July, 2017

• 19 July

  Critics of economics miss what it gets right

  

  At this point, blanket critiques of the economics (or “econ”)discipline have been standardized to the point where it’s pretty easy to predict how they’ll proceed. Economists will be castigated for their failure to foresee the Great Recession. Some unrealistic assumptions in mainstream macroeconomic models will be mentioned. Economists will be cast as priests of free-market ideology, whose shortcomings will be …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Here’s a better use of British Land’s cash. Do nothing

  

  Britain’s commercial property market is at the epicenter of the Brexit tremor. One of the industry’s titans, British Land Co., is fed up with investors’ reluctance to buy its shares. The company plans to buy back as much as 300 million pounds ($390 million) of its own stock, about 5 percent of its equity value. It’s a bet that the …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  An EU rubber-boat ban won’t stop migrants

  

  If it looks as though Europe is clutching at straws to stop hundreds, sometimes thousands, of migrants from crossing the Mediterranean into Italy every day, that’s exactly what’s happening. On Monday, the European Union’s foreign ministers approved restrictions on the supply of inflatable boats and outboard motors to Libya. The boats that bring the migrants, mostly Africans these days, have …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  China ‘overrated’ bonds may challenge foreign rating firms

  

  Bloomberg China has finally opened up its credit-rating market. But foreign credit assessors aren’t likely to waltz in, local money managers say. The challenge for rating companies, which generally charge issuers for scoring them, will be to win business from borrowers used to getting high grades from local assessors. That’s key after Sunday, which marked the day by which China …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Earnings boost stocks, euro retreats as ECB meets

  

  Bloomberg Stocks rose Wednesday on earnings strength, with the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index adding to Tuesday’s record highs. The euro retraced some recent gains as European policy makers gathered in Frankfurt before Thursday’s rate decision. Oil fluctuated. It was a day of reversing trends in Europe, with the common currency coming off the highest close since August …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Credit Suisse hiring private bankers for Saudi Arabia push

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is planning to hire more relationship managers in Saudi Arabia, joining rivals including Deutsche Bank AG in designating the country as a priority for their wealth management business. The recruitment drive comes after the Zurich-based bank established a platform allowing it to offer private banking services and products in the country, according to an emailed …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Lloyds seeks new London office in $130mn cost push

  

  Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc is in talks to lease a new London office with room for about 1,000 workers in an effort to consolidate its locations in the capital and help save 100 million pounds ($130 million), two people familiar with the plan said. The UK bank is in discussions with law firm CMS Cameron McKenna LLP to lease …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Handelsbanken CEO targets UK growth

  

  Bloomberg One of Sweden’s biggest banks is targeting growth in the UK as uncertainty surrounding the country’s future amid Brexit talks proves no deterrent at all. The chief executive officer of Svenska Handelsbanken AB, Anders Bouvin, told Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua he is “very firmly committed” to the U.K. market. Management will probably continue to add branches, though the CEO …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Australia’s big four banks rally on ‘benign’ new capital requirements

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s big four banks rallied in Sydney trading as new capital requirements turned out to be less onerous than expected and the financial regulator signaled they may not get any higher. To ensure they are ‘unquestionably strong,’ Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. will need Tier-1 …

  Read More »
• 19 July

  Goldman, BofA reverse roles as core units disappointment

  

  Bloomberg When Bank of America Corp. (BoFA) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted earnings, one had record income from lending while the other had better-than-expected trading. The surprise is which was which. Goldman Sachs, the vaunted trading house, pointed to growth in its effort to lend to wealthy people as a bright spot. Bank of America, with 4,500 branches across …

  Read More »