July, 2019

• 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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• 10 July

  Trump is defeating his own Nafta replacement

  It’s getting harder and harder to imagine the new Nafta successfully ratified during this Congress. And Donald Trump has only himself to blame for that. For one thing, the White House strategy on getting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement ratified is still incoherent at best. As Bloomberg’s Jenny Leonard reports, there are at least two factions, surrounding Vice President Mike Pence ...

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• 10 July

  Conditions are ripe for Fed to spring a dove trap

  

  Market participants will know soon enough whether the US Federal Reserve has led them into another “dove trap” and will need to reel in expectations for interest-rate cuts. The next 48 hours will be critical in markets, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell appearing twice before Congress for his semi-annual testimony and the release of the minutes from the central bank’s ...

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• 10 July

  Deutsche Bank reboot looks real this time

  

  Deutsche Bank AG has given up waiting. After years spent adrift hoping that its ambitions to compete with Wall Street would come good again, Germany’s biggest bank has sounded the retreat. Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing’s overhaul may not be particularly imaginative — but it is what the lender needs if it is to do more than just survive. After ...

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• 10 July

  EU-Mercosur deal a win for Latin America, free trade

  

  Argentina’s foreign minister fought back tears. President Maurico Macri called it “the most important agreement ever signed in our history.” Latin America’s big-gest economy would soon be “reborn,” predicted a top aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who likewise heralded the “great day.” The June 28 deal between the European Union and Mercosur was a breakthrough. Who knew that even ...

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• 9 July

  UAE affirms support for Mideast peace process, regional stability

  GENEVA / WAM In a statement delivered by Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, during the 41st session of the Human Rights Council, the UAE affirmed its support for the peace process in the Middle East, with the aim of achieving peace and stability in the region. It also highlighted its support ...

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