March, 2019

• 9 March

  ECB officials back stimulus policy to arrest slowdown

  

  Bloomberg Euro-area officials set out to defend their latest monetary-policy action, stressing their package of new long-term loans and revised guidance was an appropriate response to the region’s economic slowdown. “Hard data indicated that a reaction was needed,” Lithuanian Governing Council member Vitas Vasiliauskas told reporters in Vilnius. “It was a natural preemptive move.” Recent data have painted a gloomy ...

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• 9 March

  Absa overhauls investment banking unit

  

  Bloomberg Absa Group Ltd. has overhauled the executive management of its corporate and investment banking unit as part of an ongoing group-wide revamp to draw more revenue from operations in Africa. The team of eight, which includes former joint-chief executive officers of the division, Mike Harvey and Temi Ofong, now have a mandate to drive business across the entire African ...

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• 9 March

  Aareal Bank hit hardest in ECB risk reality check

  

  Bloomberg German commercial real estate lender Aareal Bank AG took the hardest hit to date in a far-reaching European Central Bank investigation of how banks gauge risk. Aareal’s key capital ratio dropped by at least 3.5 percentage points as a result of the review, the most among 18 publicly traded banks that have disclosed the impact in statements and conference ...

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• 9 March

  Japan’s largest airline bets big on newly axed Airbus A380

  

  Bloomberg Just as a tide of cancelled orders has prompted Airbus SE to halt production of the A380 superjumbo, Japan’s biggest airline is betting it can succeed where others have failed — by filling the luxurious double-deckers with tourists flying to Hawaii. Starting May 24, ANA Holdings Inc. has scheduled three flights a week from Tokyo to Honolulu on the ...

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• 9 March

  Debenhams lenders rebuff billionaire Mike Ashley’s bid for power

  

  Bloomberg Billionaire Mike Ashley’s push to oust the board of Debenhams Plc came after creditors of the troubled UK retailer repeatedly rebuffed his bid to take over immediately as chief executive officer, according to people familiar with the situation. Ashley, whose Sports Direct International Plc is the biggest investor in the department-store chain, has stepped up his campaign by appealing ...

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• 9 March

  Ryanair wades into Irish Brexit row, predicts May’s victory

  

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary waded into the row over the UK’s Brexit logjam, saying controversy over the so-called Irish backstop has been exaggerated. The backstop, which keeps the UK in a customs union with the European Union unless a future trade deal makes border checks unnecessary, won’t be a problem so long as Britain moves ...

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• 9 March

  Southwest gets safety-risk warning over feud with mechanics

  

  Bloomberg Aviation regulators warned Southwest Airlines Co. and its mechanics’ union that their contentious contract talks and legal fight are putting the carrier’s safety at risk. The Federal Aviation Administration sent the letter to Southwest and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, urging the two parties to work cooperatively on safety issues. Southwest flies the most passengers on domestic flights of ...

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• 6 March

  VP okays $1.6b projects in northern emirates

  DUBAI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday announced allocation of AED5.8 billion ($1.6bn) for water and electricity projects in northern emirates. His Highness also approved an AED2.4 billion project to build dams and a federal water network that connects the water resources ...

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• 6 March

  OECD cuts global outlook on trade, political tensions

  

  Bloomberg The global economy is suffering more than expected from trade tensions and political uncertainty which are clouding prospects particularly in Europe, according to a gloomy report from the OECD. As these are the organisation’s first forecasts in almost four months, it’s partly playing catch-up with developments since then. In that period, little has gone right for the world’s biggest ...

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• 6 March

  Nasdaq Dubai lists $750mn bond of EDB

  DUBAI / WAM Nasdaq Dubai welcomed the listing of a $750 million conventional bond by Emirates Development Bank (EDB). It is the first product to be listed on the exchange by the bank, which is wholly owned by the UAE government. The listing supports EDB’s mission which includes contributing to the economic prosperity of UAE nationals by providing financing solutions ...

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