July, 2019

• 8 July

  Iran to enrich uranium to 20% as tensions rise

  

  Bloomberg Iran may choose to enrich uranium at a higher purity level as its next step in a new policy that’s gradually undoing the restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal. It’s “among the options considered” as part of Iran cutting back on its commitments within the accord, official Islamic Republic News Agency reported, citing Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  Germany rejects sending ground troops to Syria

  Bloomberg Germany’s government ruled out dispatching ground troops to Syria to assist a US-led campaign against the IS, pushing back on a request from the US administration. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Germany’s contribution to the anti-ISIS mission will most likely be confined to existing measures, such as aerial surveillance and assistance to Iraqi Kurds. “When I ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  Trump says UK envoy hasn’t served Britain ‘well’ after leak

  

  Bloomberg US President Donald Trump criticised the British ambassador to Washington following the leak of memos penned by the envoy describing his administration in unflattering terms. The Foreign Office is investigating the leak after the Mail newspaper reported that Kim Darroch, a career diplomat who’s been his country’s top representative in Washington since 2016, described Trump as “inept” and “incompetent” ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  Russian nuke submarine’s crew prevented ‘planetary catastrophe’

  

  Bloomberg The 14 sailors who died during a fire on a nuclear-powered Russian military submarine prevented a “planetary catastrophe,” a top naval officer said at their funeral, according to media reports. Captain Sergei Pavlov, an aide to the commander of Russia’s navy, praised the heroism of the men, who died as they battled to stop the fire from spreading in ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  Tories deploy new tool to prevent no-deal Brexit

  

  Bloomberg British Conservatives plotting to thwart a no-deal Brexit will make another attempt this week to stop the next prime minister from forcing a chaotic break with the European Union without parliament’s consent. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, a veteran anti-Brexit rebel in the Conservative Party, plans to amend a bill going to parliament. He wants to ensure the House ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  China learns an iron law of the prices in markets

  

  China’s steelmakers have had enough of the squeeze. The government needs to “maintain normal iron-ore market order” and push prices back to “reasonable levels” Qu Xiuli, vice chairwoman of the China Iron & Steel Association, or CISA, told a conference in Shanghai. It’s not hard to understand the frustration. Iron-ore costs in June amounted to about a third of the ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  The true price of electric cars

  

  Most people will be happy to see the back of the combustion engine. Cleaner air and less dependence on oil are good reasons to look forward to the mass adoption of electric cars. But for the 3 million or so Europeans working in the auto industry, the transition to the new technology is a source of great anxiety. While the ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  A leaner Deutsche Bank may not be fitter in Asia

  It makes sense for investment banks to cut businesses where they’re too small to be competitive and staying in is costly. So Deutsche Bank AG’s exit from equities trading is overdue. That doesn’t mean life is going to get any easier, in Asia at least. The German lender is counting on its strength in fixed-income and currencies trading to pivot ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  Asset managers calling for planet-friendliness

  Asset managers are increasingly using their financial clout to persuade companies to be friendlier to the planet, wielding a combination of the stick of disinvestment and the carrot of engagement. But can the financial world do more to ensure countries and their central banks are also meeting their environmental, social and governance responsibilities? Travel platform from AtoB.com scrutinised the 2018 ...

  Read More »
• 8 July

  Trump’s latest picks may be what the Fed needs

  

  Before I offer thoughts on President Donald Trump’s latest two nominees to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors and the challenges they face, some full disclosures are in order. I interviewed for one of the open governor positions at the White House in late May. I have an unconventional background for a Fed governor as I don’t have a Ph.D. ...

  Read More »