August, 2019

• 6 August

  Flying isn’t the worst offender for carbon emissions

  

  Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish clim-ate activist, recently ann- ounced that she will cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat to attend a United Nations global warming summit in New York. She does not believe in flying in airplanes, for the obvious reason that air travel is a contributor to the carbon emissions problem. I am here with a simple message: ...

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• 6 August

  US futures rise with Europe stocks as China’s yuan gains

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures rose alongside European stocks while Asian shares fell after China moved to stabilise its currency, helping ease some of the market turmoil that kicked off the week. The global sell-off in equities abated after China fixed its yuan exchange rate at stronger than 7 per dollar, a key level that when breached in markets fuelled the ...

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• 6 August

  India stocks advance on Credit Suisse’s upgrade, Kashmir ‘special status’

  

  Bloomberg Indian stocks rose after Credit Suisse AG upgraded the nation to overweight amid an escalating US-China trade war, while the government sought to cement its position by revoking seven decades of autonomy in the disputed Muslim-majority state of Kashmir. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.8 percent, its biggest increase in a month, to 36,976.85 at the close in Mumbai. ...

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• 6 August

  Banks seeking softer capital rules rebuffed by EU regulator

  

  Bloomberg European banks lobbying for special treatment on new capital rules are in for a disappointment. The European Banking Authority (EBA) said the bloc should stick closely to what was agreed at a global level when it implements new regulations in the region, according to a report. It specifically rebuffed suggestions from banks on how to tailor the rules to ...

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• 6 August

  SNB’s pile of US shares hit record $93bn in Q2

  

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) holdings of US stocks touched a record $92.7 billion in the second quarter, benefiting from a rise in equity markets. The SNB’s US regulatory filing is one of the few glimpses into its vast investment portfolio, amassed as a consequence of its interventions to weaken the franc. It revealed stakes in 2,554 US companies, ...

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• 6 August

  Wells Fargo joins investing round in esports company

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. is getting into the burgeoning esports market, joining a funding round for Matcherino Inc., a provider of software and services for running competitive video-gaming tournaments. Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and technology investment firm Galaxy Digital are putting in $1.5mn for an undisclosed percentage of Matcherino, bringing the startup’s current funding round to more than $4.1mn, ...

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• 6 August

  India central bank faces calls to do more than just one rate cut

  

  Bloomberg India’s central bank is poised to deliver its fourth successive quarter-point interest rate cut on Wednesday, amid calls from investors and the government for further easing as a slowdown gripping the economy becomes more pervasive. The Reserve Bank of India will lower the benchmark repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%, according to almost all of the 36 ...

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• 6 August

  Banking union in S Africa plans largest strike since 1920

  Bloomberg South Africa’s biggest financial union is threatening to disrupt the country’s banking industry by leading its 73,000 members on a strike next month, in what would be its largest industrial action in almost a century. The planned two-day walkout will target lenders that have consulted staff over job cuts in recent months and other institutions that employ members of ...

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• 6 August

  Italy state lender backs $1.7b construction plan

  Bloomberg Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA has given its backing to a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) plan to consolidate the country’s construction sector after clearing a last-minute hurdle over the role of Natixis SA. After two board meetings and overnight talks, Italy’s biggest construction company Salini Impregilo SpA and Cassa Depositi have signed an investment deal that ...

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• 6 August

  BOE’s climate tests weigh disorder in stock market

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) for the first time is asking British insurers to gauge how global warming might impact the value of the stocks and bonds they hold — and its potential to upend financial markets. The central bank, which regulates the UK financial services industry, included three scenarios related to climate change in a broader stress test ...

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