May, 2019

• 29 May

  RBA signals it expects to lower rates this year

  Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) signalled it expects to lower interest rates this year. It is setting off fresh round of forecasts for deeper policy cuts as economists ponder where the lower bound is Down Under. JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday said it expects the central bank will have to cut its 1.5 percent benchmark 1 percentage ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Sweden’s dirty money case has only begun: Browder

  

  Bloomberg Bill Browder, the co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management, says the fallout of a money laundering saga involving the biggest mortgage bank in Sweden is “just starting.” During a tour of the Nordic region this week, Browder said he won’t drop his accusations against Swedbank AB even after the Swedish prosecutor declined to take up his complaint, citing a statute ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Scotiabank’s earnings miss estimates as provisions for loan losses increase

  

  Bloomberg Bank of Nova Scotia reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as higher provisions for loan losses tied mainly to takeovers hurt results in the fiscal second quarter. Canada’s third-largest lender by assets set aside more money for soured loans in its Canadian banking and international divisions, leading to a 63 percent jump in provisions across the bank. Provisions for ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Hungary maintains policy despite uptick in inflation

  

  Bloomberg Hungary’s central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged despite an uptick in inflation and a weakening forint, pledging to review its setup in June when its updated forecasts are due. Central bankers, who held the benchmark rate at 0.9 percent and the overnight deposit rate at minus 0.05 percent, said financing costs would remain favourable but a cautious approach ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  EU cautions on Max return with no FAA stamp

  

  Bloomberg European regulators assessing changes to Boeing Co’s grounded 737 Max will scrutinise the jet’s entire flight-control system before a return to the skies can be approved. The review by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will include the plane’s displays, alerts and air-data systems, as well as the aircraft’s autopilot function, EASA Director Patrick Ky wrote in a ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Walmart appoints Google, Amazon veteran as CTO

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc hired an executive who has held senior roles at Google, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc as its new technology chief, while expanding and elevating the role. Suresh Kumar will join Walmart on July 8 as the retailer’s chief technology officer and chief development officer, reporting to chief executive officer Doug McMillon. He’ll be based out of the ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Wow Air collapse triggers recession in Iceland

  Bloomberg It’s not often that an entire economy is thrown off course by a single corporate event. But that’s what appears to have happened in Iceland. The recent bankruptcy of budget airline Wow Air has delivered such a blow to the Icelandic tourist industry, and the wider economy, that the central bank cut its main interest rate by half a ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Amazon poised to unleash purge of small suppliers

  

  Bloomberg Two months ago, Amazon.com Inc halted orders from thousands of suppliers with no explanation. Panic ensued — until the orders quietly resumed weeks later, with Amazon suggesting the pause was part of a campaign to weed out counterfeit products. Suppliers breathed a sigh of relief. Now a larger, more permanent purge is coming that will upend the relationship between ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  UAE waives fees for federal services to boost economy

  

  DUBAI / WAM The UAE Cabinet adopted a decision to amend and waive fees for a number of federal services within the framework of government’s effort to enhance the national economy, reduce costs to business owners and increase the competitiveness of the UAE. The decision promotes economic growth in the UAE and it includes the amendment or cancellation of fees ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  UAE’s non-oil foreign trade hit AED1.628trn in 2018

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade, including direct and free zone trade, and customs warehouses, reached a total of AED1.628 trillion in 2018, announced the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) on Tuesday. In a statement, the authority noted that direct non-oil foreign trade accounted for 63 percent (AED1.025 trillion) of the total value, while free zone trade and ...

  Read More »