February, 2019

• 25 February

  StanChart to take $900 million charge over US, UK regulatory investigations

  

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc is booking a $900 million charge tied to regulatory probes in its fourth-quarter results, a move that will erode earnings as its top executive prepares to unveil a turnaround plan. The provision will cover the UK bank’s estimates for potential penalties from investigations over US sanctions violations, currency trading issues and financial-crime controls, the company said. ...

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• 25 February

  Philippine central bank stays hawkish on policy

  Bloomberg The Philippines central bank remains guarded on monetary policy and is keeping a hawkish bias, Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said, indicating it’s not ready to cut interest rates just yet. “We are more on the hawkish side in the sense that we recognize the risks on the market,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Nejra Cehic from ...

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• 25 February

  EY probed as Swedbank hires firm in laundering review

  

  Bloomberg EY, the accounting firm engaged by Swedbank AB following a report that the lender was involved in money laundering, is being probed in Denmark over the Estonian dirty-money scandal surrounding Danske Bank A/S. The investigation of EY has been running since October, after Danske admitted that much of the $230 billion that flowed through a tiny Estonian branch between ...

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• 25 February

  Vietnam Airlines weighs buying up to 100 Boeing 737 Max jets

  

  Bloomberg Vietnam Airlines is considering an order of 50 to 100 Boeing Co. 737 Max planes this year to replace its aging fleet of Airbus SE single-aisle aircraft and may also buy long-range jets in preparation for flights to California. The new aircraft will be for delivery between 2020 and 2030, Duong Tri Thanh, chief executive officer of the state-owned ...

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• 25 February

  Canada retail sales fall for 2nd month on gasoline prices

  

  Bloomberg Falling gasoline prices pushed down Canadian retail sales for a second straight month in December, ending what was a weak fourth quarter and lackluster year for the industry. Retailers posted a 0.1 percent drop in receipts in December, extending a 0.9 percent drop in November — the most sluggish back-to-back monthly performance last year. For all of 2018, sales ...

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• 25 February

  Qantas to recoup fuel bill on strong ticket demand

  

  Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd. expects to completely recover higher fuel costs this fiscal year due to strong demand for air travel, even after rising oil prices dented first-half profit. The airline’s first-half underlying profit before tax fell 19 percent to A$780 million ($559 million) from a year earlier but Qantas announced more returns to shareholders with a A$305 million stock ...

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• 25 February

  Guangzhou Airport rally seen fizzling as earnings set to slide

  

  Bloomberg Optimism over a travel boom in southern China has fueled a surge in shares of China’s third-biggest airport. But some analysts say the rally in Shanghai-listed Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co. will probably run out of steam soon. Baiyun Airport has gained 25 percent this year, outperforming a 20 increase in the broader A-share market. It was mainly fueled ...

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• 24 February

  Adnoc seals $4b pipeline investment pact

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced that it has entered into a landmark multi-billion-dollar midstream pipeline infrastructure partnership with KKR and BlackRock, two of the world’s leading institutional investors. To mark the occasion, a signing ceremony was held at Adnoc Headquarters with Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Adnoc ...

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• 24 February

  Mena sovereign borrowing to rise by 25% to $136b in 2019

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The sovereign long-term commercial borrowing in the Middle East and North African (Mena) could increase by 25% this year after falling 38% in 2018, according to S&P Global Ratings. This is chiefly because higher oil prices and fiscal consolidation measures in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries significantly reduced GCC sovereigns’ funding needs in 2018. However, lower ...

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• 24 February

  DFM keen to promote innovation

  Dubai / WAM As part of its efforts to strengthen its leading position amongst most innovative and smart exchanges in the region and beyond, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) organises series of brainstorming sessions during the ‘UAE Innovation Month 2019’. The sessions aim to promote a culture of innovation amongst DFM employees and various market participants including listed companies and brokerage ...

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