January, 2020

• 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 ...

  Read More »
• 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 — ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Japanese prosecutors obtain arrest warrant against Carole Ghosn

  

  Bloomberg Japanese prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, the wife of Carlos Ghosn, the latest move by the country to contain the fallout from the former auto executive’s daring escape from trial a week ago. Prosecutors issued a statement announcing the warrant on Tuesday. The action means Carole, who is now in Lebanon with Ghosn, could be ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Duterte offers new deals to water providers

  

  Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is giving Manila water providers the option of accepting new contracts written by the government — or see the state take over in areas where they operate. Duterte decided to offer new agreements to Manila Water Co and Maynilad Water Services Inc after being presented with legal options on the water contracts at a Monday ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  China foreign exchange reserves rise on weak dollar

  Bloomberg The value of China’s foreign-currency holdings edged up in December due to valuation effects and a possible easing of capital outflows due to a stronger yuan. Reserves climbed to $3.1079 trillion from $3.0956 trillion in November,People’s Bank of China said. The reading is slightly lower than median estimate of $3.11 trillion in a Bloomberg survey. “Capital outflow pressures may ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Samsung looks beyond AI with artificial humans

  

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co’s experimental research arm has brought to CES 2020 a demonstration of what it calls the world’s first artificial human, a virtual simulation of a human intelligence that learns, converses and sympathizes like a regular person. Each simulated human — which would exist only on screens, not in the real world — would be called NEON, and ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  HK landlords face tough year amid protests

  

  Bloomberg Landlords in Hong Kong, a city with some of the highest commercial rents in the world, are staring down the barrel of a tough year. Anti-government protests that started in mid-2019 have taken their toll on shop and office owners. Large-scale protests in popular shopping districts and a slump in tourists have made it increasingly difficult for retailers. According ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Taiwan 5G auction shows carriers are willing to pay big

  Bloomberg Bids in Taiwan’s auction of fifth-generation networking airwaves have exceeded NT$100 billion ($3.3 billion), a sign of robust demand as carriers race to deploy new wireless networks for applications including smart manufacturing and autonomous cars. Chunghwa Telecom Co, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co, Taiwan Mobile Co and two other rivals are bidding for preliminary licenses to the spectrum they need ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Trump’s Huawei blacklisting is failing to stop its growth

  

  Bloomberg In the days after the US government said it would bar Huawei Technologies Co from buying vital American components, the Chinese company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, pulled together an emergency meeting of his top lieutenants at headquarters in Shenzhen. In a large conference room, the billionaire asked for a report from the head of each business unit on how they ...

  Read More »
• 7 January

  Javid sets March 11 date for UK budget to deliver on vows

  

  Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid promised to unleash “a decade of renewal” when he outlines his budget on March 11 as he seeks to ready the UK for its departure from the European Union. Javid’s office said he will make good on pledges to cut taxes and spread opportunity as he announced the date for the statement, postponed ...

  Read More »