February, 2020

• 2 February

  Apple Inc’s once-sunny China future looks hazy

  

  China was supposed to be crucial to Apple Inc.’s future. A tech-savvy audience, impressive mobile infrastructure and growing wealth had executives and investors believing the world’s most populous country would drive growth. So far, the data indicate otherwise. The Greater China region — which comprises China, Hong Kong and Taiwan — just posted yet another period of underperformance, contributing little ...

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• 2 February

  Exxon Mobil, Chevron help fuel investor revolt

  You can’t turn a supertanker quickly, as the old saying goes. Bailing out, on the other hand, takes no time at all. The last week’s double dose of weak Big Oil earnings from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. followed hard on the heels of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s debacle on January 30. Shares of both companies were down about ...

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• 2 February

  Airlines aren’t about to succumb to coronavirus

  

  Airlines are perpetually on the alert against crashes. That doesn’t mean the coronavirus epidemic will lead to any corporate disasters. The outbreak that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan could push some airlines in Asia to the wall, according to Alan Joyce, chief executive officer of Australia’s biggest carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. “A lot of airlines may not be ...

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• 2 February

  Tesla is racking up another record year ‘and another loss’

  

  Three months ago, Tesla Inc. notched up a $9 billion gain in market capitalisation in the immediate aftermath of reporting a $143 million quarterly profit. On January 29, it reaped $12 billion on $105 million. Don’t forget the $50 billion it racked up in between those dates, of course. Tesla’s market cap has more than doubled to more than $100 ...

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• 2 February

  When face masks are a 3M big seller, that’s telling

  

  3M Co.’s messy quarter does little to inspire faith in the company or the industrial economy at large. The maker of Post-it notes, Scotch tape and wound dressings announced a pair of charges – $134 million for a restructuring plan and $214 million for litigation related to PFAS chemicals – that pulled its fourth-quarter earnings per share below analysts’ estimates. ...

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• 2 February

  PBOC to supply cash to bring stability in virus-hit markets

  

  Bloomberg Chinese policymakers prepared to shore up financial markets, which are bracing for a sell-off when trading re-starts on Monday. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and other regulators announced a slew of targeted measures over the weekend aimed at calming financial markets and helping companies, banks and individuals hurt by the viral pneumonia outbreak. The central bank will supply ...

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• 2 February

  Half of banking assets in Malaysia to become Islamic in next decade

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia can expect half of its banking assets to be Islamic by 2030 as the industry’s growth outpaces conventional banking, according to a lenders’ association. Loans that comply with the religion’s ban on interest is set to increase by 10% to 15% annually over the next five years, outpacing the 5% to 7% growth seen for non-Islamic loans, said ...

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• 2 February

  SBI reports biggest ever quarterly profit

  

  Bloomberg State Bank of India (SBI) posted its biggest ever quarterly profit as it wrote back provisions on bad loans and recoveries improved. Net income rose to 55.8 billion rupees ($782 million) in the three months ended in December from 39.6 billion rupees a year earlier. That’s broadly in line with the 58.7 billion rupee average of analysts’ estimates compiled ...

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• 2 February

  ‘FX reserves enough to defend currency peg’

  

  Bloomberg Bolivia’s central bank reiterated its commitment to the nation’s currency peg and said its $6.5 billion international reserve levels are adequate, in a statement rejecting comments made by a Fitch Ratings analyst to Bloomberg News earlier this week. The nation’s foreign currency reserves “are at levels that are solid for covering internal and external payments in foreign currency under ...

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• 2 February

  Fed’s Clarida says coronavirus a ‘wild card’ for outlook

  

  Bloomberg The US central bank’s No. 2 official said it’s too early to determine whether the coronavirus outbreak in China will significantly affect the US economy, which remains in a “good place.” “It is a wild card,” said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “We’re looking into how it translates into the outlook for ...

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