July, 2019

• 9 July

  Hong Kong’s flash-crash enigma remains unsolved

  Two years after Hong Kong’s securities regulator vowed to nip irregularities in the bud, flash crashes are still plaguing the world’s fourth-largest stock market. This year’s wave rivals the notorious “Enigma Network” that prompted the last bout of regulatory hand-wringing in 2017. In mid-January, Chinese real estate developer Jiayuan International Group Ltd. plunged without warning, triggering a $4.8 billion selloff ...

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• 9 July

  Tokyo-Seoul trade spat may hand China a victory

  If there was ever a time for Japan and South Korea to engage in a supply-chain spat, this isn’t it. Last week, Japan moved to restrict exports of materials used to make semiconductors and smartphone screens to its North Asian neighbour, citing grievances between the two countries dating back seven decades. The curbs threaten the flow of components that feeds ...

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• 9 July

  If Masayoshi Son won’t invest in Japan, why should you?

  

  Softbank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund has invested its $100 billion cash pile in 75 unicorns around the world. Not a single one is from Japan, its own backyard. That may be because the pickings are slim: While the US has 179 unicorns, China 93, and India 18, Japan has just two, according to CB Insights. How can a country that ...

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• 9 July

  Which Judy Shelton will show up at Fed?

  

  Judy Shelton, the economic adviser President Trump says he is nominating to the Federal Reserve Board, has long been a predictable voice in monetary policy debates. Predictability is often a good thing in that context: It beats being erratic. Many monetary policy specialists want central banks to minimise the possibility of surprises by announcing relatively simple rules they will follow. ...

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• 9 July

  That giant asteroid of gold won’t make us richer

  

  Rejoice, people of Earth! News outlets are reporting that Nasa is planning to visit an asteroid made of gold and other precious metals! At current prices, the minerals contained in asteroid 16 Psyche are said to be worth $700 quintillion — enough to give everyone on the planet $93 billion. We’re all going to be richer than Jeff Bezos! OK, ...

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• 9 July

  US stocks pare losses on eve of Powell report, gold drops

  

  Bloomberg US stocks pared some early losses as markets await an onslaught of central bank news this week. The dollar strengthened to its highest level since mid-June and Treasuries slipped. The S&P 500 Index declined, led lower by materials and utilities stocks, as investors absorb recent profit warnings and stand by for more clues on the path for US monetary ...

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• 9 July

  $30 billion wiped off India stocks as tax clarity eludes market

  

  Bloomberg It’s an old saw of India’s budget documents — the devil lies in details of the fine print. A higher surcharge on wealthy Indians in the budget has spooked non-resident and overseas funds enough to erase 2.3 trillion rupees ($30 billion) in market value from companies in the S&P BSE Sensex over the past three sessions. The reason: the ...

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• 9 July

  Fed chief heads to Congress with interest-rate cut in play

  

  Bloomberg Jerome Powell is likely to leave Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts firmly on the table when he appears before Congress this week, even though the latest US jobs report dialed down the urgency to ease borrowing costs. The Fed chairman, who has been hectored for months by President Donald Trump for not cutting rates, will probably repeat language from the ...

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• 9 July

  Australian banks win regulator concession on capital buffer needs

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s banking regulator has softened its capital buffer requirement on the nation’s largest banks after they argued that there wasn’t sufficient market capacity available to raise the necessary funds. The so-called Big Four banks will need to lift their total capital by three percentage points of risk-weighted assets by January 2024, less than an initial target of four to ...

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• 9 July

  Danske cuts profit forecast for 2019

  

  Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S, contending with negative interest rates and a money-laundering scandal, cut its outlook for profit this year after trading income fell short of expectations and compliance costs mount. The Danish lender now expects profit of $1.9 billion to 15 billion kroner, down from a previous range of 14 billion to 16 billion kroner. The company said second-quarter ...

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