March, 2018

• 19 March

  Societe Generale seeks Australia banking license

  

  Bloomberg Societe Generale SA has applied for an Australian banking license as it prepares to restart its onshore lending business, according to a person familiar with the situation. The French bank wound down much of its Australian business in 2010, when it shifted its foreign exchange and commodities trading from Sydney to Hong Kong, giving up its local deposit-taking license …

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• 18 March

  Traders at mercy of strongest S&P 500 cross-currents in a year

  

  Bloomberg This is no longer a market that mixes relentless gains with the occasional sharp downdraft. For the third week in a row, the S&P 500 Index reversed some or all of the prior week’s performance. This time it fell, albeit with 2018’s smallest decline, after climbing 3.5 percent in the previous five days. It was a pattern of alternating …

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• 18 March

  Gulf stocks soften despite oil rebound

  

  Reuters Gulf stock markets eased on Sunday as gains in oil prices at the end of last week failed to spur activity, though Ezz Steel helped to lift Egypt’s index. There was very little action in the United Arab Emirates, with both Dubai and Abu Dhabi registering among their lowest trading volumes this year as the indexes fell marginally. Emaar …

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• 18 March

  Saudi crown prince to meet tech giants during US visit

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to meet top global executives, including the heads of Apple Inc and Google, during his first trip to the US since becoming heir to the throne of the world’s largest oil exporter, according to a person briefed on the trip’s details. Crown Prince Mohammed, known among journalists and diplomats as MBS, …

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• 18 March

  Saudi Arabia cutting back on German business dealings

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is cutting back on its dealings with some German companies amid a diplomatic spat with its top European trading partner, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Government agencies have been told not to renew some non-essential contracts with German firms following comments made in November by Germany’s then-foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, two of the people …

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• 18 March

  Shell, Eni misled Nigeria on oil spills: Amnesty

  

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA may have misled regulators in Nigeria by wrongly attributing oil spills to theft and sabotage in order to avoid paying compensation to affected communities, rights group Amnesty International said. “Amnesty International researchers have identified that at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they …

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• 18 March

  Iran doubles production at world’s largest gas field

  Reuters Iran has nearly doubled gas production at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, in the past year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, according to state media. Gas production at South Pars increased from 285 million cubic meters to 555 million cubic meters in the past Iranian calendar year, which started in late March 2017, Rouhani said, …

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• 18 March

  Airbus sees C Series deal closing this year

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE’s deal to take a controlling stake in the Bombardier Inc. C Series jetliner programme could be finalised by the time of the Farnborough Air Show this summer, according to people familiar with the matter. Antitrust approval for the plan, which the planemakers had been seeking by the end of the year, is likely to come earlier than …

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• 18 March

  Toys ‘R’ Us shutters stores

  

  Bloomberg The collapse of Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. is yet another blow for landlords, who now will have gaping holes of suburban retail space up for grabs. And few tenants would want them. The debt-laden toy chain, with more than 700 stores across the US, became one of the largest victims of the retail decline when it announced that it …

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• 18 March

  Coles spinoff plan may put Australian retail giant in play

  

  Bloomberg Wesfarmers Ltd.’s plan to spin off its Coles supermarket and convenience stores could put the Australian retailing giant in play. The business, which generated A$39.2 billion ($30.5 billion) in sales from 2,500 stores in fiscal 2017, could be attractive to a buyer looking to make a big splash Down Under, Citigroup Inc.’s Sydney-based credit specialist Anthony Ip said. “We …

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