August, 2019

• 7 August

  Nissan-Renault deal is dead in all but name

  

  Even after a relationship is dead, couples often go through the motions of remaining in a marriage. That’s the best way to characterise what’s left of the alliance between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. Renault must sell down its 43.4 percent stake in its Japanese partner to 5 percent-10 percent and both sides should “invest in new ventures,” Nissan’s ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  Electric scooters: Europe takes a wild regulatory ride

  

  This has been the summer of the electric scooter in Europe; but the UK and Ireland, which still ban the things, are probably right to hold out. So far, no government in the region has figured out a good way to regulate them. US e-scooter sharing companies like Bird, Lime and Jump (a subsidiary of Uber) have all been expanding ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  China’s central bank assures firms yuan won’t fall further

  

  Bloomberg Senior People’s Bank of China (PBOC) officials reassured foreign companies that the currency won’t continue to weaken significantly, a day after the yuan fell below 7 per dollar for the first time since 2008. The central bank held a meeting with a number of foreign exporters in Beijing, at which officials also said that companies’ ability to buy and ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  HSBC’s Swiss unit to cough up $329mn to settle Belgian tax probe

  

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private banking unit agreed to pay about 294 million euros ($329 million) to settle a Belgian criminal probe into allegations it helped wealthy clients dodge hundreds of millions of euros in taxes. The preliminary agreement in Belgium’s largest criminal settlement still needs to be approved by a judge at a hearing that should take place ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  Bank of Thailand reduces interest rate to spur growth

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday for the first time in more than four years to boost the economy, and said it sees more room to ease as global risks surge. The Monetary Policy Committee voted five to two to cut its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 1.5%, the central bank ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  India delivers rare interest rate cut to boost economy

  

  Bloomberg India’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by an unconventional 35 basis points, its fourth reduction this year to support a slowing economy. The repurchase rate was reduced to 5.4%, the lowest since 2010, surprising most of the 40 economists surveyed by Bloomberg who had predicted a quarter-point cut. AasthaGudwani, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  Brazil central bank warns of slow pick-up in growth

  Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank signaled an acceleration in economic growth will be slow even as a benign inflation outlook clears the way for more benchmark interest rate cuts and the government readies new stimulus. Gross domestic product (GDP) was likely stable or slightly positive in the second quarter and growth will probably show “some acceleration” going forward, policy makers wrote ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  Citi reduces S&P 500 profit forecast on trade effects

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. has grown concerned the US-China trade war will persist long enough to dent any potential profit rebound for corporate America. Tobias Levkovich, the firm’s chief US equity strategist, cut his earnings forecast for S&P 500 companies this year by $3.80 to $166.20 a share. Global stocks have tumbled this month amid concern that the US-China trade spat ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  Emerging Asia’s $5trn reserves tested in currency war

  

  Bloomberg It used to be that a buildup in foreign reserves was seen as a bulwark against currency shocks and swift turns in investor sentiment. Those days seem far away — and that defense less robust — as the trade conflict between the US and China evolves into a full-blown currency war that’s threatening emerging markets globally. Reserves of central ...

  Read More »
• 7 August

  Barneys files for bankruptcy struggling with rivals, rent

  

  Bloomberg Barneys New York Inc filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and laid out plans to shutter most of its stores after getting squeezed by rising rents and fewer visitors to its luxury fashion stores. The Chapter 11 filing in New York allows the department-store chain to stay open while it seeks to sell a slimmed-down business and to negotiate ...

  Read More »