September, 2019

• 30 September

  New York City heat to near record

  Bloomberg New York City will flirt with record heat on Wednesday when the temperature is set to reach 32 Celsius, just one degree shy of a level that’s only been hit five times on this date in 150 years. If the mercury reaches 90 on October 2, it will tie a record last felt in 1927. The heat is being ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  EU jobs offer some joy amid manufacturing, inflation gloom

  

  Bloomberg Europe’s job market is giving some hope to the region’s economic story, which has been dominated by a deepening slump in manufacturing that’s tipped Germany close to recession. Figures showed the euro-area unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in August, the lowest in over 11 years. Italy also reported an unexpected drop in its rate to 9.5 percent and ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Trump compromised national security for personal interests

  

  If you’re wondering why it matters that President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine while he was requesting political favours from its new president, think about the Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting a nasty proxy war against Russian-backed separatists. America is Ukraine’s ally in this fight. Ukrainian commanders, battling to hold their country together against a five-year onslaught by Russia, ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Commerzbank is painfully honest

  

  Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second-biggest publicly traded bank, has just unveiled a strategic overhaul that is supposed to secure its future as a standalone company. But even if everything goes well, its new “Commerzbank 5.0” plan foresees meager profitability at best. Weakened by fierce domestic competition, bloated costs and a squeeze on margins from negative central bank interest rates, Commerzbank explored ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Netflix turns negative amid Disney, Apple, AT&T threat

  

  “Look away, I’m hideous!” Fresh off its costly deal for the exclusive streaming rights to the sitcom “Seinfeld,” shares of Netflix Inc. are officially in the red this year. That’s as HBO’s parent AT&T Inc., Walt Disney Co. and other old world media giants surge. A five-day losing streak sent Netflix’s 2019 shareholder return into negative territory last week, a ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Businesses now think big about cutting emissions

  Amazon.com Inc.’s recent announcement that its operations will be carbon neutral by 2040 stands out for its sheer size. But Amazon is only one among dozens of companies that announced new carbon-intensity benchmarks at United Nations General Assembly. It’s hardly a new phenomenon. Eighty-one percent of S&P 500 companies had set emissions-reduction or energy-use targets by at least four years ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Japan’s consumption tax hike is a risk for economy

  

  Japan’s consumption-tax hike doesn’t look like it’s going to sink the economy, as a similar increase did five years ago. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the bump, to 10% from 8%, is still happening at an inauspicious time. While a recession isn’t in the cards for Japan, the last thing any major economy needs is a ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  SoftBank’s investment in WeWork makes sense

  

  WeWork just lost its CEO, its IPO is delayed indefinitely, prospectus details finally reveal massive losses, it’s burning cash like kerosene, and it needs to raise funds imminently. So, of course key backer SoftBank Group Corp. would throw in more money. Already a 29% shareholder of The We Co. – WeWork’s official name – SoftBank is discussing whether to increase ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  Amazon realises its customers care about privacy

  

  Amazon.com Inc. did something odd. It acknowledged that it is a huge and mighty company that must tackle head-on the uncomfortable questions about its power. At an event to roll out new or updated company devices, including limited-quantity eyeglass frames, a ring and wireless headphones all powered by its Alexa digital-voice assistant, a top Amazon executive said personal data privacy ...

  Read More »
• 30 September

  US futures surge as stocks mixed; dollar edges higher

  

  Bloomberg US equity-index futures rose while stocks drifted in Europe and declined in Asia as investors struggled to interpret the latest developments in the trade rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. Treasuries and European bonds slipped. Contracts on the three main equity indexes all signalled a firm open in New York, and a dollar gauge inched higher after the ...

  Read More »