February, 2021

• 2 February

  Are Europe’s fiscal rules outdated?

  

  One upshot of Covid-19 has been closer coordination between monetary and fiscal powers. This has led to a revolution in macroeconomic policy — one that countries should continue building upon. Just as central banks have been rethinking their frameworks, there is a strong case for governments to similarly reconsider their approach to fiscal policy. Europe now has the perfect opportunity ...

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• 2 February

  Who controls memes controls the universe

  Crowds are easily exploited by their leaders, theorised 19th-century psychologist Gustave Le Bon, whose mantra for guiding the masses was: “Assertion, repetition, contagion.” Today’s financial markets are much the same — but crowd control has its challenges. Easily-shared memes, GIFs and tweets have fuelled a volatile stampede into corners of the stock market, metals and cryptocurrencies, with tech billionaires such ...

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• 2 February

  Joe Biden is wrestling with a ‘Covid dilemma’

  In weighing how to advance his new Covid relief package, President Joe Biden is wrestling with a dilemma. Does he press as quickly as possible, with or without Republican cooperation, to pass the plan he’s laid out? Or does he seek compromise, risking both delay and a dilution of his proposals, in an effort that Republicans might scorn in any ...

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• 2 February

  Boeing risks losing a third of 777X orders on jet’s delay

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co signalled it’s at risk of losing more than a third of its 777X order haul because the latest delay to the behemoth jet’s debut — now slated for late 2023 — gives some customers the right to walk away from sales contracts. The US planemaker lowered the backlog for the 777X family to just 191 jets in ...

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• 2 February

  Airline bailout begins in Canada with Sunwing loan

  

  Bloomberg Canada granted an emergency loan to a company selling beach holidays, the first sign of a rescue package awaited by the industry after PM Justin Trudeau barred travel to Mexico and other sun destinations. Two related firms, Sunwing Airlines Inc and Sunwing Vacations Inc, will receive a combined C$375 million ($292 million) under a federal loan facility aimed at large ...

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• 2 February

  Kroger plans to close two California supermarkets over pay-raise rules

  

  Bloomberg Kroger Co plans to close two Southern California supermarkets following passage of a local ordinance that requires grocery stores to raise their frontline workers’ hourly pay by $4. A Ralphs store and a Food 4 Less store in Long Beach, California, will close on April 17, the company said in a statement. A spokesperson declined to provide additional information ...

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• 2 February

  HK retail sales plummet after new virus restrictions

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s retailers didn’t see much benefit from the key holiday shopping season, with sales plunging in December after the government tightened controls to combat a surge in virus cases. Retail sales by value fell 13.2% from a year ago to HK$31.4 billion ($4.05 billion), after dropping a revised 4.1% in November, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department ...

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• 2 February

  HNA units say $10b in funds misused by shareholders

  

  Bloomberg Three listed companies of China’s HNA Group Co said shareholders and affiliates misappropriated at least 63 billion yuan ($9.8 billion) of funds, deepening the woes of the indebted conglomerate that’s set to be restructured. Hainan Airlines Holding Co, HNA Infrastructure Investment Group Co and CCOOP Group Co also reported they have failed to disclose about 46 billion yuan in ...

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• 2 February

  Philippine Airlines to cut 2,300 jobs

  Bloomberg Philippine Airlines Inc, owned by billionaire Lucio Tan, said it will cut 2,300 jobs or about a third of its workforce by mid-March as it continues to take a beating from the pandemic. “This has been an extremely difficult and painful decision,” President Gilbert Santa Maria said. The job cuts, first announced in October, include voluntary and involuntary separations, ...

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• 2 February

  Myanmar army rallies supporters, bans flights through April

  

  Bloomberg Supporters of Myanmar’s military rallied in the nation’s largest city as it moved to suspend all flights through April, raising fresh concerns about the army’s crackdown a day after it seized power in a coup and detained senior government officials and activists. The rally in the commercial capital Yangon is the first since de facto leader Aung San Suu ...

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