July, 2019

• 21 July

  Negative yields tempt fund managers into liquidity trap

  With almost $13 trillion of bonds in the global debt market yielding less than zero, fund managers are increasingly chasing returns in less liquid assets. The result could be a reduction in the transparency about what portfolios are really worth. Regulators are right to be paying heightened attention to any misadventures in illiquidity. The decline in interest income available in ...

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• 21 July

  Donald Trump needs to hold firm on Iran

  President Donald Trump reinserted himself into the Iran nuclear negotiations this week, with decidedly mixed results. Trump’s reiteration that he isn’t looking for regime change was welcome. As efforts to persuade Iran to scale back uranium enrichment intensify, it’s important for the regime to know that it faces no existential threat. The US hopes only to crimp its capacity to ...

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• 21 July

  Modi should starve India’s state-controlled lenders

  

  Fifty years ago, India took a wrong turn leftward from which it is yet to recover: On July 19, 1969, the government took over the banking system, nationalising 14 banks which together controlled 85 percent of bank deposits. Today, even after a quarter century of liberalisation, state-controlled banks still control 70 percent of the sector’s assets. As a consequence, credit ...

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• 21 July

  Netflix’s optimistic scenario took a hit

  

  The optimistic scenario about Netflix Inc. goes like this: The company is wise to spend like mad to create a new generation of entertainment service that capitalises on the inexorable shift of people away from old ways of wasting time like television towards new modes of wasting time like staring at smartphones. Eventually, the theory goes, Netflix will stop bleeding ...

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• 21 July

  In PG&E battle, time is money and money is time

  

  Money talks, but the big question for PG&E Corp next week is how closely the bankruptcy judge is listening. The battle for the future of the wildfire-prone California utility intensified this week with a fusillade of court filings. To recap, PG&E has an exclusive period until late September to file a proposal to get out of chapter 11. Late last ...

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• 21 July

  Walmart integrates stores with e-comm as web unit struggles

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc is conducting its second US restructuring in as many months to better integrate its money-losing online business with its 4,700 physical stores. The world’s largest retailer will merge the logistics and finance teams for its e-commerce unit and stores, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The company’s merchandising operation, which makes critical decisions on ...

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• 21 July

  Cathay adds budget carrier after buying Hong Kong Express

  

  Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd completed the acquisition of Hong Kong’s only budget carrier as the company expects to lift its market share amid growing competition from mainland Chinese airlines. Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd, which was previously owned by HNA Group Co, will continue operating as a standalone airline under the low-cost model, Cathay said in a statement. The ...

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• 21 July

  GrandVision soars as Ray-Ban maker begins takeover talks

  

  Bloomberg GrandVision NV surged after Ray-Ban sunglasses owner EssilorLuxottica SA began takeover talks in a deal that would value the smaller Dutch eyewear retailer at about $8 billion. EssilorLuxottica is holding talks with GrandVision’s controlling shareholder, HAL, to buy the firm’s approximately 77 percent stake, HAL said in a statement in response to a Bloomberg report, which was confirmed later ...

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• 21 July

  Australia, NZ ground GA8 Airvan jets

  Bloomberg Australia and New Zealand grounded Gippsland GA8 Airvan planes over safety concerns after a deadly crash in Sweden this month killed nine. Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) halted operations of the planes made by Gippsaero Pty Ltd for 15 days, it said, adding it has sent an airworthiness engineer to Sweden to observe the crash investigation and collect ...

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• 21 July

  Swatch profit rises after crackdown on gray market

  

  Bloomberg Swatch Group AG shares gained after the Swiss watchmaker said it’s cracking down on unauthorised sales in an attempt to fetch higher prices. The owner of Omega and Tissot reported a decline in first-half sales as it took aim against so-called gray-market distributors that have eroded its pricing power. It also suffered from a drop of more than 10 ...

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