October, 2019

• 8 October

  Managing decline of a $124b oil giant

  

  A change at the top is a moment for reappraisal. Bob Dudley, BP Plc’s chief executive officer, rehabilitated the oil major after the fatal Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and spill in the US in 2010. His replacement Bernard Looney should avoid the temptation to think his job is primarily to sustain that legacy. Like all the big international oil companies, ...

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• 8 October

  BlackRock, Tencent tie-up is a match made in Wall Street

  News that BlackRock Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are in talks for various types of cooperation is the kind of positive development both companies need. BlackRock is looking for ways to make its investment and portfolio-modeling tools available to the Chinese market, Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal reported. They may also codevelop a financial software system similar to ...

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• 8 October

  Troubles at the ECB aren’t Draghi’s fault

  Given the news of grumbling among members of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council and the resignation of a board member, it seems Mario Draghi’s last month as president might be marred by internal policy divisions. This would be a sad misunderstanding. Sad because Draghi’s legacy should be centered on his courageous action to save the euro zone, and ...

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• 8 October

  The world’s next factory won’t be in South Asia

  

  Vietnam seems to be the consensus pick for winner of the US-China trade war, as Chinese and other manufacturers shift production to the cheaper Southeast Asian nation. If there’s a loser, at least in terms of missed opportunities, it may be the countries of South Asia. To understand why, remember that the trade war has only accelerated an important trend ...

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• 8 October

  Investors really love phone gimmicks

  

  Gadget makers from Apple Inc. to Huawei Technologies Co. are turning to gimmicks like multi-lens cameras, folding screens, 5G connectivity and virtual-reality displays to juice sales amid a general upgrade apathy in the smartphone market. I’m among those skeptical that these new specs will do a lot to make devices fly off the shelves. Investors in Asia, however, seem pretty ...

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• 8 October

  Central banks don’t need their own digital currencies

  

  Whether central banks should issue their own digital currencies may sound like an arcane debate. But allowing them to do so could have a profound impact on a nation’s economic and financial landscape — and not for the better. Various proposals are works in progress, but share one basic feature: Central banks would issue electronic deposits. These deposits would be ...

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• 8 October

  US stocks slide amid trade tensions, Treasuries gain

  

  Bloomberg US equity-index futures extended a retreat alongside European stocks on Tuesday as investor optimism over looming trade talks was knocked by news the White House is moving towards possible restrictions on capital flows into China. Treasuries and gold advanced. Contracts for the three major US gauges had gained earlier, but they reversed after China said it strongly opposed an ...

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• 8 October

  Chinese stocks rise as trade resumes

  

  Bloomberg Chinese stocks rose as they traded for the first time in a week, with investors focusing on the upcoming trade talks with the US. The CSI 300 Index closed up 0.6%. Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co halted trading after they were placed on a US blacklist along with six other Chinese technology firms. Hong ...

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• 8 October

  Southwest pilots sue Boeing on ‘rush’ to sell unsafe Max

  

  Bloomberg The union for Southwest Airlines Co pilots sued Boeing Co, saying the manufacturer rushed output of the 737 Max jet to stay competitive, withholding key information about a feature that contributed to two fatal crashes within five months. “Boeing made a calculated decision to rush a re-engined aircraft to market to secure its single-aisle market share and prioritise its ...

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• 8 October

  Clicks surges most after defying tough S African market

  

  Bloomberg Clicks Group Ltd surged the most in 11 years in Johannesburg trading after the retailer said its full-year earnings would rise as much as 18%, despite the tough conditions confronting South African consumers. Clicks rose as much as 13%, the most since October 2008 to the highest since the shares started trading in March 1996. Profits have been boosted ...

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