December, 2018

• 5 December

  Eskom mulls moving debt to state

  

  Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, the cash-strapped South African power utility, wants the government to take on about 100 billion rand ($7.2 billion) of its debt as part of a rescue plan that will enable it to continue operating. The company’s executives outlined the proposal to move the debt onto the government’s balance sheet to bond investors in London this …

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• 5 December

  China targets more wind, solar power onto energy grid

  Bloomberg China set three-year targets for allowing more wind and solar power onto the power grid after the rapid addition of panels and windmills forced some electricity distributors to partly block that energy from flowing into their systems. The curtailment rate for wind power should be held to less than 10 percent next year and to about 5 percent by …

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• 5 December

  Germany may boost offshore wind capacity

  Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is bowing to industry pressure to boost Germany’s offshore wind capacity, already among the biggest in Europe. The government will assess how to boost offshore capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2030 from a planned 15 gigawatts, according to details in an energy law passed by the parliament. The administration in Berlin has steadfastly blocked pressure …

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• 5 December

  Hong Kong office rents 60% higher than in New York

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s Central area has taken the prize for the world’s most expensive premium office rents for a fourth year running, according to global real estate consultant JLL. Occupancy costs — including rent, taxes and service charges — are 60 percent higher than New York’s Midtown and almost 75 percent more costly than London’s West End, JLL’s Premium Office …

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• 5 December

  Trade pledge slows stock rout; pound erases gain

  

  Bloomberg European and Asian stocks dropped following the rout on Wall Street, though declines were contained and US equity futures rose after China pledged to start delivering on trade agreements reached with America. The pound erased a gain as the UK government published legal advice relating to its proposed Brexit deal. Global markets were left reeling following the steep sell-off …

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• 5 December

  India’s Sensex declines after RBI holds rates

  

  Bloomberg India stocks declined after the central bank maintained its hawkish stance on inflation while keeping the key policy rate unchanged. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.7 percent lower at 35,884.41 in Mumbai. It fell as much as 1 percent after the decision. The NSE Nifty 50 Index slipped 0.8 percent. Markets across Asia tumbled following the biggest decline on …

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• 5 December

  European banks enter hidden debt market seeking growth

  

  Bloomberg European banks are turning to a little-known corner of the debt market as they seek new growth amid slumping loan demand. At least seven lenders, most recently including UBS Group AG, have made their debuts as Schuldschein arrangers this year, pushing into a market traditionally dominated by Germany’s landesbanks. The new entrants, also featuring ABN Amro Group NV and …

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• 5 December

  Fed’s Williams backs further rate increases

  

  Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams gave an optimistic review of the US economy, reiterated his support for further gradual interest-rate increases and expressed no concern that market participants have dialed back expectations for policy tightening in 2019. Markets moved sharply after Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Fed is getting closer to its range of …

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• 5 December

  RBI holds rates as inflation, growth slow

  

  Bloomberg India’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a second straight meeting as inflation and economic growth slowed in Asia’s third-largest economy. The benchmark repurchase rate will stay at 6.5 percent, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement in Mumbai on Wednesday, in line with most of the forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. The RBI, which …

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• 5 December

  Wells Fargo poised to miss interest income estimates

  

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co’s Tim Sloan warned investors that the firm’s net interest income (NII) would be less than analysts are predicting, and shares of the company dropped the most in more than a month. Fourth-quarter NII will be flat compared with the previous three months, when the bank collected $12.6 billion in interest, the chief executive officer said …

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