January, 2018

• 14 January

  BOJ tightening to begin by mid-2018

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s economy will exceed growth forecasts this year, prompting the central bank to tighten monetary policy by mid-year, said Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics Inc. Sinai said he expects Japan’s economy to grow 2 percent in 2018, and even faster in 2019, perhaps as much as 2.5 percent. “What has snuck up on everybody is the world business …

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• 14 January

  Morocco adopts more flexible exchange rate to boost standing

  

  Bloomberg Morocco will adopt a more flexible exchange rate from Monday as part of a long-awaited plan aimed at boosting the competitiveness of the North African nation’s economy. Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, said in a statement it would widen the official band within which the dirham fluctuates to 5 percent, with a maximum daily moves of 2.5 percent above …

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• 14 January

  Philippines plays catch-up as more banks tap big data

  Bloomberg The Philippine central bank is beefing up its data tools to get a better handle on a fast-growing economy, which is starting to flash warning signs because of a rapid buildup of debt. Like central banks across Southeast Asia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is pushing to capture information from “big data,” drawn from sources such as online search engines, …

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• 14 January

  Stranded Sukhoi jets haunt troubled airline

  

  Bloomberg In cavernous jet hangars in and around Mexico City, Interjet has a secret. Four of the Mexican airline’s Sukhoi Superjet 100s—out of a fleet of 22—have been grounded for at least five months because of engine maintenance delays. The Russian-made aircraft, which average just four years old, are now being cannibalised, an industry term for when a plane is …

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• 14 January

  Bid to collect internet sales tax gets top US court review

  Bloomberg The US Supreme Court will consider freeing state and local governments to collect billions of dollars in sales taxes from online retailers, agreeing to revisit a 26-year-old ruling that has made much of the internet a tax-free zone. Heeding calls from traditional retailers and dozens of states, the justices said they’ll hear South Dakota’s contention that the 1992 ruling …

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• 14 January

  D.E. Shaw builds activist stake in retailer Lowe’s

  Bloomberg Investor D.E. Shaw & Co. has built an active stake in US home retailer Lowe’s Cos., according to people familiar with the matter. While D.E. Shaw’s specific plans for the investment couldn’t immediately be learned, the firm does plan to use its holding to agitate for changes at Lowe’s, the people said, asking not to be identified as the …

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• 14 January

  Wal-Mart revamps manager roles right after pay hike

  

  Bloomberg A day after embarking on a pay hike, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is taking steps to shake up management at thousands of its stores. The world’s biggest retailer is removing about 3,500 store co-managers, a salaried role that acts as a lieutenant underneath each store manager, according to people familiar with the move. It’s also adding about 1,700 assistant store …

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• 13 January

  Iraq joins UAE in call to keep oil cuts till year-end

  

  Bloomberg Iraq joined the United Arab Emirates and Oman in calling for OPEC and allied producers to stick with their agreement to cut oil output until the end of the year, despite recent price gains. Output cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and fellow producers have contributed to stability in the oil market, and Iraq supports OPEC’s decision …

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• 13 January

  Russian visitors to GCC to surge 38% by 2020

  DUBAI / WAM The number of Russian tourists travelling to the GCC in 2020 is expected to be 38 percent higher than the arrival figures recorded for 2016, according to data published recently by Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2018), which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22 to 25. Looking at the economic drivers, the value of …

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• 13 January

  GM gives robo driver control

  

  Bloomberg Next year, General Motors Co. will no longer need an engineer in the front seat babysitting the robot brain that controls its self-driving Chevrolet Bolt. The steering wheel and pedals will be gone, giving total control to the machine. When GM starts testing its autonomous electric sedan in San Francisco ride-sharing fleets, it’ll likely be the first production-ready car …

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