March, 2017

• 23 March

  GM redesigns Chevy Equinox to cash in on SUV boom

  

    Bloomberg General Motors Co. is trying to make up for lost time with its redesigned Chevrolet Equinox. While the largest US automakers’ competitors have pumped out new and refreshed sport utility vehicles to cash in on the booming segment, GM soldiered on with an Equinox that last underwent major changes seven years ago. Equinox deliveries slumped 13 percent in …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  Renters rule half of US cities

    Bloomberg Detroit was once known as a city where a working-class family could afford to own a home. Now it’s a city of renters. Just 49 percent of Motor City households were homeowners in 2015, down from 55 percent in 2009 and the lowest percentage in more than 50 years. Detroit isn’t alone, of course: The rate of US …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  Californians snub free EVs, say carmakers in mandate push back

  

    Bloomberg The proportion of Californians making electric cars their new set of wheels has stayed flat for years even though incentives make some models basically free to lease, a trade group told state regulators that may toughen up already-stringent rules. With state rebates, federal tax credits and manufacturer discounts, the effective monthly payments in California for zero-emission vehicles including …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  Iceland’s recovery will be tough to sustain

  

    The end of Iceland’s nine years of capital controls is an occasion to celebrate for Icelandic businesses — and for those economists who, like Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman, touted Iceland’s post-crisis recovery as an example of how it should be done. Yet even after almost a decade, Iceland may still need a relatively closed financial market for that …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  European corporates go west for investors

  

    European companies are rushing to sell bonds in dollars. After all, that’s where the investors are. So far this year, dollar-denominated syndicated new bond sales have exceeded $475 billion, a record for any quarter. A surprising amount — about 22 percent — has come from European issuers. Within this, about $81 billion is from euro-area companies, including banks, according …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  New power plants could revolutionize Pak economy

  

    In the dusty scrub of the Thar desert, Pakistan has begun to dig up one of the world’s largest deposits of low-grade, brown, dirty coal to fuel new power stations that could revolutionize the country’s economy. The project is one of the most expensive among an array of ambitious energy developments that China is helping the country to build …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  Most Gulf bourses recover, Egypt rebounds as foreign funds buy

  

    DUBAI / Reuters Most stock markets in the Gulf made small gains on Thursday, recovering some of the week’s losses, but trading volumes remained very low. Egypt rebounded as foreign funds bought shares there. The Saudi stock index climbed 0.7 percent as the petrochemical sector regained some of the previous session’s heavy losses, after Brent oil bounced from a …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  European stocks rise, Asia bounces back

  

    Bloomberg European stocks climbed, led by mining and bank shares, as lenders borrowed more than double what was forecast under the European Central Bank’s TLTRO program. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3 percent to 375.21 as of 11:31 a.m. London time, set to end three days of losses. European miners extended their gains to 0.9 percent, following metals …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  US treasuries gain as health vote looms

    Bloomberg Markets struck a cautious tone, with US stocks fluctuating and Treasuries gaining a fifth day, as investors watched developments in Washington for clues on the prospects for the Trump administration’s pro-growth policies. The S&P 500 Index was little changed, as futures erased gains after House Republicans postponed a planned meeting on the health-care bill. The measure’s outcome is …

  Read More »
• 23 March

  Amazon to acquire online retailer Souq.com

  

    DUBAI / Reuters Amazon.com Inc has agreed in principle to buy Dubai-based internet retailer Souq.com, one of the best-known names in the Middle East’s online shopping market, sources familiar with the deal said. Souq.com, which sells consumer electronics, fashion, household items and other goods, lays claim on its website to being the largest e-commerce site in the Arab world. …

  Read More »