March, 2019

• 26 March

  China’s hydrogen economy is coming

  

  There was little excitement in the air when China’s State Council convened a press conference to announce and explain 83 revisions to the annual Government Work Report. A few equity investors paid attention anyway. Among the revisions was a proposal to promote the development and construction of fueling stations for hydrogen fuel-cell cars. Chinese punters were ready: In the first ...

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• 26 March

  Driving while tweeting could hurt US carmakers

  For carmakers in the US, the price of honesty is high. President Donald Trump’s preoccupation with the auto industry was on show again over the past week, when he tweeted that he had asked General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra to sell or “do something quickly” with one of the plants it is idling under a wide-ranging cost-cutting ...

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• 26 March

  Boeing, FAA owe the world some answers

  What began as a tragedy is starting to look like something worse. In the span of just four months, two Boeing Co. 737 Max jets have crashed, killing a total of 346 people. Both planes — Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10 — experienced serious trouble shortly after takeoff. In a ...

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• 26 March

  Will UK revoke Brexit? Don’t hold your breath

  

  The UK Parliament seized control of the Brexit process from Prime Minister Theresa May and will now seek to decide how Britain exits the European Union (EU). What will follow is anyone’s guess, but it is likely to include voting on the largest range of options for leaving the EU that lawmakers have formally considered. One of those options is ...

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• 26 March

  Market rewind could twist investors around

  

  So far this year, the market has looked like late 2018, but in reverse. The stocks that did poorly late last year, like video streaming service Netflix Inc. and energy company Hess Corp., have done well in early 2019, and vice versa. Overall, the S&P 500 Index has climbed nearly 13 percent this year. Dan Suzuki, a portfolio strategist at ...

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• 26 March

  The world’s wealth rests on a paper-thin illusion

  

  The world is wealthier now than it’s ever been — but only on paper. Much of this prosperity may prove illusory as a global shift towards less liquid investments undermines the basis of valuation. Private equity, infrastructure and private credit have become a bigger share of investment portfolios, making mark-to-market values increasingly uncertain. The standard method of valuing assets assumes ...

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• 26 March

  Swedish money laundering case spins widening web of intrigue

  

  Bloomberg As Sweden gets to grips with the money laundering scandal battering its oldest bank, questions are being asked about the impartiality of those overseeing the case. Swedbank AB reportedly handled more than $10 billion in suspicious flows tied to the Danske Bank A/S Estonian laundering scandal. The case became public knowledge only this year, but according to Swedish media ...

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• 26 March

  Euro-area banks set to know ECB loan details by June

  

  Bloomberg Euro-area banks will know by June how generous the terms of the European Central Bank’s new loans are going to be, according to Governing Council member Olli Rehn. Policy makers have yet to pass judgment on the severity of the current slowdown that prompted that measure, the Finnish central bank governor told Bloomberg in an interview. They are determined ...

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• 26 March

  Citi faces fine for ‘fudging’ JGB futures

  

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. faces a 133 million yen ($1.2 million) fine for allegedly manipulating prices in the Japanese government bond futures market, its latest regulatory setback in Asia. Japan’s securities watchdog said Citigroup placed orders in October for JGB futures contracts at the Osaka Exchange without intending to execute them, a practice known as spoofing. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance ...

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• 26 March

  UBS names Tsang as Asia tech head, replacing Gelber

  

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG has named Patrick Tsang as head of telecommunications, media and technology investment banking for Asia Pacific, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Tsang, a Hong Kong-based managing director for the Swiss bank, is replacing Randy Gelber, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter ...

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