August, 2019

• 27 August

  To heck with profits!

  

  We’ve been here before: one of those portentous moments when corporate America promises to be more socially “responsible.” These episodes are, it seems, a permanent feature of modern capitalism. Just this week, the Business Roundtable, a group representing the leaders of major corporations, issued a “statement on the purpose of a corporation” that was widely hailed as rejecting the notion ...

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• 27 August

  India stimulus plan falls short on vision

  

  India is belatedly acknowledging that something’s gone wrong with what was once billed as the world’s fastest-growing economy. That’s the good news. The bad news is that New Delhi still doesn’t have a cohesive strategy to reverse the slowdown. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did offer a stimulus package. The highlight was the rollback of a tax surcharge on overseas investors ...

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• 27 August

  The Amazon effect helps Kohl’s Corp help itself

  Look at some of the headline numbers in Kohl’s Corp.’s second-quarter earnings report, and you’d surmise that things are pretty grim for the department-store chain. Look at the text of the press release, though, and you’ll find bread crumbs of information that suggest it is turning the corner on its near-term problems. Kohl’s comparable sales fell 2.9 percent from a ...

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• 27 August

  The big gamble not to follow Federal Reserve

  Don’t expect Asia to take many leads from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s signal that further US interest rate cuts are coming. That’s not because the Fed chief’s comments at Jackson Hole weren’t clear, but because Asia is already well on its way towards significant relaxing of monetary policy. India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea cut rates ...

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• 27 August

  Emmanuel Macron scores bittersweet Brexit victory

  

  UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is barrelling through Europe’s capitals with nothing concrete to say on Brexit beyond an unappealing offer of “new deal or no deal.” With Angela Merkel offering a response so cryptic that Germany was still explaining it a day later, France’s Emmanuel Macron was on hand to clarify: The European Union’s red lines, including upholding the ...

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• 27 August

  Energy stocks make utilities look exciting

  

  Utilities are, by design, a bit of a snooze. We feel no excitement at the miracle of instantaneous light, television and coffee grinding, expecting these things simply to happen when we want them to — which, virtually all the time, they do. Similarly, investors own utilities for their steady dividends funded by all of us unthinking bill-payers. This mundane arrangement ...

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• 27 August

  7-cent biscuits are too pricey for Indian workers

  

  When snack makers start to lament that Indians can’t afford to spend 5 rupees (7 cents) on biscuits, it’s time to stop arguing over how much of the nation’s slowdown is cyclical and what part is structural. Considering its glaring income, wealth and consumption inequalities, India is a surprisingly calm society. However, when purchasing power dries up to the extent ...

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• 27 August

  US stocks pare gains; bonds advance, greenback slides

  

  Bloomberg US stocks pared an advance as falling financial shares countered gains spurred by trade optimism. Treasuries rose and the dollar fell. The S&P 500 clung to a second day of gains after President Donald Trump struck a softer tone towards China at the Group of Seven summit. Declines by major banks weighed on the benchmark as the 10-year Treasury ...

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• 27 August

  Indian stocks back on foreign radars after policy moves

  

  Bloomberg Foreign investors may be lured back to Indian equities after the government scrapped a tax on overseas funds while rolling out measures to boost economic growth. Singapore-based Taurus Wealth Advisors Pte, for one, is adding exposure to Indian equities and funds on a tactical basis, according to Rainer Michael Preiss, a strategist at the company, citing government measures. “After ...

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• 27 August

  Bundesbank cheers on green crusade as climate risks rise

  

  Bloomberg Germany’s central bank is buffing up its green credentials as part of an international effort to spur lenders to brace for the fallout from climate change. The Bundesbank is heading a review of central-bank strategies to support sustainable investments, and scrutinizing the dynamics of the quickly growing market. Together with its peers, it’s working on a handbook on the ...

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