January, 2020

• 13 January

  There’s an Iran strategy in here somewhere

  

  President Ronald Reagan liked to tell a joke about a hopeful little boy pawing through a big pile of horse dung under his Christmas tree, saying cheerily: “With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere.” Observers have a similar problem with President Trump’s Iran strategy. They keep looking for something solid, as Trump lurches back and ...

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• 13 January

  There’s a $40b reason to avoid Italy

  

  It has been a cold, hard winter for Italian government debt. The country has been the euro zone’s worst performer; for the first time its bonds are yielding more than their Greek equivalents with maturities longer than three years. Italy’s is the only European bond market whose yield spread has widened compared to the struggling German benchmark over the past ...

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• 13 January

  Not even Amazon or Olsen twins can save Kohl’s

  Kohl’s Corp.’s holiday season sales miss suggests even the most promising turnaround strategies won’t be enough to save department stores. Shares of Kohl’s fell as much as 9.4% in early trading last week after the company said same-store sales in the all-important November and December period declined. Kohl’s blamed the 0.2% sales drop on softness in women’s apparel, which CEO ...

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• 13 January

  Don’t let Australia’s crisis go to waste

  Australia’s bushfires have given officials plenty of cover to do what they should be doing anyway: ramp up fiscal spending. A lot hinges on whether they can get comfortable with the idea. An area larger than Ireland has been destroyed, at least 25 people are dead, 2,000 homes have been razed, and 25 million acres of forest and bush have ...

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• 13 January

  Economists have no idea what replaces free trade

  

  One of the most interesting sessions I attended at last week’s American Economic Association meeting was a panel titled “Making global markets work for American workers.” The discussion, featuring economists Dani Rodrik, Kimberly Clausing and Josh Bivens, laid out the problems with free trade, the shortcomings of US trade policy during the past few decades and some suggestions for improvement. ...

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• 13 January

  Bond traders learn Taco Bell isn’t a bellwether

  

  Every once in a while, a single anecdotal data point captures the hearts and minds of bond traders. Often, it confirms their beliefs about the direction of the economy. It seems one such data point was a report this week that Taco Bell, the fast-food chain that sells double-stacked tacos for $1, would soon be offering a $100,000 salary for ...

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• 13 January

  Boeing staff emails show missteps of Max crisis response

  

  And you thought Boeing Co. couldn’t possibly have another “what were they thinking” 737 Max moment. Last week, the airplane maker released a stunning batch of internal messages that paint a disturbing picture of employees’ efforts to avoid more rigorous scrutiny of the troubled Max and ensure only minimal training was required for pilots. The employees derided certain airline customers, ...

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• 13 January

  US futures gain, Europe shares drift; bonds slip

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures advanced with Asian shares on Monday while Europe stocks fluctuated as investors showed mild optimism at the start of a busy week set to be dominated by the beginning of earnings season and the signing of a partial China trade deal. Bonds, the yen and gold retreated. Contracts on the S&P 500 signalled a rebound from ...

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• 13 January

  Philippine stocks start 2020 as most unloved among its Asian peers

  

  Bloomberg When it comes to Philippine stocks, 2020 so far isn’t looking better than 2019. Barely two weeks into the new year, and the market is the worst performer among major Asian peers, with overseas fund withdrawals reminiscent of January 2008. Back then, fears of a US recession roiled global shares and pummeled Manila into a bear market. Last year, ...

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• 13 January

  Korea tourism stocks surge on bets for Chinese tourists

  Bloomberg The years-long disputes between China and South Korea are getting resolved, and analysts at Nomura Holdings Inc expect Chinese tourists to return en masse to the Korean nation. That’s a boon for shares of cosmetics producers and travel-related companies. Amorepacific Corp, the maker of beauty products that are popular souvenirs among Chinese women, climbed as much as 6.6% on ...

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