December, 2019

• 24 December

  China widens economic policy blitz with cash injection move

  

  Bloomberg The Chinese government is trying to set the economy up for a stronger start to 2020, with a multi-pronged policy push ranging from easier monetary settings to freer trade. The latest pledge came when Premier Li Keqiang signalled that further cuts in the amount of cash that banks have to park as reserves will be forthcoming. In theory, that ...

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• 24 December

  Thailand narrows CPI target as price growth is subdued

  

  Bloomberg Thailand will narrow its inflation target from next year as consumer-price growth remains subdued in the Southeast Asian nation. The central bank’s new goal is to keep annual headline inflation within a 1%-3% range, compared with 1%-4% previously, Narumon Pinyosinwat, a government spokeswoman, said on Tuesday in Bangkok following a cabinet meeting that approved the change. Speaking to reporters ...

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• 24 December

  SEC investigating BMW over US sales reporting practices

  

  Bloomberg BMW AG is being scrutinised by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its sales reporting practices, months after the regulator extracted a penalty from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV over similar issues. The German automaker has been contacted by the SEC and will cooperate fully with its investigation, Phil DiIanni, a spokesman, said by phone. The agency doesn’t ...

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• 24 December

  Viacom board accused of selling out investors in CBS merger

  

  Bloomberg Media mogul Shari Redstone and other Viacom Inc directors were accused by a pension fund of selling out the entertainment company’s shareholders by ramming through an $11.7 billion merger with CBS Corp. Redstone, who also is CBS’s controlling shareholder, and her colleagues on Viacom’s board “expropriated potentially billions of dollars from Viacom’s minority stockholders” by agreeing to a deal ...

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• 24 December

  Commercial property markets in London all set for revival in 2020

  

  Bloomberg London commercial real estate deals look set to pick up in 2020, with the political uncertainty that has plagued the market for more than three years finally starting to lift. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a commanding majority in Parliament after his Conservative Party’s election triumph, allowing him to push through his Brexit deal and make good on ...

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• 24 December

  It’s Romney’s moment for a profile in courage

  

  As we finish this momentous week of impeachment, and so many days of listening to indignant, Constitution-spouting Republicans and Democrats, an exhausted America could be forgiven for switching the dial, at least briefly, to sports-talk radio. America seemed stranded at week’s end between House and Senate, between competing versions of outrage, and between the trench warfare at one end of ...

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• 24 December

  China’s got a chip on its shoulder

  

  From sanctions to export restrictions, the rest of the world views China’s chip champions like Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. with suspicion and skepticism. But inside the country, all investors see is a $300 billion-a-year golden opportunity. One could almost say that the Chinese have a chip on the shoulder by rewarding semiconductor startups with such a vengeance. Companies ...

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• 24 December

  Amazon throws its weight around in FedEx dispute

  You almost have to wonder if Amazon.com Inc. is baiting antitrust regulators. The e-commerce giant reportedly sent a message to third-party sellers instructing them to stop using FedEx Corp.’s ground-delivery network for Prime shipments. While Amazon earlier this year abandoned FedEx as a carrier for its own packages in the US, third-party merchants had still been able to work with ...

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• 24 December

  Flight shame is real but it’s not always effective

  The Swedish word flygskam or its German version, Flugscham, meaning “flight shame,” is one of the words of 2019. While it’s not easy to separate its effect on airlines’ business from other factors, the countries where people are most worried about climate change do appear to be seeing drops in avoidable air traffic. In November, the number of people taking ...

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• 24 December

  Central banks want new powers, but at what cost?

  

  Central bankers deserve credit for saving the economy from the financial crisis. They won the battle, but not the war. So now they are asking for new powers to fix the side effects of a decade of ultra-low low and even negative interest rates. The price may be a Faustian bargain with governments. The Federal Reserve had room in 2007 ...

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