January, 2020

• 1 January

  India stocks rise with 2020 recovery in sight

  

  Bloomberg Indian stocks rose on the expectation that a slowdown in economic expansion has bottomed out and growth will recover in 2020 on the back of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s planned $1.5 trillion infrastructure push. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.1% to 41,306.6 at the 3:30 pm close in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also advanced by 0.1%. Stocks ...

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• 1 January

  Chinese economy ends 2019 brighter as trade deal nears

  

  Bloomberg China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand output in December, adding to evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilising as the signing of a phase one trade deal with the US nears. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index remained at 50.2, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. The outlook for export-oriented firms brightened, with a sub-index ...

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• 1 January

  European gas, power prices fall after Russia-Ukraine deal

  

  Bloomberg European gas and power prices extended declines after a last-gasp accord between Russia and Ukraine on natural gas flows averted a winter supply crisis. The two former Soviet allies signed all agreements needed for flows to Gazprom PJSC’s main markets in the west to continue for the next five years. Steady shipments from Europe’s dominant supplier, coupled with record ...

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• 1 January

  UK government to boost pay for lowest earners from April

  

  Bloomberg The UK government will give a pay rise to the lowest earners next year, as it seeks to deliver on its election manifesto promise to raise living standards as the country leaves the European Union (EU). Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said the minimum wage will increase by 6.2% from April 1, in line with the recommendation of ...

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• 1 January

  High-grade issuers to sell $120 billion of debt in January spree

  

  Bloomberg A trade deal between the US Companies are lining up debt sales to the tune of $120 billion in January, a 9% increase from last year, according to an informal survey of dealers. Several leftovers from December — such as JD.com Inc and Reinsurance Group of America Inc — could sell debt soon after markets reopen following investor meetings ...

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• 1 January

  US home prices rise most in five months

  

  Bloomberg Home prices in 20 US cities rose at the fastest pace in five months in October, posting a third straight acceleration as real estate markets showed fresh strength at the start of the fourth quarter. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of property values advanced 2.2% from October 2018, according to data that exceeded estimates in Bloomberg survey of economists. ...

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• 1 January

  Trump says will sign trade deal on Jan 15

  

  Bloomberg US President Donald Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on January 15. “The ceremony will take place at the White House,” he said on his Twitter account, adding he will be going to Beijing where he said talks will begin on the second phase of the deal. I will be signing ...

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• 1 January

  US consumer confidence drops for fourth time

  Bloomberg US consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped for the fourth time in five months in December, as expectations for income and job-market conditions coutinued to edge down. The Conference Board’s gauge decreased to 126.5 from an upwardly revised 126.8 in November, according to data released on December 21 that missed the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The measure ...

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• 1 January

  Macron stands by pension reform despite resistance

  

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron doubled down on his contested plan to transform the country’s pension system, saying in his New Year’s address that it’s a project for “justice and social progress.” The French leader’s intransigence clashes with defiant labour unions that staged a 27th straight day of strikes to protests his plans, despite calls for a truce at Christmas ...

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• 1 January

  The 235 days that rattled China and shook the world

  

  They were 235 days that shook the world, rattled China’s regime and refuted the most pernicious wishful thinking since the appeasement of dictators collapsed eight decades ago. Nothing more momentous happened in 2019 than Hong Kong’s heroic insurrection. It began with the April 3 introduction by Beijing’s Hong Kong satraps of an extradition bill that would have facilitated the sweeping ...

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