December, 2019

• 22 December

  RBI experiments with policy to ease India’s interest rates

  

  Bloomberg From a 35-basis point interest rate cut to embracing a Federal Reserve-style ‘Operation Twist’, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das is pushing the boundaries of conventional central bank policy making to improve rate transmission and spur credit to the economy. The central bank announced it will buy longer-dated debt and simultaneously sell shorter maturity notes in a ...

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• 22 December

  Indian banks may ask customers, depositors to list their religion

  

  Bloomberg Indian banks may ask depositors and customers to list their religion, The Times of India reported. The information may be required after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made changes to a banking law that allows selected non-residents to open bank accounts and own property, the report said. Amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations will let immigrant Hindus, ...

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• 22 December

  UK extends economy’s male millennium

  

  Bloomberg Just weeks after Christine Lagarde became the euro zone’s first female central bank chief, neighbouring Britain has chosen to stick with what it’s only ever known for economic policy: men in charge. This month’s decision to install Andrew Bailey as Bank of England (BOE) governor, along with Sajid Javid’s reappointment as chancellor of the exchequer, extend an exclusively male ...

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• 22 December

  West Africa set to reform CFA franc, keep euro peg

  

  Bloomberg The West African Economic and Monetary Union has agreed with France to a number of changes to the CFA franc currency, including a new name, Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara said, as the West African bloc inches closer to a split from the French-backed currency. The monetary union will keep its euro peg while moving its currency reserve from ...

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• 22 December

  HSBC and JPMorgan traders accessed BOE audio feed

  

  Bloomberg Traders at HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are among those who accessed a high-speed audio feed of Bank of England press conferences, according to the Financial Times, which cited an unidentified person. HSBC and JPMorgan declined to comment to Bloomberg News. Investment banks across the City are trying to establish whether their traders used the feed, ...

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• 22 December

  S’pore defence personnel data vulnerable in malware attacks

  

  Bloomberg The personal data of about 100,000 Singapore defence personnel may have been leaked in yet another cyberattack in the city-state. Sensitive information held by two security force vendors, including full names, identification details, and a combination of contact numbers, email and residential addresses could be included in the potential data exposure, according to a statement published on the ministry’s ...

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• 22 December

  Mazda to shift some output from Thailand to Japan

  

  Bloomberg Mazda Motor Corp is shifting some production of cars destined for the Australian market from Thailand to Japan, citing the adverse impact of a stronger Thai baht, according to the Nikkei newspaper. Assembly of CX-3 sports utility vehicles will be moved to its Yamaguchi factory in southwest Japan this year, the report said, without citing anyone. Mazda has the ...

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• 22 December

  Kansai Electric to halt two nuclear reactors

  Bloomberg Kansai Electric Power Co, one of Japan’s regional power utilities, will halt two reactors at its Takahama nuclear power plant north of Osaka because they’re unlikely to meet the government’s anti-terrorism requirements, according to the Mainichi newspaper. Reactors No. 3 and No. 4 will stop operating from next summer, as it has become clear that construction of security measures ...

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• 22 December

  India’s appetite for petroleum fuels to drop to six-year low

  

  Bloomberg India expects its oil consumption to expand at the slowest pace in six years as the economy sputters. The nation’s consumption of petroleum products in the financial year to March 2020 is expected to rise by 1.3% to 216 million tons, the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell said in its estimates. That’s the slowest since the 0.9% ...

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• 22 December

  Masan Group to offer $431m bonds in 2020

  

  Bloomberg Masan Group plans to issue up to 10 trillion dong ($431.5 million) of bonds next year to expand its business, lend to units and repay a loan. The bonds will be issued in local currency at 100% of face value with a maximum term of 36 months, according to a statement on the company’s website. They will be non-convertible, ...

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