July, 2018

• 4 July

  Sweden to reach renewables target 12 years early on wind surge

  

  Bloomberg Swedish utilities and power generators have already installed so many wind turbines that the Nordic nation is on course to reach its 2030 renewable energy target late this year. By December, Sweden will have 3,681 wind turbines installed, lobby Group Swedish Wind Energy Association estimates. Together with second-half investment decisions, that will be more than enough capacity to meet …

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• 4 July

  Madagascar turns to solar to cut energy costs

  Bloomberg Madagascar’s state power utility may become profitable by 2020 as the nation builds more solar plants to cut electricity-production costs, Energy Minister Lanto Rasoloelison said. The government is overhauling the state-owned power company, known as Jirama, with World Bank help as it seeks to provide universal electricity access by 2030 in a country where less than one in seven …

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• 4 July

  Stocks mixed in holiday-hit trading; dollar stays steady

  

  Bloomberg European stocks struggled for direction while futures for the S&P 500 advanced in a lackluster session overshadowed by the US holiday. There was a more downbeat mood in Asia where shares slipped even as the yuan extended a rebound. Telecom companies were the biggest winners on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, though declines in technology shares helped offset the …

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• 4 July

  Rife with anxiety, markets churning at multi-year high

  

  Bloomberg Once the hallmark of this bull run, complacency has made way for angst. From junk bonds to emerging-market stocks, market turnover is through the roof, reaching multi-year highs. Within the S&P 500 Index, investors traded more than $2.9 trillion worth of shares in each of the past two quarters, a feat last achieved in early 2008. Burgeoning uncertainty — …

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• 4 July

  Danske Bank ‘allegedly used’ to launder $8.3bn in funds

  

  Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S’s Estonian operations may have been used to launder as much as $8.3 billion in a case that has rocked Denmark and triggered calls for tougher penalties from the country’s political establishment. The amount, which represents roughly a third of Danske’s market value and almost 3 percent of Danish GDP, is more than double that previously estimated, …

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• 4 July

  Bahrain hires Lazard to help fix finances

  

  Bloomberg Bahrain hired investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise on how to repair its strained public finances, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the island kingdom seeks to secure crucial support from rich neighbors to avoid a currency devaluation. Lazard is helping Bahrain evaluate fiscal reforms to help ease pressure on the state’s budget, the people said, …

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• 4 July

  China’s PBOC faces policy bind over debt, growth goals

  

  Bloomberg China’s central bank is caught in a bind, as it seeks to tighten monetary policy for some parts of the economy while loosening it for others. Already engaged in the mammoth task of wringing bad debts out of China’s $40 trillion-plus financial system, the People’s Bank of China is now attempting to achieve that while simultaneously being asked to …

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• 4 July

  Banks leave it late to secure post-Brexit future

  

  Bloomberg Just 20 banks have applied for a license to operate in the European Union in time to receive approval before Britain leaves the bloc. The European Central Bank has talked with 50 financial companies exploring options to retain the so-called passport that grants them access to one of the world’s largest economies, said Pentti Hakkarainen, a member of its …

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• 4 July

  UK investigators drop Lloyds Libor probe

  Bloomberg The UK Serious Fraud Office has dropped a criminal investigation into Lloyds Banking Group Plc and its former traders over Libor rigging, according to a newspaper report. Investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to take the matter further in respect of former traders and the bank, The Times reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The SFO has …

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• 4 July

  Ryanair faces summer strikes as Irish pilots vote for action

  

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc is facing pilot strikes in its Irish home market next week, in what may become the most significant confrontation between Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier and organized labor to date. A poll of Ryanair cockpit crew produced a 94 to 1 vote in favour of industrial action including strikes, a spokesman for the Irish Air Line Pilots’ …

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