November, 2017

• 7 November

  Polish PM, Kaczynski discuss cabinet revamp

  Bloomberg Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, seeking to move past reports that she may soon be dismissed, met ruling-party leader and potential successor Jaroslaw Kaczynski to discuss plans for a ministerial shakeup in her cabinet. The changes envisage reorganization of some ministries and personnel changes, government spokesman Rafal Bochenek told PAP news agency after the late on Monday meeting. The …

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• 7 November

  Mugabe’s wife rises to pinnacle of power in Zimbabwe

  

  Bloomberg Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe fired a vice president who his wife Grace accused of plotting against her husband for the second time in three years, highlighting the first lady’s rise to the pinnacle of power in the southern African nation. The dramatic dismissal of Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday came a day after Grace Mugabe publicly accused the former spy …

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• 7 November

  Welcome to the Powell Fed

  

  It will be Powell’s Fed. Assuming he’s confirmed by the Senate, Jerome (‘Jay’) Powell will become the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in early 2018. Almost by definition, he instantly becomes the most important economic policy-maker in the world. But who is he? Outside economic circles, hardly anyone knows. So let’s catch up. Powell would be the first …

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• 7 November

  DBS embracing technology can become Singapore’s ant financial

  

  Forget the lending book. Dismiss the wealth-management aspirations. It’s DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s embrace of technology that could be the next big driver of shareholder returns at Southeast Asia’s biggest lender. DBS’s announcement that it now has the world’s largest application programming interface platform for banking, with users including McDonald Corp., may appear at first like marketing gimmickry. Being able …

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• 7 November

  Focus on next shooting spree, not the last one

  

  There are many unanswered questions about the man who shot and killed at least 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday. In the days ahead, more facts will emerge. But the most common question — could anything have been done to stop him? — will also be the most difficult to answer, the most hotly debated, …

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• 7 November

  Asia can make TPP work without US

  Donald Trump’s grand tour of Asia will attract a lot of attention this week, but in one respect the fuss will be misleading. The president will be no more than a bystander when the region’s leaders make a very big decision — whether to go ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a deal that the US designed and subsequently abandoned. …

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• 7 November

  Modi’s big economic gamble in tatters as cash remains king

  

  Corruption, black money, terrorism, fake currency — Prime Minister Narendra Modi resolved to eliminate all in one stroke when he announced India’s biggest-ever cash ban on November 8 last year. However, the short term costs of his move are outweighing the benefits. He invalidated 86 percent of currency in circulation, saying the move was essential to combat graft and terrorism, …

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• 7 November

  Bitcoin’s contentious bid for legitimacy

  

  Instead of bringing clarity, an impressive price surge last week accentuated the differences within the financial industry about the future of the bitcoins. Opinions range from those asserting that we are witnessing the birth and maturation of a new global currency to those who argue that the phenomenon is a ‘fraud,’ with a large middle either reserving judgment or arguing …

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• 7 November

  Party on! The central bank put isn’t going away

  

  Investors have heard repeatedly in recent weeks that the period of easing by the world’s major central banks is about over. According to this view, interest-rate hikes that the Federal Reserve has already implemented will be followed by the end of bond purchases by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, and by multiple rate increases by the …

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• 7 November

  US stocks rise, dollar gains, Treasury yields nudge higher

  

  Bloomberg US stocks gained while the dollar strengthened and Treasury yields nudged higher as President Donald Trump called on North Korea to “make a deal” on its missile and nuclear programme. European stocks fluctuated near a two-year peak and Asian markets hit records. The S&P 500 Index opened higher along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 Stock …

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