December, 2019

• 23 December

  Rupee’s advance seen as unsustainable by analysts

  

  Bloomberg The bounce in India’s rupee that’s made it the top performer among major Asian economies is failing to win over traders. The currency has risen about 1% in the past month after falling by as much 1.2% in October and November. Traders say the fillip provided by a one-off corporate inflow of about $6 billion in recent weeks and ...

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• 23 December

  Rescuers sought for shadow bank Altico as crisis deepens

  

  Bloomberg Lenders to an Indian shadow bank at the center of an industry crisis since it started defaulting three months ago have called for binding bids from potential rescuers by mid-January, people familiar with the matter said. Altico Capital India Ltd. is one of the latest caught up in the nation’s shadow banking crisis, which has deepened as lenders already ...

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• 23 December

  ‘ECB should review causes of inflation’

  

  Bloomberg ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot said conventional wisdom about inflation is outdated. The European Central Bank has to investigate “thoroughly” which factors nowadays determine output prices, rather than double down on its stimulus measures, the Dutch central bank president said in an interview with De Volkskrant. While wages are rising, the costs for business “are not translating into ...

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• 23 December

  Thai baht, Asia’s best-performing currency, faces reversal

  

  Bloomberg The Thai baht’s heady gains are petering out, thanks to slowing growth and a central bank that’s bent on taming the currency’s strength. After clocking an 8% rise this year, Asia’s best-performing currency is losing momentum as easing US-China trade tensions damp its appeal as a haven. Falling yields on local bonds and equity outflows are adding to the ...

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• 23 December

  US utilities on record borrowing spree, sells $90 billion in bonds

  

  Bloomberg US utilities are on a record borrowing spree this year, selling more than $90 billion in bonds for the first time ever. The surge in debt from NextEra Energy Inc, Duke Energy Inc and other power giants comes as interest rates are at historic lows, leaving investors hungry for the safe and relatively strong returns offered by utility bonds. ...

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• 23 December

  Exxon produces first Liza crude

  Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners produced the first commercial crude from Guyana, setting the small South American nation on a path to potentially vast flows of oil revenues. Output from the first phase of the offshore Liza field is expected to reach full capacity of 120,000 gross barrels of oil per day in coming months, with the first ...

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• 23 December

  Tesco suspends Chinese card maker on forced labour row

  

  Bloomberg UK grocery giant Tesco Plc suspended its supply of Christmas cards from a Chinese factory and said it was investigating a newspaper report that prison labour was used in their production. All the cards produced by the factory have been withdrawn from sale, Tesco said in a statement. If the investigation shows a breach of the company’s rule against ...

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• 23 December

  Atlantia, Italy government to lock horns

  

  Bloomberg The Italian government is on the verge of outright battle with the company that operates more than half of the nation’s run-down toll roads. After Giuseppe Conte’s administration provisionally approved rules on the revocation of highway concessions, Autostrade per L’Italia said lthey appeared “unconstitutional and contrary to European norms.” The company, controlled by Atlantia SpA, whose largest investor is ...

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• 23 December

  Germany expects gas pipeline delay before completion

  

  Bloomberg The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should be completed in the second half of next year, despite the US sanctions that prompted one of the companies involved to halt operations, although costs will rise, a senior German official said. Switzerland’s AllSeas Group SA removed vessels that were laying the last section of the pipeline connecting Russia with Germany, which ...

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• 23 December

  Alphabet’s Pichai awarded $242mn pay package

  Bloomberg Sundar Pichai is getting a hefty pay raise. The new Alphabet Inc. chief executive officer (CEO) will receive $240 million in stock awards over the next three years if he hits all of his performance targets, as well as a $2 million annual salary beginning in 2020, the firm said in a filing. If Alphabet shares outperform the S&P ...

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