February, 2020

• 26 February

  Thailand is giving investors a reason to cut and run

  

  A decision by Thailand’s constitutional court to ban the second-largest opposition party should be a boost for Prayuth Chan-Ocha, junta leader turned elected prime minister. Future Forward’s leaders were among his highest-profile critics. Yet the long sought-after victory looks Pyrrhic. The former general’s problems have been piling up. Thailand’s flatlining economy, already suffering from the worst drought in decades, is ...

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• 26 February

  Germany fears that the center will not hold

  

  It’s long been obvious that one of Germany’s formerly grand centrist parties, the left-leaning SPD, is in decline. But another and even grander centrist bloc, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel, had hopes of avoiding that fate, by defending the hallowed middle ground in politics. Suddenly, though, Germany is having a full-bore political crisis of centrism. Since ...

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• 26 February

  Stocks slump, US futures fluctuate; gold advances

  

  Bloomberg Stocks dropped globally and US index futures fluctuated on Wednesday as investors fretted fresh evidence of the widening coronavirus outbreak. Gold advanced and Treasuries were steady. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell for a fifth straight session, suffering its longest losing streak since July, as companies including Diageo Plc and Danone SA warned the virus outbreak will hit their ...

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• 26 February

  Thai stocks fall as more virus cases spur outbreak fear

  

  Bloomberg Thailand confirmed three more novel coronavirus cases, taking the country’s total to 40, and said it will step up efforts to contain the disease. The stock market slumped the most since 2014. The new cases are in one family and include two people who returned from Hokkaido in Japan and are thought to have contracted the illness there, Permanent ...

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• 26 February

  China’s most speculative stocks sink from 4-year high

  Bloomberg China’s tech-heavy ChiNext Index saw losses accelerate on Wednesday in another volatile session for mainland stocks. The index declined as much as 5%, after closing February 25 at the highest level since July 2016. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.8% to close below the key 3,000 point level, joining a global rout. Volume was about 70% higher than the 30-day ...

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• 26 February

  It’s too soon to speculate on virus spillover: Fed’s Clarida

  

  Bloomberg It is “still too soon” to say whether the coronavirus outbreak will cause a material change in the US outlook, said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, signalling officials won’t be rushed to judgment on the need to cut interest rates. “Monetary policy is in a good place and should continue to support sustained growth, a strong labour market, ...

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• 26 February

  Pandemic scenario may mean revisiting ECB’s maxed-out tools

  

  Bloomberg If the coronavirus outbreak morphs into a regional economic crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) isn’t yet poised to rush to the rescue. With interest rates deep below zero and the latest batch of asset purchases still ongoing, room for additional monetary support is severely limited. For policy makers in Frankfurt, that makes their case for governments such as ...

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• 26 February

  Banks rethink operations to cope with coronavirus in Asia

  

  Bloomberg Global banks including UBS Group AG and Bank of America Corp are broadening their contingency plans across Asia to ensure they can keep trading and other operations running as the spread of the coronavirus accelerates outside China. Credit Suisse Group AG is among lenders starting to implement alternative work arrangements in South Korea, adding Asia’s fourth-largest economy to the ...

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• 26 February

  China’s yuan proves resilient as global sell-off slams peers

  

  Bloomberg China’s currency is showing strength against peers, despite the country being most affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic. The yuan is approaching its strongest level since August versus a basket of 24 exchange rates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Most Asian peers have slumped against the currency in the past five trading days, with the Korean won and ...

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• 26 February

  Metro Bank to cut costs to move past difficult year

  Bloomberg Metro Bank Plc plans to cut costs and sell assets to help the struggling lender recover from an accounting scandal that led to heavy losses and the resignation of the firm’s previous boss. The bank reported a pretax loss of 130.8 million pounds ($170 million) for the year after it scrapped technology projects and unveiled plans to move back-office ...

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