October, 2018

• 22 October

  Southeast Asia sees FDI boom, thanks to trade war

  

  Bloomberg Southeast Asia is seeing a boom in foreign direct investment as the intensifying trade war between the US and China prompts companies to shift production to the region. Vietnam saw manufacturing inflows jump 18 percent in the first nine months of 2018, driven by investme- nts including a $1.2 billion polypropylene production project by South Korea’s Hyosung Corp, according …

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• 22 October

  Refiners slump as Trump looks to slow-roll shipping fuel rules

  

  Bloomberg US refiners are getting stung by President Donald Trump’s efforts to keep consumer prices from rising in the run up to the 2020 election. The Trump administration is seeking to slow the implementation in 2020 of tighter fuel restrictions on the global shipping industry. The rules, which would slash by more than 80 percent the sulfur allowed in fuel …

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• 22 October

  Oil holds below $70 as rising US drilling eases supply concern

  

  Bloomberg Oil traded below $70 a barrel as supply concerns eased after American drilling rose to the highest since 2015, and on growing investor optimism crude output in Libya may climb from early next year. Futures in New York were little changed, following a 3.1 percent decline last week. Working US oil rigs increased by four to 873 last week, …

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• 22 October

  Rwanda mulls inviting private investment for oil search in lake

  

  Bloomberg Rwanda is considering partnering with oil and gas companies for the next stage of exploring Lake Kivu for more hydrocarbons, a government official said. The East African nation has conducted the first round of shallow drilling for geochemistry tests in the methane-gas-producing lake in the west of the country, according to Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board Chief Executive Officer …

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• 22 October

  Libya oil boss sees output jump as BP, Eni may restart soon

  

  Bloomberg BP Plc and Eni SpA could re-start work on a project in Libya in the first quarter, setting the stage for the OPEC member to boost production by “hundreds of thousands of barrels” a day, the head of the country’s state oil company said. Crude production in the North African nation is averaging “well above 1 million barrels a …

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• 22 October

  Technology shares gain after China rally; dollar strengthens

  

  Bloomberg Tech shares pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index higher, while the broader US equity market was mostly little changed in the wake of a rally in Asian stocks after Chinese officials pledged to support the world’s second-biggest economy. The dollar strengthened, while the pound slumped and Italian bonds gave back most of their gains. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index …

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• 22 October

  Value stocks not as popular as touted

  

  Bloomberg There’s a lot of chatter about a global rotation into value stocks, but the data doesn’t quite back it up. During this month’s market sell-off, the MSCI World Value Index outperformed growth stocks, fueling speculation about a switch into cheaper equities. Yet EPFR Global’s fund flow data show that in the week that ended October 17, which included the …

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• 22 October

  Euro-area banks facing funding cliff consider reliance on ECB

  

  Bloomberg Euro-area lenders are facing a cliff edge for their funding, and some are hoping the European Central Bank will help them out. Around 722 billion euros ($832 billion) of long-term loans granted to banks by the ECB will start maturing from 2020, and new regulatory standards mean replacement funds could be needed as soon as next year. One concern …

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• 22 October

  European lenders prepare to report on tumultuous quarter

  

  Bloomberg Investors in Europe’s perennially underperforming banks are no strangers to disappointing earnings, but the third quarter brought an unusually large array of scandals and market turmoil that could test their conviction. The standoff over Italy’s budget, a massive money laundering scandal in Denmark and geopolitical tension chilling trade are only a few of the events that hammered banks. It …

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• 22 October

  Financial system able to withstand easing for now: BOJ

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan said the financial system remains stable and growth in bank lending continues to support the economy, signalling it’s comfortable that lenders are coping with its record monetary easing program for now. Banks “have maintained their active lending attitudes,” the central bank said in its semiannual financial system report on Monday. “The financial cycle has shown …

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