December, 2019

• 29 December

  Deflating a bubble before it busts would be huge

  Economists may be finally closing in on the reason for asset bubbles. How to pop them before they grow too large, however, is a much harder problem. The study of bubbles has steadily gathered urgency during the past four decades as crashes became more spectacular and more damaging. The stock crash of 1987 was a wake-up call for those who ...

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• 29 December

  Worst case for climate change actually doesn’t look realistic

  

  In recent years, much of the commentary about climate change has gone from sternly serious to wildly despairing. A new report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that the effects of climate change are accelerating and that the world has barely more than a decade to make deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and limit ...

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• 29 December

  Banks are impossible for us to understand

  

  A simple lesson we should have learned from the financial crisis is that complexity begets abuse, and undermines stability. Yet the key measure we use to determine banks’ health is so fiendishly difficult to understand that outsiders have no choice but to accept what we’re told by the lender. That’s the conclusion of a broad UK government review of the ...

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• 29 December

  Tesla is decade’s best-performing auto company

  

  Among the biggest surprises of the past decade was the initial public offering of the Palo Alto company that outperformed every automaker from Detroit to Toyota City to Wolfsburg and is now the undisputed champion of total return, sales growth and long-term shareholder value. That would be 10-year-old Tesla and its zero-emission, battery electric Model S, X and 3 vehicles. ...

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• 29 December

  China’s economy picked up in Dec, early indicators show

  

  Bloomberg China’s economic performance improved in December for the first time in eight months, according to a group of earliest-available indicators compiled by Bloomberg. Production in the world’s second-largest economy accelerated as domestic demand stabilised, and market sentiment turned around on the prospect of a near-term trade deal with the US. The reading is the latest sign that Chinese economy ...

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• 29 December

  SoftBank loses veteran board member as Uniqlo founder exits

  

  Bloomberg Fast Retailing Co Chief Executive Officer Tadashi Yanai is leaving SoftBank Group Corp’s board after more than 18 years as one of the few directors with the heft to challenge Masayoshi Son. Yanai, Japan’s richest man, will step down on December 31, according to a SoftBank statement. He is leaving the post to focus on running his own business, ...

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• 29 December

  Serbs unveil spending spree to fuel growth

  

  Bloomberg Serbia will spend almost 14 billion euros ($15.7 billion) through 2025 as the government seeks to double the rate of economic growth, bringing it into line with the European Union and raising living standards. The new investments were announced as the Balkan nation heads for general elections in late April or early May, and President Aleksandar Vucic is eager ...

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• 29 December

  Coffee, chemicals, crude fuel hopes for Euro 2020 IPO revival

  

  Bloomberg Equity capital markets bankers won’t be sad to close the door on a miserable 2019 in Europe. Though some of the elements that made for a volatile environment for initial public offerings are still in play, there is reason to hope 2020 will bring fairer weather. Trade tensions have eased after a deal between the US and China this ...

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• 29 December

  The bedrock of ultra low yields is at risk

  Bloomberg The new decade could be the dawn of a tougher era for bond investors, as conditions that sustained the historic bull run in government debt fall away. Unprecedented central bank action has dominated economic stimulus since the global crisis and suppressed yields around the world. The skew may now be shifting more towards fiscal expansion that could pressure rates ...

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• 29 December

  Drones need tracking network for expanded flights, says FAA

  

  Bloomberg All but the smallest civilian drones would have to broadcast radio tracking data to ensure greater safety and prevent terrorism under a sweeping proposal unveiled by US regulators. The long-awaited draft rules call for a massive new tracking network for everything from toys to larger commercial drones so that law enforcement can spot the devices flying anywhere, from congested ...

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