January, 2020

• 26 January

  Salvini is masterminding his comeback

  

  Bloomberg Cultivating an image of just another average guy has served Matteo Salvini well, turning the leader of what used to be a fringe nationalist party into Italy’s most prominent politician, the chief opponent of immigrants and Brussels interference. Mobbed wherever he goes, few dispute he will one day become the country’s PM. That, though, is for public consumption and ...

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• 26 January

  HK police fire tear gas to disperse protesters

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters who gathered in the crowded shopping hub of Mong Kok at the site of a 2016 protest that marked a violent turn by the city’s pro-democracy movement. Police said in a statement a large crowd had formed and “some rioters blocked roads with miscellaneous objects and trash,” ...

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• 26 January

  Kim’s aunt makes her first public appearance in 6 years

  Bloomberg North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, appeared in state media on Sunday, the first time she has been seen in public since her husband Jang Song Thaek was executed in 2013. The 73-year-old sat two seats away from her nephew, according to a photo by Korean Central News Agency. The leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, and ...

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• 26 January

  Fed seen holding rates steady, ending bill purchases by June

  

  Bloomberg Federal Reserve policy makers will keep interest rates on hold this year and next, and will wind up their efforts to boost excess bank reserves by June, economists said in a Bloomberg survey. In the January 21-23 poll, the mean forecast from 28 respondents predicted no move in the federal funds rate until at least 2022, the same as ...

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• 26 January

  Nordic Banks heading into the darkest phase of negative rate cycle

  

  Bloomberg If you want to know what long-term negative interest rates are doing to banks, watch Denmark in the coming months. Danes have lived with subzero rates longer than anyone else, after the central bank resorted to the policy in 2012 to defend its currency peg. But according to the country’s financial watchdog, it’s only now that the real cost ...

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• 26 January

  SBI chief says Yes Bank won’t be allowed to fail

  

  Bloomberg The head of India’s biggest lender said he’s certain “some solutions will emerge” to steady Yes Bank Ltd, which has been on a prolonged quest to raise new capital. “Yes Bank is a significant player in the market with an almost $40 billion balance sheet,” State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar told Bloomberg Television in Davos. “I ...

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• 26 January

  India needs foreign capital to fund record borrowing: IDFC

  

  Bloomberg A bond fund manager who correctly predicted that India’s central bank would introduce a US Federal Reserve style Operation Twist, now says that the nation needs more foreign capital to fund its record borrowing. India’s borrowing may rise to 7.6 trillion rupees ($107 billion) for the fiscal year starting from April 1, according to Suyash Choudhary, head of fixed ...

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• 26 January

  ECB’s newest stimulus for Germany is love bombing by chief

  

  Bloomberg Ever since she moved to Frankfurt as European Central Bank (ECB) president three months ago, Christine Lagarde has been working hard to charm the locals. The institution’s new chief has sought to turn a new leaf with Germany after years of cooler relations under her predecessor, Mario Draghi. His stimulus policies, including negative interest rates that erased returns on ...

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• 26 January

  Zimbabwe takes action on firm for illicit FX activity

  Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has frozen the bank account of a Chinese company that the central bank alleges has been manipulating the foreign exchange market. The bank escalated the matter to the Financial Intelligence Unit for investigation and it has so far identified one company — China Nanchang — “which has used its bank account to inject millions ...

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• 26 January

  China tour ban deals blow to Japan’s goal of 40mn visitors

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s goal of attracting 40 million visitors this year may already be in danger, following China’s decision to ban tour groups going overseas to help contain the impact of the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus. Chinese tourists made up almost a third of all arrivals to Japan in 2019, in a year that saw visitor growth impacted by a diplomatic ...

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