March, 2019

• 30 March

  British Airways unions reject pay proposal

  Bloomberg Employee unions at British Airways (BA) urged members to reject the airline’s latest pay proposal and said they will begin preparing for a potential industrial action. The biggest airline of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA has been facing a coordinated campaign for bigger salary increases from pilots, cabin crew and ground staff since November. The effort is challenging British ...

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• 27 March

  Aramco to buy $69 billion Sabic stake in record deal

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, will buy a majority stake in local chemical giant Sabic from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund for $69.1 billion, transferring a big slug of cash from one arm of the state to another to help finance Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic agenda. The Middle East’s biggest ever deal was first mooted ...

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• 27 March

  Hopes high as US, China trade talks set to resume

  

  Bloomberg US and Chinese officials resume high-level trade talks this week as they close in on a deal that could just be the first step in the long road to economic peace. President Donald Trump’s top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are due to visit Beijing on Thursday and Friday, while top Chinese negotiator, Vice Premier ...

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• 27 March

  Stocks fall as Treasuries rally on global outlook

  

  Bloomberg The rally in bonds gained momentum as traders turned their focus to a worrying economic outlook. Stocks fell, while the dollar rose. Treasury 10-year yields slid below 2.4 percent and rates on benchmark German bunds sank deeper under zero after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that an accommodative policy stance is still needed. Energy shares led losses ...

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• 27 March

  China’s stock traders pay most in decade for same banks

  

  Bloomberg China’s financial sector is dividing opinion across its borders in a way not seen since the global credit crisis. Traders on the mainland are paying the most in more than a decade for shares of Chinese banks, brokerages and insurers relative to their offshore-based counterparts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The same firm is now on average 54 ...

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• 27 March

  Central banks’ financial risk tool gets IMF endorsement

  

  Bloomberg In a world of persistently low inflation and slowing economic growth, central banks are finding a useful instrument in their toolboxes to curb financial risk. Macroprudential measures — such as limiting who gets a mortgage and adjusting banks’ reserve requirements — have gained traction with central banks since the global financial crisis, and are proving effective. The targeted tools ...

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• 27 March

  Moore calls for 50-point Fed interest rates cut

  Bloomberg Stephen Moore, who Donald Trump may nominate for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, told the New York Times in an interview that the central bank should immediately reverse course and lower interest rates by half a percentage point. That’s a contrast from language used by sitting board members in recent days. San Francisco President Mary Daly told ...

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• 27 March

  ‘ECB may need to soften impact of negative rates’

  

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank (ECB) is ready to soften the impact of negative interest rates if they are found to harm the transmission of its monetary policy. “If necessary, we need to reflect on possible measures that can preserve the favorable implications of negative rates for the economy, while mitigating the side effects, if any,” the ...

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• 27 March

  PBOC may turn less dovish in 2019

  

  Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is expected to ease policy less aggressively in 2019 compared with the previous year, while maintaining steady injections of liquidity, according to analysts. The PBOC will continue to reduce the amount of money lenders have to put aside as reserves, with the earliest cut taking place next quarter and two others in the ...

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• 27 March

  New Zealand joins global shift away from high rates

  

  Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank joined the global shift away from higher interest rates, saying its next move is more likely to be a cut and sending the kiwi dollar tumbling by the most in seven weeks. “Given the weaker global economic outlook and reduced momentum in domestic spe-nding, the more likely direction of our next OCR move is down,” ...

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