January, 2019

• 14 January

  Saudi, Canadian cuts leaving world hungry for heavy crude

  

  Bloomberg Output cuts in oil-rich Alberta and Saudi Arabia are combining to leave heavy-crude refiners from the Gulf of Mexico to Asia in a bind. While curtailments in the Canadian province have propelled local prices to their strongest level in almost a decade, other grades like Arab Heavy and Heavy Louisiana Sweet are also surging. The Saudis are expected to …

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• 14 January

  Sinopec wins approval for retail unit IPO

  

  Bloomberg Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, won approval from the country’s cabinet for a long-awaited initial public offering of the retail unit that runs its vast chain of gas stations and convenience stores, people with knowledge of the matter said. The green light from the State Council clears the final Chinese regulatory hurdle for the deal and means the IPO …

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• 14 January

  Shell seeks Canada refinery sale to focus on LNG

  

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc is seeking buyers for an Ontario refinery and some sour gas facilities in Alberta as the company focuses on its $31 billion liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia. “These assets have been a cornerstone of Shell Canada for many years, however, they are no longer a fit with Shell’s evolving portfolio,” the company said …

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• 14 January

  US stocks fall, bonds rise as China weighs on technology

  

  Bloomberg US stocks declined as weak Chinese trade data spurred concerns about slowing global growth. Treasuries rose and the dollar edged lower. The S&P 500 fell after rising for a third straight week, led by technology shares after slumping Chinese exports fuelled concerns about the growing impact of the US-China trade war on global growth. PG&E plunged after the utility …

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• 14 January

  Bleak pound outlook clashes with its rivals

  

  Bloomberg The pound’s most accurate forecaster isn’t buying into the optimism of his peers. Sterling will slide more than 3 percent to $1.24 by the end of March as even the most favourable Brexit outcome will mean the economy will be worse off than if “remain” had won the 2016 referendum, according to Westpac Banking Corp. The median estimate in …

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• 14 January

  Danske growth machine at risk over laundering case

  

  Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S’s money-laundering scandal threatens to undermine its growth engine. The lender’s Nordic banking operation, which encom- passes Norway, Sweden and Finland, was the only core unit of five to report higher profit in the third quarter. But now, some customers in the biggest Nordic economy may be reconsidering their loyalty to the bank, according to Berit Behring, …

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• 14 January

  South Africa must pursue flexible policy, says ANC

  

  Bloomberg South Africa’s ruling African National Congress said the reserve bank must consider the impact of monetary policy on economic growth when it targets inflation, re-emphasising the flexible mandate the government gave the central bank almost a decade ago. “The ANC believes that the South African Reserve Bank must pursue a flexible monetary policy regime, aligned with the objectives of …

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• 14 January

  China’s big banks set to sell $22bn of hybrid securities by June-end

  

  Bloomberg China’s banks’ urgent want for cash is threatening to overload the country’s fledgling convertible-bond market. Four lenders are due to sell as much as 146 billion yuan ($22 billion) of the hybrid securities by the end of June after the regulator approved the deals in recent weeks. That includes what could be the largest such offering China’s domestic market …

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• 14 January

  ‘RBI needs to reduce growth projection’

  

  Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India needs to soften its economic growth narrative and lower its projections for the current fiscal year. That’s the view of Mumbai-based SBICap Securities Ltd after data released January 11 showed industrial production in November grew 0.5 percent from a year ago, much lower than the expected 3.6 percent. The RBI needs to cut its …

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• 14 January

  UBS sees two fed hikes in 2019

  

  Bloomberg UBS Global Wealth Management predicts the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates twice this year despite markets pricing in little chance of that happening. An expanding US economy and low recession risk may provide opportunities for the Fed to keep ratcheting up borrowing costs, said Min Lan Tan, head of the chief investment officer for Asia Pacific in Singapore. …

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