October, 2019

• 16 October

  EU’s Vestager defends her dual role as antitrust and tech chief

  

  Bloomberg Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s incoming technology chief, defended her dual role as a rulemaker and enforcer of antitrust law, saying her investigations face intense scrutiny and can aid new regulation. Vestager faced some criticism from the European Parliament’s biggest party, which argued that it’s not possible to “strengthen antitrust efforts and fine tech giants and, at the same ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Surging SUV demand is spooking German workers building sedans

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s car industry built its world-class reputation on sedans like the Audi A4, the BMW 5-Series and the Volkswagen Passat, reliable models that look good in the family driveway or company lot. But a shift in consumer taste to more hulking vehicles is coming at the worst possible time. Demand for sport utility vehicles that initially took hold in ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Trump opened door for an IS resurgence in Syria

  

  By acquiescing to Turkey’s invasion of northeastern Syria, President Trump has opened the door to what could become a genuine nightmare for the United States and its allies: the revival of the deadly terrorist organisation that called itself the IS. The danger lies not simply in the group’s sleeper cells that are still active — and that detonated three suicide ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  A test of Walmart’s momentum

  

  And now for a major test of the well-oiled retailing machine that is Walmart Inc. The big-box giant announced that Greg Foran, the CEO of its US division — which makes up the bulk of its sales and operating income — is leaving to become CEO at Air New Zealand Ltd. He will be replaced by John Furner, who has ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  UK’s Libor refuses to die

  The finance community in the UK has a conflicted relationship with Libor, the reference interest rates for everything from mortgages to car loans to corporate debt. This makes it likely that the benchmarks will survive beyond their planned termination date. The current plan is for Libor to wink out of existence by the end of 2021. Changes in the wholesale ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Deutsche Bank is only part of Germany’s misery

  Attempts to accelerate the shakeup of German banking haven’t had much success in the past year. First, talks to combine two state-owned regional lenders fell apart; then Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG tried but (for good reason) were unable to find a way to make a merger work. Now a third combination is on the table. This time too, ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Greece and Italy join party with successful bond sales

  

  If you want a snapshot of how far the euro zone has come, look no further than Greece and Italy. Until recently, the two Mediterranean countries have been considered the sick men of Europe, as investors demanded hefty premiums to hold their sovereign bonds. These extra charges were all the more striking given the steep fall in the yields of ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Bed Bath & Beyond pinning its hopes to the magic of target

  

  Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s sales have withered in recent years for a variety of internal reasons, but it has also suffered because of punishing competition from Target Corp. Now the beleaguered home-goods chain will try to get some of that Target magic for itself. Bed Bath & Beyond announced its new CEO: Mark Tritton, chief merchandising officer at Target ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Starbucks stores that only accept mobile orders

  

  How worried should we be about Starbucks’s recent announcement that it plans to begin testing a new type of store that only takes orders via mobile app — no cashiers? At first glance the image seems vaguely dystopian: person after person filing through, inevitably wearing AirPods, to pick up caffeine-and-sugar infusions they ordered by pressing a few buttons on their ...

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Stocks drop amid Hong Kong unrest, Treasuries advance

  

  Bloomberg American equity-index futures slipped on Wednesday while European shares struggled for traction as tensions over Hong Kong mounted and earnings season rolled on. Treasuries gained and the dollar was steady. Contracts on all three major US gauges stayed lower even after Bank of America reported upbeat earnings. The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed after paring a decline as ...

  Read More »