January, 2019

• 19 January

  Aramco refinery JV hires SMBC, Riyad Bank to advise on funding

  

  Bloomberg Satorp, the joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total SA, hired Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) and Riyad Bank to help raise funds to develop a petrochemical facility in the kingdom, according to people with knowledge of matter. Financing for the $5 billion Amiral project is expected to be arranged from banks and export credit agencies, the people said, …

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• 19 January

  Microsoft pledges $500mn to boost affordable housing

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp said it will spend $500 million to develop affordable housing and help alleviate homelessness in the Seattle area, responding to a growing regional housing crisis that has strained the finances of many lower- and middle-income residents. Half the money will be spent to support low-income housing across King County with a further $225 million invested at lower …

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• 19 January

  Infiniti plans to offer only electric or hybrid vehicles by 2025

  

  Bloomberg Lately, it seems, Infiniti can’t catch a break. Sales slumped last year to 149,280 vehicles in the US, down 2.7 percent from 2017. The automaker’s QX30—a small crossover that should be capitalising on the unfettered thirst Americans have for compact SUVs—hit just 8,101 units in the US, down nearly 43 percent from 2017. The larger QX50 was one the …

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• 19 January

  Apple releases re-chargeable battery cases for new iPhones

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc released re-chargeable battery cases for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR that add several hours of battery life to the smartphones. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant previously offered a similar case for its older iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 models. The new cases increase talk time from 20 hours to 33 hours on the iPhone XS, …

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• 19 January

  Nike’s new $350 smart sneaker requires regular recharging

  

  Bloomberg Nike Inc has found a new way to capture more information about its customers: through their sneakers. At an event called the “Future of Footwear,” Nike unveiled a new shoe concept, called Nike Adapt, that tracks performance in real time, allowing the company to give weekend warriors athletic tips and also sell them more products. “It’s the start of …

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• 19 January

  SocGen mulls closing $4.7bn proprietary-trading unit

  

  Bloomberg Societe Generale SA is considering closing its proprietary-trading unit, people familiar with the matter said, a week after French rival BNP Paribas SA decided to shut its operation. SocGen executives are reviewing the future of the Descartes Trading division, which makes risky bets with its shareholders’ funds, said the people, who requested anonymity as the details are private. The …

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• 19 January

  Fed’s Quarles plays up economy’s strengths as markets see risks

  

  Bloomberg Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles expressed optimism about the state of the US economy, calling strong hiring and low inflation a “good environment” even as investors focus on mounting threats to growth. “Clearly markets are more attuned currently to the downside risks, but the core base case remains very strong,” Quarles, the central bank’s vice chairman for supervision, said …

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• 19 January

  Draghi running out of time to sort top jobs as Brexit looms

  

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi is running out of time to say whether he’ll shake up the responsibilities of his top officials to ensure smooth leadership in the supervision of the region’s banks. The European Central Bank president faces a deadline of February 11, when Executive Board member Sabine Laut- enschlaeger’s non-renewable five-year term as vice chair of bank supervision expires. He …

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• 19 January

  Morgan Stanley keen to woo rich Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore

  

  Bloomberg Morgan Stanley, the world’s second-largest wealth manager, is beefing up its services for rich clients in Singapore with a focus on Chinese entrepreneurs looking to set up family offices in the city state. “The city is a key business hub for China entrepreneurs, as well as a family office nexus,” Vincent Chui, who heads the bank’s Asia wealth operations, …

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• 19 January

  Bank of Italy cuts growth forecast for two years

  Bloomberg The Bank of Italy cut its growth forecast for this year and next while signalling that the euro region’s third-biggest economy might have slipped into a new recession at the end of 2018. The economy is seen expanding 0.6 percent this year and 0.9 percent next, down from prior projections of 1 percent and 1.1 percent respectively, the central …

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