September, 2018

• 30 September

  Euro-area inflation rate climbs above 2% on energy cost

  

  Bloomberg Euro-area inflation accelerated in September amid a surge in energy costs, while underlying price moves remained more subdued. The core measure of inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food, fell to 0.9 percent from 1 percent. That’s a blow to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who just this week cited faster wage growth and a “relatively vigorous” …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Egypt top stock to renew gains over refinery boost

  Bloomberg The best-performing stock in Egypt this year might be about to reward investors even more as a turnaround plan moves forward and the company completes a long-awaited project. Qalaa Holdings SAE, the Egyptian investment firm formerly known as Citadel Capital, is pushing to end annual losses by selling underperforming assets and lowering debt before its flagship oil refinery venture …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Oil bullishness hits four-month high

  

  Bloomberg It seems hedge funds are jumping on the $100 crude bandwagon. As speculation increases that global oil prices could again trade that high, money managers are piling on bullish wagers, while short-selling shrinks. They are the most optimistic on a rally of Brent crude in over four months. This week, the benchmark closed above $80 for the first time …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Mexico may buy US crude for first time

  Bloomberg Mexico may finally buy US crude oil for the first time ever. After three years of announcements, negotiations, and potential deals, Petroleos Mexicanos is seeking to buy a trial cargo of 350,000 barrels for its refineries in October. The much-anticipated deal has been in the making since 2015, when US exports were still banned and Mexico applied for a …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  US stocks delivered best quarterly run in five years

  

  Bloomberg US stocks delivered the best quarterly run in almost five years, luring retail investors back into the longest bull market on record just as Wall Street started sounding the alarms. Individual investors drew down cash balances at brokerage accounts to record lows as the S&P 500 surged 7.2 percent in the three months last week. Meanwhile, big banks from …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  US-China tariffs to go all out, lowers yuan call: JP Morgan

  

  Bloomberg With little prospect of a restart for US-China trade talks, JPMorgan Chase & Co. now expects an escalation in tensions that will see higher American tariffs on all Chinese imports, sending the yuan sliding to its weakest against the dollar in more than a decade. “JPMorgan has adopted a new baseline that assumes a US-China endgame involving 25 percent …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Theresa May plans to raise UK property tax for foreign buyers

  

  Bloomberg Foreign buyers face higher taxes on their purchase of homes in the UK as Prime Minister Theresa May starts unveiling policy plans before her Conservative party conference. The government said it will launch a consultation to increase stamp duty on individuals and companies not paying tax in the UK Ministers are considering a rate ranging from 1 percent to …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Money-laundering woes dog Europe’s banks

  

  Bloomberg September was the month when long-running failures to stop money-laundering came back to bite some of Europe’s largest banks. Regulators from Switzerland to the Nordic region and Germany reprimanded institutions for failing to do enough to prevent illicit money flows. While some paid for past misdeeds, others were chastised for continued shortcomings and even had monitors assigned to help …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  ECB rate-hike momentum could be hampered by fear of euro gains

  

  Bloomberg For all the European Central Bank’s signalling of an interest-rate “lift-off’’ next year, it might not get very far off the ground. Some investors suspect even modestly higher borrowing costs will unleash a rally in the euro that undermines economic growth and curbs inflation. That could leave the currency bloc trapped with near-zero rates for years to come. Spillovers …

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Venezuela pumps dollars, slows rout in currency

  

  Bloomberg Lost amid the economic chaos in Venezuela, the bolivar has actually stabilised somewhat. In the six weeks since the initial plunge after the government simultaneously carried out a massive devaluation and redenomination of the currency, it has slid just 19 percent in the black market. That may not constitute stabilisation in most foreign-exchange markets, but in Venezuela, where hyperinflation …

  Read More »