September, 2018

• 5 September

  Oil hunt returns as majors seek to unlock vast reserves in Africa

  

  Bloomberg Africa is entering the oil-hunt spotlight as drillers, flush with cash after crude’s recovery, are turning their attention back to the continent’s potentially vast resources. The world’s biggest companies from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc are setting up camp across Africa. Armed with stronger balance sheets and higher crude prices the industry is …

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• 5 September

  Rupiah’s slump puts $25bn power projects on hold

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia plans to delay $25 billion worth of power projects as it seeks to rein in a widening current-account deficit and a selloff in the nation’s currency. The government will delay almost half of the planned 35 gigawatts of electricity projects as it wants to ease pressure on imports, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters in …

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• 5 September

  Transocean may reactivate 3 rigs a year

  

  Bloomberg The world’s biggest offshore oil driller may reactivate two to three mothballed rigs a year as the industry embarks on a full-fledged recovery for deepwater exploration. In announcing a $2.7 billion deal for a rival operator, Transocean Ltd. cited a forecast by energy consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. that day-rates in waters more than two miles deep will more than …

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• 5 September

  Record earnings at Canadian banks no match for US tax cuts

  

  Bloomberg Canadian banks are scoring back-to-back record earnings, beating big US lenders on profitability, productivity and dividend yields. They still can’t outperform US banks on the stock market. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and the nation’s other six large lenders collectively boosted profit 10 percent to a record $8.9 billion in the fiscal third quarter. Still, that’s no match …

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• 5 September

  Rupee woes to deepen as India braces for external headwinds

  

  Bloomberg India’s rupee owes its tag of Asia’s worst-performing currency this year to the selloff sweeping emerging markets. There’s more pain in store from beyond its borders. While foreign currency debt has zoomed, various external vulnerability indicators paint a rather mixed picture, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report. Indeed, data due as early as next week will …

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• 5 September

  Carney’s future at BOE gets lawmakers’ mixed reactions

  Bloomberg The prospect of Bank of England (BOE) governor Mark Carney extending his term of office garnered mixed reactions from UK lawmakers. Carney told Parliament that he would be open to lengthening his tenure for a second time to help the UK’s transition out of the EU. The Financial Times reported later that he will stay until 2020 in a …

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• 5 September

  Westpac admits lending breaches, settles for $25 million penalty

  

  Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp. agreed to pay a A$35 million ($25 million) civil penalty after admitting it breached responsible-lending laws by failing to properly assess whether some customers could afford to repay their mortgages. In a settlement ahead of court, the regulator said in a statement that Westpac’s automated loan approval system had failed to use customers’ actual living expenses …

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• 5 September

  Russia set for rate hike as ruble revs up inflation

  

  Bloomberg Russia’s central bank is setting the stage for an increase in interest rates as a weakening ruble fans inflation. Just five months after it stopped easing monetary policy, the Bank of Russia raised the prospect of its first hike in borrowing costs since 2014. The country’s latest bout of currency weakness is combining with a worsening outlook for inflation …

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• 5 September

  Germany dismisses UK demands on banks’ post-Brexit access

  

  Bloomberg The European Union won’t rush to enhance market access for financial firms outside the bloc, a senior German official said, pushing back against key UK government demands in the Brexit negotiations. Expanding EU “equivalence” rules, which can open the single market to non-EU firms, to new areas such as banking is unlikely anytime soon, said Levin Holle, director general …

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• 5 September

  Norwegian braves Argentina’s meltdown to start $18 flights

  

  Bloomberg Argentina’s peso is slumping and the economy can’t catch a break. Norwegian Air’s mostly shrugging it all off to offer plane tickets starting at $18. The company is betting that a weaker peso will attract foreigners and a recession at home will boost domestic travel, said Ole Christian Melhus, chief executive officer of the Argentine unit, in an interview. …

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