August, 2018

• 15 August

  Stocks sink amid technology weakness, commodities rout

  

  Bloomberg US stocks headed for their worst day in two months, joining a broad decline in global equities as disappointing earnings from Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. roiled technology shares and a plunge in commodities weighed on resource producers. Crude tumbled to below $65 a barrel after a report that American stockpiles rose the most since March 2017. The …

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• 15 August

  China slides as yuan falls past 6.9 a dollar

  

  Bloomberg China’s equities and currency slid, with the yuan weakening past 6.9 a dollar for the first time since May 2017 and losses in tech stocks spiraling into a broad selloff. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 2 percent at the close for its fourth day of losses. Tencent Holdings Ltd. rattled equities after surprising investors with its first …

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• 15 August

  Vestas soars on order intake, share buyback plan

  

  Bloomberg Vestas Wind Systems A/S surged the most in two years after the wind turbine maker announced a $227 million share buyback and said its orders rose. “Order intake was very strong, and profitability was clearly above market expectations,” said James Evans, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. It was “aided by Vestas’ new push into co-developing projects, with two US …

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• 15 August

  Cheap drones to boost output for energy sector

  Bloomberg Cheap drones are poised to boost output and cut operating expenses for the energy industry. The unmanned aerial vehicles are generally faster and less expensive than people, and can go places that may not be safe for workers. As costs fall, and their capabilities increase, drones are spotting leaks in natural gas pipelines, helping utilities inspect transmission and distribution …

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• 15 August

  Singapore home sales soar on minute-to-midnight buying

  

  Bloomberg Private home sales in Singapore soared to the highest in 16 months in July as buyers rushed to snap up properties hours before curbs aimed at quelling speculation came into effect. Developers sold 1,724 units last month, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement. That’s more than double the 654 units sold in June and the highest since …

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• 15 August

  Indonesia rate hike aims at curbing ‘current-account’ gap

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate a fourth time since May in a surprise move aimed at underpinning the currency as volatility sweeps across emerging markets. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate was increased to 5.5 percent from 5.25 percent on Wednesday, as forecast by just seven of 28 economists in a Bloomberg survey, with the rest predicting …

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• 15 August

  Canada lenders strong enough for adverse shock, says Moody’s

  

  Bloomberg Canada’s largest lenders have boosted their capital enough in the past two years to withstand a 35 percent decline in housing prices in Ontario and British Columbia and 25 percent in the rest of the country, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Canada’s six biggest banks and Quebec’s Desjardins Group “incrementally improved” their capital buffers to absorb $10.9 billion in …

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• 15 August

  Berkshire adds to bets on Goldman, others

  

  Bloomberg Berkshire Hathaway Inc. added to its stakes in two of Warren Buffett’s most favoured industries as the billionaire investor widened bets in banking and the airline industry. Berkshire boosted investments in Goldman Sachs Group Inc., US Bancorp, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. in the second quarter, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said in a filing. Buffett’s company …

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• 15 August

  Citi touts Europe banks in ‘world’s contrarian trade’

  

  Bloomberg European banking stocks have been punished like no other sector in the region this year. Unless you’re expecting a financial crisis, now may be the time to take advantage of valuations near a two-year low, according to strategists at Citigroup Inc. Fearful of potential contagion from Turkey, investors accelerated their flight from the Stoxx 600 Banks Index in the …

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• 15 August

  Top Swiss bank settles a decade after secrecy began to crumble

  

  Bloomberg About a decade after Swiss bank secrecy laws started to crumble under the impact of a US investigation, one of the last large lenders still entangled in the matter agreed to settle the dispute. Zuercher Kantonalbank, Switzerland’s largest publicly-owned regional bank, will pay $98.5 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice to end …

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