April, 2019

• 7 April

  Only thing going right for tech firms is stock market

  

  Bloomberg Technology stocks have reclaimed record highs, making them one of the first groups to put last year’s carnage behind them. But everywhere else you look in the industry, bad news is overwhelming the good. Profits are shrinking at an alarming pace, valuations are reflating and politicians want to break the companies up. Semiconductor orders have slumped, and spending on …

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• 7 April

  Outlook for Japan’s yen worsens as traders turn bearish

  

  Bloomberg The omens are looking bad for the yen. Traders have boosted short positions on Japan’s currency for six straight weeks as signs that economic growth is slowing make it more likely the central bank will maintain its record monetary stimulus. At the same time, global risk sentiment is improving as the US and China near a deal to resolve …

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• 7 April

  Global banks strengthen money laundering controls as fines sting

  

  Bloomberg Stung by a $1.9 billion fine in 2012 for failure to prevent money laundering, HSBC has been trying to get its house in order. It quintupled the number of employees assigned to spot suspicious activity to 5,000, upgraded its technology and, in 2016, hired Jennifer Calvery, the US Treasury Department’s top anti-money-laundering official, to oversee its efforts — the …

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• 7 April

  RBI likely to slash rates again by June

  

  Bloomberg India’s central bank is on course for its most aggressive monetary policy easing in more than three years, as it seeks to support the world’s fastest-growing major economy in the face of risks both at home and abroad. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) delivered its second successive interest rate cut and said it stands ready to use all …

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• 7 April

  BB&T, SunTrust cultures put $10b at risk

  

  Bloomberg Cultural risks are the greatest challenge to a successful merger of BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc., according to Wells Fargo & Co. analyst Mike Mayo. “The ability to manage this and other risks can make an estimated $10 billion difference in the new firm’s market value,” Mayo said in a note to investors. The combined company must work …

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• 7 April

  Switzerland proposes to tighten bank capital laws

  

  Bloomberg Switzerland is proposing bigger capital cushions for the country’s top banks that could force UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG to set aside an additional 24 billion Swiss francs ($24 billion) in reserves. The Finance Ministry is weighing an amendment to capital adequacy rules to try to ensure that the parent companies of systemically important banks are …

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• 7 April

  Deutsche Bank defiance prompts rare unity among Merkel centrists, German fringe

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG’s merger talks have prompted rare unity across Germany’s fractious political spectrum: a collective thumbs down. Lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc to the anti-capitalist Left party and far-right AfD are laying into the plans. With the Social Democratic colleagues of Finance Minister Olaf Scholz also questioning the deal, the project’s main …

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• 7 April

  Spain caps rent hikes in win for socialists

  Bloomberg The Spanish government won final approval for an emergency decree boosting tenants’ rights at the expense of landlords less than four weeks before a general election. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist administration prevailed 33 votes to 31 at the parliamentary panel that can confirm or revoke legislation when the full plenary is out of session. The measures, negotiated with …

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• 7 April

  Ethiopian Air rethinks 737 Max purchase

  

  Bloomberg Ethiopian Airlines Group is reconsidering its order for 25 additional 737 Max jetliners from Boeing Co, in part because of the “stigma’’ surrounding the aircraft involved in two fatal air disasters in five months — one of them an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Tewolde GebreMariam, the state-owned carrier’s chief executive, spoke in an interview with Bloomberg News a day after …

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• 7 April

  Baby boomers become ticket to luring in young consumers for new Sears

  

  Bloomberg Just like some millennials, the new Sears is counting on a hand from their parents. Baby boomers are the ticket to luring in the coveted group of young consumers, who are currently in the process of starting households and loading up on appliances, beds and other staples, according to Peter Boutros, the company’s chief brand officer and president of …

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