February, 2020

• 4 February

  India’s plan to open up bond access gets lukewarm response

  Bloomberg India is looking to overseas funds to rescue its battered bond market, but relief may be slow to come. A move to allow global funds to buy more government and corporate debt is unlikely to reverse sentiment hurt by record bond sales and shrinking returns, investors say. “High bond supply means potential pressure on bond prices, so easier access ...

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• 4 February

  Kim’s next submarine may make N-talks even harder

  

  Bloomberg Kim Jong-un has spent much of his time as North Korea’s leader developing bigger and more advanced nuclear weapons. This year, he may try to make them harder to find by putting them under the sea. Recent North Korean reports touting a new submarine and its test of a ballistic missile designed to be launched from one have fuelled ...

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• 4 February

  China’s coronavirus death toll tops 425

  

  Bloomberg The US said it’s preparing for a possible pandemic and Hong Kong closed more checkpoints with mainland China, as the death toll from the coronavirus rose to at least 425. As Beijing tries to contain the damage from the worsening crisis, officials are evaluating whether the target for economic growth this year should be softened. China is hoping the ...

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• 4 February

  Bulgaria president warns of crisis amid rift with PM

  

  Bloomberg Bulgaria’s president deepened his rift with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s government, saying it had lost his trust and that the country was spiraling into a “sharp crisis” under its rule. The comment from Rumen Radev escalates a confrontation with Borissov’s cabinet, which the president says has failed to fight graft. Bulgaria has been under scrutiny from the European Union ...

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• 4 February

  UN shifts tone on ‘wish to bolster’ Libya truce

  

  Bloomberg Libya’s warring rivals have shown a “genuine willingness” to transform the current truce into a more lasting one, a United Nations envoy said as a new round of talks got underway, in a distinct shift of tone from just five days ago. “The two sides expressed their approval of the need to transform the truce into a permanent cease-fire ...

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• 4 February

  Impeachment vote dilemma traps Senate moderates

  

  Bloomberg The biggest mystery left in Donald Trump’s inevitable impeachment acquittal is whether any Democrats will join Senate Republicans to give him a bipartisan vote to clear him of the House’s charges. Democratic senators who represent Trump-leaning states have to decide whether they will buck their party on what could be the most important vote before the November elections and ...

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• 4 February

  South African court orders Zuma’s arrest

  Bloomberg A South African court ordered the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma after he failed to show up for his corruption trial, signalling a more aggressive approach by the authorities to tackle corruption. The rand strengthened. Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to address graft when he took over as president in February 2018, but to date there have been no high-profile ...

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• 4 February

  Equities rally globally after halt in Chinese share sell-off

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures jumped with European stocks on Tuesday after a sell-off in Chinese shares ended and as investors weighed the latest efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus. Commodities rallied, from crude oil to coffee. Contracts on the three main US stock indexes each advanced more than 1%, though Las Vegas Sands Corp, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts ...

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• 4 February

  Pound gains as BOE rate-cut bets fade on UK construction data

  

  Bloomberg The pound erased losses after traders pushed back bets for a Bank of England (BOE) interest-rate cut to next year following better-than-expected UK construction data. Money markets now see a 25-basis-point reduction by the BOE in January 2021, compared with bets on February 3 for easing in November. That led sterling to rebound after it earlier dropped to its ...

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• 4 February

  Biggest fortunes tied to China stocks cut $10.4bn in a day

  Bloomberg The spread of the coronavirus to China’s stock market erased more than $10 billion from the collective net worth of the richest 15 people whose companies trade on the mainland. Midea Group founder He Xiangjian lost $1.8 billion, the most among that group, as shares of the appliance manufacturer tumbled 8.9%. He was followed by Zhang Fan, whose fortune ...

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