April, 2019

• 9 April

  Hong Kong Occupy leader found guilty

  

  Bloomberg A Hong Kong court found democracy activist Benny Tai guilty for his role in organising the Occupy protests, the latest step in the China-backed government’s effort to punish leaders of demonstrations that rocked the former British colony almost five years ago. Tai, an associate law professor at the University of Hong Kong, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit ...

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• 9 April

  Libyan conflict could send oil prices soaring

  

  Just as its oil sector looked set to stage a recovery, Libya is heading back towards bloody chaos that puts output and exports at risk. A disruption to supplies from the North African country would hit European refiners and raise oil prices around the world. Libya – one of six Opec oil producers at risk of unintended output declines – ...

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• 9 April

  Ghosn affair bad news for hedge funds

  

  Activist investors are circling Japan Inc., creating momentum for change in the country’s boardrooms. While you’d hope that the Carlos Ghosn saga would help in that effort, it may in fact slow things down. The latest episode in Ghosn’s downfall came, as shareholders in Nissan Motor Co. voted to remove him as a director. The once legendary auto executive was ...

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• 9 April

  A weak euro does what a fractured ECB can’t

  The euro’s steady deterioration is the European Central Bank’s (ECB) saving grace. It buys policy makers more time to assess how dovish it needs to be — but they need to be careful not to fritter away this asset. The euro-area economy is decelerating rapidly, and it is the export-led nations that are suffering most. Keeping the currency from approaching ...

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• 9 April

  Nigeria needs growth to defuse poverty time bomb

  One of humanity’s most hopeful developments in recent decades has been the dramatic drop in extreme poverty. In 2000, some 1.4 billion people lived at or below the global poverty line of $1.90 a day. Today, the number is about 600 million. This remarkable change is mainly due to growth in China and India: Much of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria, ...

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• 9 April

  Remainers, be careful what Brexit you wish for

  

  The remainer side of the great Brexit divide might be tempted to feel a little smug right now. Things are finally looking up. It’s what lies around the corner that should scare them. There is almost no prospect of Britain leaving the European Union (EU) without a deal after last week’s dramatic parliamentary vote. Instead, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May ...

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• 9 April

  Germany’s economic data contradicts itself

  

  Germany’s economic outlook resembles Winston Churchill’s description of Russia: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Analysts are banging their heads over the contradictory data emanating from Europe’s largest economy after it narrowly escaped a recession at the end of last year. The question of how severe Germany’s slowdown really is matters for policy makers, especially for those ...

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• 9 April

  Is pay-as-you-earn model the future of education?

  

  Is it possible to equitise human labour? For years people have talked about the idea of selling shares in one’s own talent, in the hope of attracting funds and assistance from others. Now it seems that this idea is happening at scale, through the Lambda School in California. The Lambda School teaches information technology skills online, and it charges zero ...

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• 9 April

  US futures, Europe stocks edge lower with greenback

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures and European shares edged down after President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on goods produced in the EU. The dollar slipped while Treasuries nudged higher. Contracts on the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq pointed to a weaker open and the Stoxx 600 Index erased an earlier gain as the European Union prepared retaliatory tariffs in response ...

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• 9 April

  Some stocks surge as Japan redesigns currency notes

  

  Bloomberg Japan announced new currency note designs today, sending shares of several somewhat obscure companies soaring. Glory Ltd — a provider of cash sorting machines — rallied as much as 19 percent, the most in more than 11 years, after the Ministry of Finance said that it plans to circulate new bill designs by the first half of the fiscal ...

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