January, 2020

• 15 January

  Officials at ECB see euro-area economy stabilising this year

  

  Bloomberg The euro-area economy is starting to regain its footing, two European Central Bank officials said, suggesting monetary policy will stay on hold for now. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told bankers in Paris that recessions in the US or Europe can practically be excluded this year. Speaking earlier in Frankfurt, Executive Board member Yves Mersch said ...

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• 15 January

  Australian dollar’s trade war pain may worsen after deal

  

  Bloomberg In the two years since the US-China trade war erupted, Australia’s dollar has weakened around 10%. It may drop even further when the dispute is resolved. The Aussie could slide more than 5% to 65 US cents this year, according to QIC Ltd and Capital Economics. If Beijing buys more American goods at the expense of Australian products as ...

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• 15 January

  Citigroup’s head of Emea junk trading quits bank

  Bloomberg Paras Shah, Citigroup Inc’s head of high-yield credit trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and one of its highest-profile traders, has left the bank, according to people familiar with the matter. The 31-year-old departed this month, according to some of the people who aren’t authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be named. Shah worked at ...

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• 15 January

  The business cycle of the US ain’t dead yet

  

  “It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future” —Statement often attributed to Yankees baseball star Yogi Berra We are at that time of year when economic columnists (and all manner of other commentators, too) are expected to make wise and insightful judgments about the next 12 months. You should be wary of these predictions, which are highly ritualistic and ...

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• 15 January

  Internet must hide data, not share it

  

  As a web developer, I remembered when I read Alistair Barr’s account of his attempt to delete his user data, under the auspices of California’s new Consumer Privacy Act. The process is so cumbersome — it takes more than two hours and requires uploading selfies and a photo ID — that it ends up having the opposite of the intended ...

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• 15 January

  UK carmaker Aston Martin isn’t a patch on Ferrari

  Barely a year has passed since Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc listed shares in London and persuaded investors it deserved a premium valuation similar to that of Ferrari NV. The luxury carmaker’s preliminary yearly results were a reminder that its management badly misjudged both the strength of the brand and the resilience of its balance sheet. In reality Aston ...

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• 15 January

  The not-so-irreversible Renault-Nissan allliance

  Renault SA pledged back in February to make its 20-year-old Alliance with Nissan Motor Co. “irreversible,” after the shocking arrest of the French carmaker’s boss Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial misconduct exposed deep rifts on both sides. That goal now looks further away than ever, with Ghosn’s dramatic escape to Lebanon and his repeated denials of the charges reopening ...

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• 15 January

  India’s prime minister is losing his political mojo

  

  For the first time in years, the government of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is playing defense. Protests have sprung up across the country against an amendment to India’s laws — which came into effect— that makes it easier for members of some religions to become citizens of India. The government claims this is simply an attempt to protect religious ...

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• 15 January

  No one gets rich by cutting his personal spending

  

  Managing your financial life requires following three rules: No. 1. Spend less than you earn; No. 2. Prioritise investing for your future; No. 3. Figure out what matters and spend accordingly. If you follow these simple rules, you can ignore the rest of this column. Heck, follow just the first one and you can pretty much ignore everything else. The ...

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• 15 January

  London wants to have its Brexit cake and eat it too

  

  The Bank of England’s outgoing boss, Mark Carney, has long come under fire from pro-Brexit politicians for his grim predictions for the British economy outside the European Union, including the possibility of a recession. It got to the point that it looked like one of the biggest tasks for his successor, Andrew Bailey, would be to un-ruffle feathers. Yet Carney ...

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