May, 2018

• 29 May

  Fed’s Bullard warns against rate hikes amid low inflation bets

  

  Bloomberg The Fed should slow its pace of policy normalisation to help re-align price expectations around 2 percent and maintain the credibility of its inflation target, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said on Tuesday in Tokyo. “Inflation expectations in the US remain somewhat low, suggesting that further normalisation may not be necessary to keep inflation near …

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• 29 May

  Regulator unearths $7bn of bad loans at big Indian banks

  

  Bloomberg Bad loans at India’s five biggest state-run banks were about 456.8 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) more than the lenders had assessed. Audits by the regulator for the year ended March 31, 2017, revealed the discrepancies, triggering large losses as the banks increased provisions. If you add IDBI Bank Ltd., which doesn’t feature among the biggest but got the largest …

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• 29 May

  Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait looks out for acquisitions as Gulf lenders merge

  

  Bloomberg Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait is on the look out for acquisitions in the Gulf region as it seeks to boost revenue from international operations. “We want to manage and absorb the last merger, but we’re always looking for acquisitions,” Chief Executive Officer Michel Accad said in an interview in Kuwait City. “We can consider anything at the right …

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• 29 May

  ‘MiFID II to exacerbate dip in analyst coverage’

  

  Bloomberg The biggest bank in the Nordic region says Europe’s revision of market rules is likely to exacerbate a slump in the number of analysts covering smaller companies, making it harder for them to raise capital. Nordea Bank AB says the firms affected by the development should consider commissioning their own research to help “alleviate the risk of falling off …

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• 29 May

  Italian drama reawakens fear of Europe’s sovereign-bank loop

  

  Bloomberg Reports of the death of the sovereign-bank “ doom loop” are greatly exaggerated. Italian government bonds have blown up, with the yield on two-year notes skyrocketing by as much as 192 basis points on Tuesday to the highest level since 2012. Spreads on subordinated de-bts from euro-area financial companies, meanwhile, have jumped in sympathy as Rome’s political turmoil reverberates …

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• 29 May

  Bombardier plans two new luxury aircraft amid demand

  

  Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. will build two new private planes in response to growing demand for large-cabin business jets. The Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft will come equipped with redesigned cabins, an optimised wing and all-new Rolls-Royce engines, Bombardier said in a statement. The models, which will have ranges of 5,700 and 6,600 nautical miles, respectively, will likely enter service …

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• 29 May

  JAB to buy sandwich chain Pret A Manger from Bridgepoint

  

  Bloomberg JAB Holding Co. agreed to buy sandwich chain Pret A Manger, adding a UK business to its portfolio of coffee and food brands that includes Panera Bread Co. and Au Bon Pain. JAB and the seller, private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers Ltd., didn’t disclose the terms of the deal in a statement. The price is about $2 billion, including …

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• 29 May

  Primera Air armed with new Airbus plans trans-Atlantic raid

  

  Bloomberg A new Nordic raider is about to descend on Europe’s leading airlines in the shape of a little-known carrier that’s the launch customer for Airbus SE’s latest jetliner. Primera Air, a specialist in holiday flights from Denmark run by Icelander Hrafn Thorgeirsson, aims to take delivery of the first long-range version of the A321neo narrow-body plane in October and …

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• 29 May

  Steinhoff falls after struggling to break from parent

  

  Bloomberg Steinhoff Africa Retail Ltd. extended a two-day fall to more than 10 percent after the continent’s biggest clothing retailer said it won’t pay a half-year dividend and announced charges related to its scandal-hit parent company. The owner of clothing chains including Pep and Ackermans was spun off by Steinhoff International Holdings NV three months before the majority shareholder reported …

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• 29 May

  PepsiCo extends bet on clean snack foods with Bare deal

  

  Bloomberg PepsiCo Inc. is placing another bet that American nibblers want healthier options with the purchase of baked fruit and vegetable snackmaker Bare Foods Co. The maker of Mountain Dew and Cheetos inked a deal to buy the San Francisco-based creator of products including beet chips and baked apple crisps. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. PepsiCo, which has …

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