January, 2020

• 7 January

  Jakarta will not negotiate sovereignty in S China Sea: Jokowi

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia will not compromise on its sovereignty in the South China Sea amid the recent sighting of Chinese fishing vessels near the Natuna Islands, which lie between Malaysia and Borneo, President Joko Widodo said. Speaking at a plenary cabinet session in Jakarta, Jokowi, as Widodo is known, said the increased presence of Chinese ships in the disputed waters since ...

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• 7 January

  Trump wavers over impeachment trial

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump is wavering over how he wants his impeachment trial in the Senate to unfold, people familiar with his thinking said, but an offer by his former top national security aide to testify challenged Republican plans for a quick proceeding. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave no indication that John Bolton’s willingness to testify was putting pressure ...

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• 7 January

  Sebastian Kurz sworn in as Austrian chancellor

  

  Bloomberg Sebastian Kurz was sworn in as Austria’s chancellor by President Alexander Van der Bellen, heading a new alliance of conservatives and environmentalists that now has to figure out how to fund its ambitious climate goals. Kurz, 33, is breaking new ground in Europe by forging a coalition between his People’s Party and the Greens. Their programme combines Kurz’s trademark ...

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• 7 January

  Fed signals high bar for rate move amid Iran tensions

  

  Bloomberg The risk of a US-Iran conflict is bringing fresh focus to the question of what Jerome Powell meant when he said it will take a “material” change in the outlook for the Federal Reserve to raise or lower interest rates. The answer so far — as investors wait to see how Tehran responds to the US killing of its ...

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• 7 January

  UBS to cut 500 jobs in wealth unit revamp

  

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG expects to cut as many as 500 private banking jobs as the lender moves forward with a wealth management overhaul aimed at strengthening regional units and speeding up decision making. As part of the revamp, UBS will split up the private banking business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, giving Caroline Kuhnert responsibility for central ...

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• 7 January

  Kotak halts bid for shadow bank Altico

  

  Bloomberg The race to find a rescuer for a struggling Indian shadow bank at the center of an industry crisis has narrowed. Altico Capital India Ltd is one of the latest caught up in the nation’s shadow banking crisis that started in 2018, and had been courting suitors. One of them, Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, won’t make a binding bid ...

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• 7 January

  S’pore sees ‘strong interest’ for digital banking license

  

  Bloomberg Singapore has received “strong interest” in its effort to open up the banking industry to fresh competition after 21 groups made bids for digital licenses, the financial regulator said. A “diverse group” lodged applications, including e-commerce, technology and tele communications companies, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Tuesday, without identifying the parties. Seven were for digital full-bank ...

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• 7 January

  Inflation in China may hit 5% in Jan on oil spike: Citi

  Bloomberg China’s surging consumer inflation will rise further on the current oil spike, but the jump won’t last long and probably won’t affect the pace of monetary easing in 2020, according to Citigroup Inc. Consumer inflation in China will hit 5% in January as higher oil prices combined with a low base from 2019 drive up the cost of vehicle ...

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• 7 January

  HK dollar is best Asia carry trade on tight liquidity

  

  Bloomberg Asia’s best carry trade is suddenly in Hong Kong, where the local dollar has strengthened to an almost three-year high. Elevated local rates are increasing the appeal of owning the city’s currency, after years of depreciation wagers. Selling the greenback and using the proceeds to buy Hong Kong dollars has delivered Asia’s highest Sharpe ratio — a measure of ...

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• 7 January

  Tesla opens Chinese plant as era of real competition begins

  

  Bloomberg Tesla Inc kicked off production in China, marking a major step in Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s global push for electric-vehicle domination and heralding what could be the dawn of real competition in the world’s largest EV market. Musk presided over a ceremony on Tuesday at a new multibillion-dollar plant near Shanghai — its first outside the US — ...

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