May, 2018

• 22 May

  Glencore nears $1bn deal to buy Chevron’s South Africa assets

  

  Bloomberg Glencore Plc is close to a $1 billion deal to buy Chevron Corp.’s southern African assets, potentially scuppering an earlier agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., according to three people familiar with the matter. The Switzerland-based miner and trader will complete the deal within the next six weeks, said one of the people who asked not to be …

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• 22 May

  Energy regulator moving backward on climate change, say Democrats

  Bloomberg Just weeks after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission launched a sweeping review of its natural gas pipeline policy, its members are again split on the extent to which they should take climate change into account. In the latest clash, the commission’s Republican members voted to dismiss an environmental group’s challenge to Dominion Energy Inc.’s New Market gas pipeline in …

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• 22 May

  US stocks rise as risk-on creeps back, dollar falls; Italy bonds up

  

  Bloomberg A degree of risk appetite returned to global markets on Tuesday, with developing-nation stocks and currencies rebounding and Italian bonds climbing. The dollar fell as Treasury yields climbed, and the pound advanced. US equity futures pointed to a higher open and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index nudged upward after the MSCI Asia Pacific gauge eked out a gain in …

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• 22 May

  Malaysia’s foreign stock inflows for 2018 got wiped out

  

  Bloomberg While locals in Malaysia cheer the ouster of the Barisan Nasional coalition for the first time since independence, foreign stock investors are voting with their feet. Foreign inflows into the local stock market of $937.8 million were wiped out as concern remains on how the new coalition party under 92-year-old PM Mahathir Mohamad will continue economic growth. As of May …

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• 22 May

  Record $1 billion loss signals a ‘happy year’ for India’s SBI

  

  Bloomberg State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, joined its private peers in shrugging off losses as investors believe the lenders have finally got a handle on bad loans. SBI’s shares surged to a six-week high after it reported a record loss on Tuesday, weighed down by a doubling in provisions for soured debt. A similar contrarian …

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• 22 May

  Former exec sues Deutsche Bank over $4.7 million bonus

  

  Bloomberg A former Deutsche Bank AG executive, Nizar Al-Bassam, is suing the German lender to reclaim bonuses totaling about 4 million euros ($4.7 million) following a probe into hiring practices in Russia and the UK. Al-Bassam, a former head of corporate and debt capital market finance for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said he believed the …

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• 22 May

  Wells Fargo ready to boost auto lending

  

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan said the firm is ready to increase lending for car sales after pulling back last year, and it’s now looking with consternation at the commercial real estate market. In auto lending, “we’ve pulled back enough and now we’re going to be growing that business again,” Sloan said in an interview …

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• 22 May

  ETF investors sour on Canada banks ahead of earnings season

  Bloomberg Investors are decamping Canadian banks ahead of earnings season, with six straight weeks of outflows from the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the industry. The BMO Equal Weight Banks Index ETF saw a record C$263 million ($204 million) leave the fund between April 2 and May 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But the fact that the iShares S&P/TSX …

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• 22 May

  Ghana regulator lines up investors to spur bank deals

  

  Bloomberg Ghana’s central bank is lining up investors for lenders willing to combine their operations in an unprecedented push to force consolidation and strengthen the industry, according to people familiar with the matter. Investors from local pension funds to foreign private-equity firms are on standby to pump cash into the system as lenders scurry to bolster their capital levels, according …

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• 22 May

  Southwest Air’s $49 fares signal summer deals despite pricier oil

  

  Bloomberg The price of jet fuel is surging, but so far the airline industry has been so competitive that carriers haven’t been able to pass on much of the cost to consumers. That means investors are bracing for lower profit margins as travellers take advantage of cheap flights. An abundance of seats in the domestic market means airlines have limited …

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