August, 2019

• 21 August

  Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund ends bet on higher rates

  

  Bloomberg Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund ended a long-running bet on higher interest rates as market turmoil drove a quarter of its massive bond portfolio into yields below zero. After presenting second-quarter earnings in Oslo on Wednesday, Norges Bank Investment Management’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Trond Grande said the fund is now no longer short duration compared to its benchmark, ...

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• 21 August

  Goldman expects Fed to cut interest rates ‘twice’

  

  Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists predict Federal Reserve officials will cut interest rates at each of their next two meetings — in part because of a desire to keep bond markets calm. Having lowered their benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 2-2.25% in July, policy makers will execute reductions of the same size in September and October with ...

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• 21 August

  UK may delay naming next BOE head until after Brexit

  

  Bloomberg The UK is considering delaying two key announcements in the latest sign that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is on an election footing. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid may wait to name a successor to Bank of England (BOE) Governor Mark Carney until after Britain’s planned October 31 departure from the European Union. Javid may also have to ...

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• 21 August

  BofA hires tech banker from Citi

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) has hired investment banker Samardh Kumar from Citigroup Inc. to co-head a recently formed group focused on emerging private companies. Kumar, a managing director, will lead the emerging growth and regional coverage group alongside New York-based banker Brendan Hanley, who was appointed to the role in July, according to an internal company memo. Kumar ...

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• 21 August

  OCBC seeks Singapore virtual bank license

  Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC) is in talks with companies including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. about seeking one of the city-state’s planned virtual bank licenses, according to people familiar with the matter. Singapore’s second-largest bank would take a minority stake in any virtual-banking joint venture and sees it as a way to tap new customers and markets. For example, Singtel might ...

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• 21 August

  Chinese bank raises capital via perpetual bonds

  

  Bloomberg The global hunt for yield is a boon for Chinese banks raising capital via perpetual bonds. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. sold 85 billion yuan ($12 billion) of perpetual bonds last week at a coupon of 4.39%, the lowest level since lenders first started selling the debt instruments in January. Total sales of the bonds, which lack a maturity ...

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• 21 August

  Nigeria’s biggest bank plans East Africa expansion

  Bloomberg Guaranty Trust Bank Plc will consider acquisitions outside its home market as Nigeria’s biggest lender by market value seeks to expand on the rest of the continent. The Nigerian multinational financial institution, which already has offices in 10 countries outside Nigeria, is looking to East Africa for growth, Chief Executive Officer Segun Agbaje said on a call with investors ...

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• 21 August

  Panel to cite communication failure on 737 Max certification

  

  Bloomberg An expert panel reviewing how the Boeing Co 737 Max was certified is expected to cite a breakdown in communication following revelations that aviation regulators didn’t understand key design elements until the first of two deadly crashes of the plane. The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) hasn’t found evidence that regulations weren’t followed when the jetliner was approved in ...

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• 21 August

  Amazon opens its largest campus in India’s Hyderabad

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc opened its largest campus building globally in the south Indian city of Hyderabad as it prepares for a furious expansion and battle with nemesis Walmart Inc in one of the world’s fastest-growing retail markets. The Seattle-headquartered company is making an ambitious push in India, the last major retail frontier still primarily reliant on small-scale neighbourhood and mom-and-pop ...

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• 21 August

  Cathay warns of ‘significant’ revenue impact amid protests

  

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd expects “significant impact” on its revenue from August and beyond as travel demand gets affected by the months-long protests in Hong Kong. Both business and leisure travel into Hong Kong has “weakened substantially” and traffic from Hong Kong has started to soften, especially on short-haul routes to such countries as China and South Korea, Cathay ...

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