inc. warned it will fail to meet sales targets this quarter because of disruption from the virus. Chinese …

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• 18 February

  Vestas loses wind turbine share to rivals

  

  Bloomberg Vestas Wind Systems A/S lost market share last year in the wind turbine industry it has dominated for more than a decade. While the Danish manufacturer remains the biggest producer of the machines that generate electricity from the wind, General Electric Co of the US and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA of Spain gained share in the market for …

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• 18 February

  Trump aims for New York in salvo against clean energy

  

  Bloomberg Federal regulators are set to make a decision on New York’s power market that could disrupt the state’s plans to reach its climate goals. The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has scheduled a meeting for Thursday to rule on a case filed by some generators who said the state’s policies were unfair because only clean-power producers received subsidies. …

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• 18 February

  Fossil fuel market catches a chill as gas prices drop

  Bloomberg A plunge in prices is shaking some of the more marginal players out of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, chilling what until recently was the hottest part of the energy industry. Major utilities from Orsted in Denmark to Iberdrola in Spain are exiting the business. Naturgy Energy has made no secret it isn’t comfortable with the volatility of …

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• 18 February

  HSBC reboot fizzles, sending stockholders looking for exits

  

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc Chairman Mark Tucker promised a strategy reboot. Investors got what some called more of the same — pledges to cut costs and do more with less. The shares plunged by the most since 2017 after buybacks were shelved for two years and the executives themselves said more bad news was still to come — once they …

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• 18 February

  IMF slashes Nigeria’s growth forecast to 2%

  

  Bloomberg Plunging oil prices stemming from the coronavirus outbreak led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut its estimate for Nigerian economic growth, highlighting the difficulties Africa’s top crude producer faces reviving and diversifying its economy. The forecast was lowered to 2% from 2.5%, the lender said after concluding an Article IV consultation. Nigeria needs a major policy overhaul to …

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• 18 February

  UBI plans to pay out 40% of profit in dividends

  

  Bloomberg Unione di Banche Italiane (UBA) SpA, Italy’s fifth-largest bank, plans to pay out 40% of net income to shareholders on average over the course of its three-year strategic plan and may make an extra payment if capital is strong enough. UBI expects to eliminate about 2,030 positions and close 175 branches through 2022, the Bergamo, Italy-based bank said. That’s …

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