December, 2019

• 10 December

  Nobel winner Suu Kyi defends Myanmar on Rohingya genocide charges at UN court

  

  Bloomberg When Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, she was hailed as an imprisoned martyr dedicated to bringing democracy and human rights to a country that for decades had withered under a brutal military junta. Now as Myanmar’s de facto leader she is set to face her European peers, defending her country in The ...

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• 10 December

  Algeria jails two ex-PMs for graft ahead of vote

  

  Bloomberg An Algerian criminal court on Tuesday jailed two former prime ministers for corruption, days ahead of a presidential vote that has served to only fuel the anger of protesters demanding the purging of the old regime. Abdelmalek Sellal, who twice held the premiership under ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was sentenced to 12 years, while Ahmed Ouyahia got 20 years, ...

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• 10 December

  Congress flexes ‘policy muscle’ with more rebukes of Trump

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump will face a more assertive Congress on foreign policy as he fights off impeachment and seeks re-election, with lawmakers pushing legislation at odds with his priorities and personal style on the global stage. This will be on full display on Wednesday when the Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers sanctions on Turkey and Russia, both countries ...

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• 10 December

  Stocks drop with US futures; Treasuries edge up with gold

  

  Bloomberg US equity-index futures retreated alongside stocks in Europe as investors turned cautious in the countdown to major central bank meetings and a deadline for fresh American tariffs on Chinese goods. Treasuries gained with gold. Contracts for the three main US gauges all dropped as traders await news on whether Washington will go ahead with a planned December 15 tariff ...

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• 10 December

  SoftBank likely to sell Alibaba stock to fund buyback

  

  Bloomberg The slump in SoftBank Group Corp’s shares could prompt Masayoshi Son to play an ace card — cashing in part of his stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Son is likely to sell Alibaba stock to help pay for another buyback in an attempt to bolster SoftBank shares, according to Jefferies Group analyst Atul Goyal. It’s a surprise the ...

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• 10 December

  Flows to India stock funds drop as investors hold back

  Bloomberg Inflows into Indian equity funds shrunk to the lowest in more than three years last month after the record-hitting rally in stocks despite a faltering economy gave investors pause. Stock plans received 13.1 billion rupees ($184 million) in November, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India. That compares with 60.2 billion received in October, and is the ...

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• 10 December

  Sri Lanka’s LOLC prepares to sell biggest overseas unit

  

  Bloomberg LOLC Holdings Plc, Sri Lanka’s second-largest publicly traded company by revenue, plans to sell its stake in a unit in Cambodia and use the proceeds to fund acquisition of microfinance firms in emerging markets from Brazil to India. LOLC Holdings plans to sell its 70% stake in Prasac Microfinance Institution Ltd, which also counts Hong Kong’s Bank of East ...

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• 10 December

  Japan bonds rebound as benchmark yield’s 0% rise spurs demand

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s bonds rebounded as an advance in the benchmark yield to zero for the first time in nine months lured investors back. The 10-year yield dropped to minus 0.025% after climbing to 0% earlier on Tuesday. Japanese bond futures also bounced back from a one-year low. “There is extremely strong demand from investors when the 10-year yield touches zero,” ...

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• 10 December

  ‘Unacceptable’ EU biofuel tariffs rile Indonesia

  Bloomberg The Indonesian government says the European Union’s (EU) tariffs on the Asian nation’s biodiesel shipments are “unacceptable” and all options to counter the policy are on the table, including retaliatory actions. The EU imposed five-year tariffs on Indonesian biodiesel imports to counter alleged subsidies to producers of the fuel, which is typically made from palm oil and other fats ...

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• 10 December

  Vietnam’s richest man bets $2b for US car sale

  

  Bloomberg The billionaire behind six-month-old Vietnamese auto startup VinFast plans a feat even Toyota Motor Corp and Hyundai Motor Co couldn’t pull off during their early days: sell a car in the US. Pham Nhat Vuong, the Southeast Asian country’s richest man and now in charge of the new automaker, is so intent on exporting electric vehicles to the lucrative ...

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