July, 2019

• 10 July

  At a grim moment for banking jobs, Citi says it’s hiring

  

  Bloomberg In one of the darker weeks for finance jobs, Citigroup Inc said it’s planning to increase senior banking hires across key sectors and markets as it aims to become a top-three investment bank. The lender is seeking to add to its healthcare and technology teams, and is also looking to increase local deal-making clout in some emerging markets, Tyler ...

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• 10 July

  Britain’s ambassador to US quits in Trump leaks row

  

  Bloomberg Britain’s ambassador to the US dramatically resigned after leaked comments in which he criticised the Trump. White House sparked a major diplomatic row between the transatlantic allies. President Donald Trump decided to freeze out Kim Darroch, saying he would no longer deal with the man who had called his administration “inept” and “uniquely dysfunctional.” In a statement released by ...

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• 10 July

  Talks under duress are ‘never possible’: Zarif

  

  Bloomberg Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US needs to stop its “economic terrorism” against his nation as it won’t agree to hold talks under duress. “Negotiations are never possible under duress,” Zarif was quoted as saying on Wednesday in Tehran, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. “Pressure and economic terrorism against Iran must stop and ...

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• 10 July

  US labor secretary not to resign over Epstein

  

  Bloomberg Labor Secretary Alex Acosta doesn’t plan to resign over his association with financier Jeffrey Epstein and was expected to hold a conference on Wednesday, a Department of Labor official said. Acosta has come under increased pressure since Epstein’s indictment for conspiracy was revealed. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida in order to resolve similar allegations ...

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• 10 July

  EU ‘next chief’ says she still hopes UK doesn’t leave

  

  Bloomberg The woman designated to be the most powerful official in the European Union said she hopes the UK changes its mind and stays in the bloc after all. In a clear indication that she will try to prevent the UK leaving without a deal, Ursula von der Leyen, nominee for next European Commission president, told EU lawmakers that if ...

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• 10 July

  Hong Kong broadcaster accused of pro-Beijing bias in protests coverage

  

  Bloomberg Television Broadcasts (TVB) Ltd, Hong Kong’s dominant broadcaster, has come under attack on social media for its alleged pro-Beijing bias in the coverage of recent political protests in the city, with campaigners urging companies to pull their commercials. Organisers of the drive have managed to score at least one win. Sports drink brand Pocari Sweat, owned by Japanese health ...

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• 10 July

  Mexican president warns others may quit after Urzua

  

  Bloomberg Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, under pressure after the resignation of his finance minister, warned other officials may quit his government as part of the deep policy changes he is leading. “In a democratic government there are always differences and disagreements,” Lopez Obrador said at his daily press conference. “You have to get used to the changes and ...

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• 10 July

  Is Vladimir Putin right that liberalism is now obsolete?

  

  It looks as if Vladimir Putin wants to be recalled as something besides being an aggressive autocrat. He yearns, it seems, to be seen as a leading political thinker, respected for his analysis as well as feared for his actions. This is a reasonable reading of Putin’s recent interview with the Financial Times, which included his remarkable declaration that the ...

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• 10 July

  If it moves, tax it. That’s desperate, India

  

  Desperation is creeping into India’s economic policy-making. Having lost the fiscal plot, bureaucrats are trying to marshal resources by squeezing taxpayers, foreign investors, firms planning buybacks and even the central bank. Such overreach never ends well. Tax collections last year were a full 1 percentage point of GDP lower than the 7.9 percent the government had hoped to obtain. Rathin ...

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• 10 July

  Italy, Austria take bond market to a weird place

  For the bond market’s “tale of two cities,” look at Rome and Vienna. Both Italy and Austria have come to the market recently with ultra-long duration debt sales. It’s remarkable that the latter managed to get a 98-year issue away with a 1.17 percent interest rate, but Italy’s 48-year offer this week at a near 3 percent yield is pretty ...

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