December, 2018

• 26 December

  Air Mauritius, 3 other airlines to form alliance

  

  Bloomberg South African Airways, Kenya Airways Plc, Air Mauritius Ltd. and RwandAir are in talks to create an alliance, as they face mounting competition. “Air Mauritius took the initiative to join forces with three other African airlines in a bid to create an alliance that would develop air connectivity in the region,” Chief Executive Officer Somas Appavou said. “In a …

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• 26 December

  Layoffs loom large as banks weigh funding for Sears bid

  

  Bloomberg Bankers meeting to discuss financing for Sears Holdings Corp.’s impending bankruptcy erupted in disbelief when a headline crossed their smartphone screens. Its subject: them. A breaking news report said the bankers, gathered on October 11 at the Manhattan offices of law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, were pushing to liquidate the American retail icon instead of saving it with …

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• 26 December

  Mexico airport buyback gets bondholders’ nod

  Bloomberg A majority of bondholders accepted Mexico’s offer to buy back $1.8 billion in debt used to fund the construction of an international airport that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said he’ll cancel. There was “overwhelming” acceptance by bondholders, said Mexico’s Finance Ministry. The acceptance by bondholders will allow the government to avoid a mandatory repayment of all $6 …

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• 26 December

  J&J’s tainted-talc risk expands as cancer trials triple in 2019

  

  Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson paid a steep price this year for claims that its celebrated baby powder was contaminated with asbestos. Problem is, 2019 could be even worse. A jury ordered the company in July to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women who blamed the talc-based product for causing their ovarian cancer. The prospect of similar judgments helped erase $45 …

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• 25 December

  Saudi gets world’s largest water desalination plant

  

  Bloomberg / Agencies Saudi Arabia plans to tender or award six water-related projects in 2019 as it pushes ahead with a privatisation programme. The cabinet has approved the tendering of seven desalination and wastewater projects. One was awarded this week, three are in various stages of tender process and three more will be offered to investors next year, the government’s …

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• 25 December

  UN resolution ensures Yemen’s territorial integrity: Arab Coalition

  RIYADH / WAM The official spokesman for the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen, Col. Turki Al-Malki has renewed coalition states’ support for the UN resolution regard-ing the Sweden Agreement on Yemen. The Saudi Press Agency quoted Al Malki as saying at a press conference on Tuesday that the UNSC resolution ensures the territorial integrity of Yemen in line with …

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• 25 December

  China slips open door for US LNG

  

  Bloomberg China last month imported two tankers of US liquefied natural gas, nudging open a doorway that had been closed shut for a month at a time when America is rapidly expanding its ability to export the heating fuel. The three operating US terminals soaked up more than 5.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas from American shale basins, the …

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• 25 December

  Nikkei enters bear market to extend global equity rout

  

  Bloomberg The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid into a bear market, as a global equity rout continued unabated in the last week of the year, with renewed turmoil in Washington rattling investors. The yen and Japanese bonds rose. The Japanese benchmark fell 5 percent on Tuesday, widening its drop to 21 percent from its October 2 peak, taking its cue …

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• 25 December

  Dollar exposed to dysfunction in US

  

  Bloomberg Mounting political risks from Washington are adding to reasons for traders to be bearish about the dollar as the market hurtles towards the end of 2018. Most forecasters were already predicting that the greenback, which this month touched its strongest level in a year and a half, would be in for a rougher time in 2019. Much of that …

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• 25 December

  Trump rips Fed as economy’s only problem

  

  Bloomberg US President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve, commenting publicly on the central bank for the first time following last week’s interest-rate hike and reports he has discussed firing Chairman Jerome Powell. “The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or …

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