September, 2018

• 3 September

  UK’s biggest energy suppliers losing customers to startups

  

  Bloomberg The latest threat to the dominance of Britain’s six biggest energy suppliers is coming from small technology companies that automatically switch consumers to the cheapest deal. Their emergence couldn’t come at a worse time for the industry, which is already beset by lawmakers capping rates and suffering from perennial mistrust by consumers. On top of that, utilities are getting …

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• 3 September

  Brent gains $78 as lower Iran’s crude flows curb supply

  

  Bloomberg Oil in London traded near a two-month high as Iranian crude and condensate exports fell to their lowest level in more than two years, showcasing concerns over a potential supply shortfall once US sanctions on the Middle East nation’s shipments start in November. Brent futures gained as much as 0.7 percent. Iran shipped just under 2.1 million barrels a …

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• 3 September

  Ghana signs accords with China

  Bloomberg Ghana signed eight cooperation agreements with China following talks between the two nations’ leaders in Beijing ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that started on Monday. The package of agreements included the $2 billion infrastructure deal Ghana reached in July with Sinohydro Corp. to improve its roads and develop railways in exchange for bauxite, according to a statement …

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• 3 September

  Saudi fund names ex-Dow Chemical CEO as adviser

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund appointed former Dow Chemical Co. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris as a special adviser. Liveris will work closely with the Public Investment Fund “in several areas and assist the fund in efforts to increase the value of the portfolio, and ensure the important contribution of PIF companies to the achievement of Vision 2030 goals” …

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• 3 September

  $50bn fight over who owns South African central bank

  

  Bloomberg South Africa’s Lesetja Kganyago has a fight on his hands to protect the central bank’s $50 billion of reserves. More than eight months after the ruling African National Congress decided that the South African Reserve Bank should be state-owned, like most other central banks, the governor said his main concern remains to protect the regulator’s independence and mandate. But …

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• 3 September

  UBS to start currency pricing and trading engine in Singapore

  

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG will introduce a new electronic currency pricing and trading engine in Singapore next year in a bid to boost liquidity in Asia’s largest foreign-exchange center. The facility will go live in the second quarter of 2019, Zurich-based UBS said in an emailed statement. The bank is undertaking the initiative in partnership with the Monetary Authority of …

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• 3 September

  UK govt plays down reports Carney to stay longer at BOE

  Bloomberg Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is still expected to leave the central bank in 2019, according to a UK government spokesman. “The governor has said that he intends to step down in 2019. That is still the plan,” spokesman James Slack told reporters in London. Asked if the government would like him stay, he said “the Prime Minister …

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• 3 September

  ‘Yuan gaining at cost to dollar, yen’

  

  Bloomberg China’s currency is set to take an increasing share of world foreign-exchange reserves, with the dollar and yen having to make the most room proportionally for the newcomer on the block, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. An acceleration in foreign inflows into Chinese fixed income in recent months — despite a tumble in the yuan — has showcased …

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• 3 September

  ECB’s Mersch calls for Europe’s own global payment services

  Bloomberg European Central Bank policy maker Yves Mersch called on Europe to develop its own global card payment services to compete with international peers and as a defense against any further escalation in geopolitical tension. Noting the dominance of California-based PayPal for online payments, and the services offered by Alphabet, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, Mersch warned that European providers such …

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• 3 September

  Rupee weakness poses ‘dilemma’ for RBI at October meeting

  

  Bloomberg A sustained weakness in the rupee may push the Reserve Bank of India to further tighten monetary policy, perhaps as early as next month, JPMorgan Chase and Co.’s chief India economist Sajjid Chinoy said. “The RBI meeting becomes an interesting dilemma,” Chinoy told Bloomberg Television in an interview, adding that after two interest rate hikes since June, he, like …

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