January, 2020

• 27 January

  Credit Suisse orders HK staff  to work from home

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group SA has told its staff in Hong Kong not to come into the office for at least 14 days if they’ve just visited mainland China, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. Employees who’ve visited the mainland in the past two weeks should discuss with their division manager and HR before returning to work after ...

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• 27 January

  Thai baht is brought back to earth after winning year in Asia

  

  Bloomberg The Thai baht has gone from being Asia’s top-performing currency in 2019 to dead last in January. Finishing in the middle of the pack may be the best that can be expected this year as the central bank and a host of other forces line up against it. The currency’s 9% surge in the 12 months through December was ...

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• 27 January

  Changing weather to push Rwanda inflation: Central bank

  Bloomberg Changing weather patterns are pushing up food prices and will drive inflation in Rwanda for the first few months of this year, central bank Governor John Rwangombwa said. Unexpectedly heavy rains in the second half of 2019 caused some crop damage and food inflation reached 23.8% in December, the highest in almost three years. “Because of the bad rains ...

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• 27 January

  Air India’s bidders must absorb $3.3b debt to buy carrier

  

  Bloomberg India further reduced — to $3.3 billion — the amount of debt bidders for Air India Ltd will need to absorb and eased some eligibility requirements, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries once again to sell the national carrier. Expressions of interest are invited by March 17, according to preliminary terms published on Monday. The entire company will be ...

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• 27 January

  Japanese retailers take hit from virus at home, abroad

  

  Bloomberg For already-suffering Japanese retailers, the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus could further dent business by keeping away one of their few growing groups of patrons: Chinese shoppers. China’s efforts to control the coronavirus have led to a ban on all tour groups heading overseas, and shut down transportation in multiple large Chinese cities. Limiting the movement of would-be Chinese customers ...

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• 27 January

  Steinhoff European unit attracting buyout firms

  

  Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s European retail unit, which runs the Pepco and Poundland discount chains, is attracting interest from buyout firms, people with knowledge of the matter said. Advent International and Partners Group Holding AG are among private equity firms considering bids for Pepco Group, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. ...

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• 27 January

  Walmart boosts starting hourly pay to $12 for staff in test

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc is testing out a higher minimum starting wage for certain jobs in hundreds of stores as part of a broader overhaul of roles and responsibilities across its massive US workforce. In the 500 or so stores that have introduced the retailer’s new operating model, dubbed “Great Workplace,” some associates in the fresh, front-end and replenishment areas will ...

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• 26 January

  UAE offers AED14.8 billion in grants in nine months of 2019

  

  Abu Dhabi / WAM The value of grants provided by the UAE in the first nine months of 2019 amounted to AED14.8 billion, a growth of 8 percent from AED13.7 billion in the same period of 2018, according to figures released by the Ministry of Finance. The total value of registered grants provided by the country during that period accounts ...

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• 26 January

  Emerging markets on edge as virus spreads from China

  

  Bloomberg The rapid spread of a deadly virus from China will be top of emerging-market investors’ minds as they ponder its impact on the global economy. Concern that the outbreak will develop into something akin to the Sars pandemic of 2003 halted a seven-week rally in developing-nation stocks, currencies and bonds in the five days through Friday. The yuan underperformed ...

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• 26 January

  No case of coronavirus in UAE, says ministry

  ABU DHABI / WAM UAE Minister of Health Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed Al Owais has stressed that no case of coronavirus infection was found in the UAE and that all necessary precautions have been taken to protect the country from the disease. The minister made the statement during a meeting of the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management team, which ...

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