October, 2019

• 7 October

  US’s railroads in recession already with no end in sight

  

  Bloomberg This year’s railroad slump is getting worse as a slowdown in manufacturing threatens broader weakness in the US economy. There’s no bottom in sight as the decline in carloads for large US railroads widened to 5.5% in the third quarter, the biggest drop in three years, according to weekly reports from the Association of American Railroads. Shipments are down ...

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• 7 October

  GE freezes pension benefits in US to cut deficit by up to $8b

  

  Bloomberg General Electric (GE) Co took a bold step to cut the debt hampering Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp’s effort to turn around the struggling manufacturer, freezing pension benefits for about 20,000 employees in the US. The company also plans to pre-fund $4 billion to $5 billion of its estimated requirements for 2021 and 2022, according to a statement on ...

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• 7 October

  Volvo, Geely to merge engine operations in electric car push

  

  Bloomberg Volvo Cars and China’s Geely plan to merge their engine operations into a standalone company, a step the Swedish automaker says will cut costs as it shifts to a fully-electrified lineup. The combined unit would supply two million diesel and gasoline-powered engines, versus the 600,000 Volvo produces, giving the two companies more scale to reduce material costs. It could ...

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• 7 October

  UK construction suppliers hit over SIG profit warning

  Bloomberg Shares of UK construction suppliers slid after a profit warning from SIG Plc provided the latest sign of a weakening industry outlook amid concern over slowing growth and Brexit. The vendor of roofing materials, insulation products and partition walls saw its stock plunge as much as 27%, the most in a decade, after saying that adjusted profit would be ...

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• 7 October

  Osram takeover battle set for next round after ‘AMS bid’

  

  Bloomberg The battle for control of Osram Licht AG is set to enter a new round after Austria’s AMS AG vowed to keep fighting after a sweetened 4 billion euro ($4.4 billion) offer failed. AMS, a supplier to Apple Inc, will seek a regulator nod to raise its 19.99% stake in Osram. As the biggest shareholder in the German lighting ...

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• 7 October

  South Korea has a problem others can only dream of

  

  South Korea’s economy is in a tough spot. Too bad the monetary-policy response has been so tame. The country is flirting with outright deflation, figures showed, as consumer prices declined for the first time on record. Exports, which account for about 40% of gross domestic product slipped for 10 straight months. The Bank of Korea says the country will struggle ...

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• 7 October

  Europe’s magic charm against tariffs

  

  The trade war between the US and China has already slowed down growth in Europe’s export-oriented economies – including the biggest of them, Germany – even though they haven’t been slapped by any punitive tariffs. The wholesale buyers of European products, though, should perhaps be more optimistic about signing deals: Consumers attach a lot of value to the national brands ...

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• 7 October

  UK’s fund giant founder leaves $1tn club dream

  

  The merger that created Standard Life Aberdeen Plc two years ago was designed to produce an asset manager big enough to survive the existential threats facing the fund management industry. Martin Gilbert, founder of the Aberdeen side of the equation, hoped to join what he called “that $1 trillion club” by growing assets under management. The reality has been somewhat ...

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• 7 October

  Global bonds are selling off for all right reasons

  The weakness in the global bond market is surprising for one primary reason: It’s a sign central banks may finally be taking the right steps to get the worldwide economy back on track. Central banks have taken a lot of heat by trying to combat slowing economic growth and inflation with the same strategies that have so far largely failed ...

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• 7 October

  Japan’s labour market is still rigged against women

  

  In many respects, Japan’s economy is doing better than at any time since the boom years of the 1980s. The employment rate is at all-time highs. Women have flooded into the labour force, and immigration is helping to cushion the blow of an aging society. Japanese companies, once known for low margins, are learning how to increase profits, helped by ...

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