August, 2019

• 5 August

  Iran hints at more escalation with Gulf violations warning

  

  Bloomberg Iran is responsible for security in the Persian Gulf and is acting more vigorously to protect it, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said, suggesting that a showdown between his country and Western powers over crucial shipping lanes could escalate. “We used to overlook some violations but no longer,” Zarif said at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. ...

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• 5 August

  HK’s Lam warns of ‘ruin’ as protest snarls city, airport

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam warned of a “very dangerous situation” as protesters moved to shut down the Asian financial hub with a general strike on Monday after a ninth straight weekend of unrest in opposition to China’s tightening grip. Demonstrators hampered the financial hub’s busy morning commute with actions that left traffic snarled, subway lines inoperable and airport ...

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• 5 August

  Mass shootings: Trump accused of giving ‘safe harbour to hate’

  

  Bloomberg The deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio have reignited criticism of President Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric about immigrants and minorities. Several Democratic presidential hopefuls called for reinstating the ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004, while many accused Trump of stoking racial animus — he’s described Mexican and Central American immigrants as criminals and gang members — ...

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• 5 August

  For the Democrats, it’s winnowing time now

  

  Winnow: verb. To expose (grain or other substances) to the wind or to a current of air so that the lighter particles (as chaff or other refuse matter) are separated or blown away — Oxford English Dictionary It is time to dust off this marvelously appropriate verb for its quadrennial use to describe the thinning of a field of presidential ...

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• 5 August

  Verizon: The sleeping wireless giant

  

  Verizon Communications Inc. is the wireless industry’s sleepi- ng giant. Suddenly, its smal-ler rivals — AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Dish Network —are giving it every reason to wake up. Shares of Verizon have been a snooze this year, as AT&T steps up the competition and the drama around T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint continues to dominate the news. Verizon said it ...

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• 5 August

  The next bailout may come from consumers

  With markets focussed on rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and what sorts of policy levers might be used in a downturn, we got good news this week in learning that Americans’ personal saving rate is higher than previously thought. Should we enter an economic downturn in the near future, households will have room to spend more and save less, ...

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• 5 August

  Relocating federal jobs is anything but efficient

  The Donald Trump administration is planning to move hundreds of federal jobs away from Washington. In principle, this idea could make sense — so long as it’s competently executed and done for the right reasons. In practice, the plan seems likely to fail both tests. As currently designed, the proposed relocations promise to yield meager, if any, savings to taxpayers. ...

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• 5 August

  Apple’s plunge into the app store ads could be a problem

  

  I wrote recently about why Amazon.com Inc.’s commercial messages in product searches are a risky way to levy additional fees on the companies that sell through its digital mall. Apple Inc. is increasingly wading into similar waters. Type in “maps” in the search bar of Apple’s widely used iPhone app storefront, and you might see a result for Google Maps ...

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• 5 August

  Barclays CEO Staley gets a Brexit lifeline

  

  The growing threat of a hard Brexit has prompted many investors to steer clear of British banks. For Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, a rupture with the European Union could turn out to be a handy lifeline. Staley, who has focussed on reviving the UK lender’s investment bank, has set himself a profitability target for 2019 and 2020 ...

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• 5 August

  Bond market’s inflation bets show revolt against Fed

  

  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has taken a lot of heat about his failure to effectively communicate the central bank’s intentions with its first interest-rate cut since the financial crisis. One thing he was clear about, though: Policy makers find stubbornly low US inflation concerning, and persistently missing the Fed’s 2 percent target for price growth was a chief reason ...

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