August, 2019

• 20 August

  Tax evasion threatens India budget gap goal

  

  Bloomberg India’s slowing economy could easily be the fall guy for Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s struggles with meeting tax targets. But there’s another culprit: tax evasion. A nationwide consumption tax, introduced in 2017 and widely regarded as a tool to improve tax compliance and boost economic growth, may have failed to plug evasion, according to a report by the ...

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• 20 August

  China to boost Shenzhen’s role in Greater Bay Area

  Bloomberg China plans to let Shenzhen City, which borders Hong Kong, play “a key role” in science and technology innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, according to state media. Shenzhen will be granted favourable policies including privileges in yuan internationalisation, China Central Television reported. China will also promote the connection of the financial markets of Shenzhen, Hong Kong ...

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• 20 August

  Oil steadies on US-China trade detente

  

  Bloomberg Oil steadied near $56 a barrel as hints of a trade detente between the US and China, along with the prospect of monetary stimulus, buoyed financial markets. Futures were little changed in New York after settling 2.4% higher on Monday. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said America will delay restrictions on some of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s business ...

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• 20 August

  US sanctions force Iran to ditch push to cleaner fuels

  

  Bloomberg Iran is about to burn a lot more fuel oil as a result of US sanctions and new global shipping rules, reversing the nation’s progress in switching to cleaner-burning natural gas. Power plants and other industrial facilities will burn more than 200,000 barrels a day of highly polluting fuel oil next year, double the amount Iran used in 2018, ...

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• 20 August

  Shale bond buyers get picky as defaults rise

  Bloomberg After years pouring funds into the shale boom, bond buyers are getting increasingly selective as defaults rise and many explorers continue to burn more cash than they make. While Exxon Mobil Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. have recently sold a combined $20 billion of investment-grade debt, junk rated issuers are getting a far different market reception. High-yield energy companies ...

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• 20 August

  Trump blasts Fed again, seeks rate cut by 100 basis points

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump stepped up his assault on the Federal Reserve, urging it to cut interest rates by a full percentage point to aid global growth while complaining the “dollar is so strong that it is sadly hurting other parts of the world.” “The Fed Rate, over a fairly short period of time, should be reduced by at least ...

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• 20 August

  Germany readying fiscal stimulus plans

  

  Bloomberg The German government is getting ready to act to shore up Europe’s largest economy, preparing fiscal stimulus measures that could be triggered by a deep recession, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The program would be designed to bolster the domestic economy and consumer spending to prevent large-scale unemployment, said the people who asked not ...

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• 20 August

  Ares Management raises $2b Europe property fund

  Bloomberg Ares Management Corp. has raised its largest European real estate fund yet, with plans to target distressed and poorly managed assets. Ares EF V gathered 1.78 billion euros and will be managed by the firm’s property unit, Ares Real Estate Group, headed by Bill Benjamin, company executives said. About 40% has already been committed to nine investments including a ...

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• 20 August

  PG&E tanks as $18bn in fire claims return to haunt utility

  

  Bloomberg Fallout from a deadly wildfire that swept across Northern California in 2017 and pushed PG&E Corp. towards bankruptcy has returned to once again haunt the utility giant, pummeling its shares. A US Bankruptcy judge lifted a freeze on $18 billion in legal claims tied to the blaze, which killed 22. While state investigators cleared PG&E of responsibility for the ...

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• 20 August

  UK manufacturing sector sees slow growth

  Bloomberg British manufacturers recovered slightly in August but export demand remains weak, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry. Small to medium businesses suffered more than large ones. Around half of those with fewer than 500 employees said order numbers were below par, compared to just 6% of larger companies. Industrial output was dragged heavily by paper, ...

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