August, 2019

• 3 August

  Fed move ends a short era of global quantitative tightening

  

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s decision to stop shrinking its balance sheet means the era of quantitative tightening by major central banks is over less than a year after it started. Net bond purchases by the Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are now turning positive, according to an analysis of their balance sheets by Bloomberg Economics. That’s just …

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• 3 August

  StanChart H1 pretax profit beats estimate, reaches $2.61 billion

  

  Bloomberg US-China trade tensions didn’t stop Standard Chartered Plc from delivering results that beat expectations. Adjusted pretax profit was $2.61 billion in the first half, the bank reported, higher than the company-compiled $2.50 billion estimate. Standard Chartered said it remains confident of a full-year return on tangible equity greater than 10 percent in 2021. “Trade protectionism is bad for the …

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• 3 August

  Mark Carney can’t save the day when it comes to no-deal Brexit

  

  Bloomberg Mark Carney won’t be able to play the saviour if the UK leaves the European Union with no deal at the end of October. The Bank of England (BOE) governor said that the institution can’t necessarily deliver a growth-boosting package in the event of Brexit without a transition. In a week when the pound capped its worst monthly performance …

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• 3 August

  Monte Paschi’s profit struggle complicates exit from state control

  Bloomberg Banca Monte deiPaschi di Siena SpA had another tough quarter for earnings, showing how far the state-rescued Italian lender has to go before it can re-emerge as a private company. Second-quarter net income fell 35 percent to 65.3 million euros ($72 million) from a year earlier hurt by lower income from lending and fees, the Siena-based bank said. Monte …

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• 3 August

  Goldman sees rate cuts holding rally in EM bonds

  

  Bloomberg The building blocks for a sustained rally in emerging-market bonds are in place as their central banks embark on a rate-cutting cycle, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Last month’s easing by South Korea, Indonesia and South Africa is a foretaste of things to come as policy makers step up efforts to bolster growth, said Angus Bell, a senior …

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• 3 August

  Credit Agricole lifts capital as investment banking slumps

  

  Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA followed competitor SocieteGenerale SA in strengthening its capital buffers, even though slower investment banking activity weighed on second-quarter earnings. Profit at the large clients business that houses the securities unit fell 20 percent after the bank saw a continued drop in margins in a sluggish market. A decline in overall net income was in line with …

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• 3 August

  Apple faces life after iPhone, but banks on its flagship product

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc generated less than half of its total quarterly revenue from sales of the iPhone for the first time since 2012 — a sign the company is entering life beyond its flagship product. While Apple reported a record $11.5 billion in sales of services in the fiscal third quarter, and demonstrated strong performances from wearables such as the …

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• 3 August

  Voice software pioneer says Amazon used its tech in Alexa

  

  Bloomberg A voice software tech developer is suing Amazon.com, saying the e-commerce giant infringed on patents when developing software for the Alexa digital assistant. VB Assets LLC, which owns the rights to some of the technology developed by voice software pioneer VoiceBox Technologies, said in a lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court that Amazon infringed on six of its patents …

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• 3 August

  BMW profit drops 20% on its EV rollout

  Bloomberg BMW AG’s profit fell 20 percent in the second quarter as the company accelerates a rollout of electric vehicles. In Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger’s final quarter, earnings before interest and taxes declined to 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) from 2.74 billion euros a year earlier. Analysts had expected 2.19 billion euros. After a loss in the first quarter, …

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• 3 August

  Ford acquires defense contractor to get robot rides on road

  

  Bloomberg As Ford Motor Co bears down on a self-imposed deadline to field robotaxis and driverless delivery vehicles in two years, the automaker has acquired a small defense contractor whose experience could help get auto-piloted cars on the road. Ford paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Quantum Signal AI, a 40-member team of roboticists operating out of a decommissioned 1930s-era …

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