March, 2019

• 4 March

  China vows ‘reasonable’ rise in defense spending

  Bloomberg China said it would need to increase its military spending to protect itself and that it doesn’t pose a threat to other countries. “A proper increase in the defense budget is needed to safeguard national security and transform China’s military with Chinese features,” Zhang Yesui, a spokesman for China’s National People’s Congress, said at a briefing on Monday in ...

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• 4 March

  Unintended fallout of Trump steel duty: Solar buying abroad

  

  Bloomberg The Trump administration imposed a tariff on steel imports last year to get companies to buy more American metal. In some ways, the duty has the US solar business doing the exact opposite. Consider the case of PanelClaw Inc., a supplier of steel racks that hold solar panels in place. Since President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on steel and ...

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• 4 March

  Husky Energy falls after ‘tough and noisy’ Q4

  

  Bloomberg Husky Energy Inc. fell the most in nearly five months after posting what its chief executive officer called “tough and noisy” fourth-quarter results, which were hurt by a plunge in Canadian crude prices and a spill in its offshore operations. Net earnings dropped 68 percent from a year earlier, to C$216 million ($164 million), as falling crude and fuel ...

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• 4 March

  US grid CEO dismisses fears over coal, nuclear plants shutdown

  Bloomberg About 18,000 megawatts of coal and nuclear plants — enough to power 13.5 million homes — are slated to permanently shut across the eastern US grid. And the region still has enough electricity to keep the lights on, according to the chief executive officer of the grid operator. In fact, “we could sustain essentially in the 30,000 megawatt range,” ...

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• 4 March

  Nordea sinks as investors fear more laundering allegations

  

  Bloomberg Nordea Bank Abp sank as much as 6.5 percent on Monday ahead of report due to be broadcast this afternoon that will focus on the biggest Nordic lender’s alleged involvement in money laundering. The news appeared to drag down a number of other Nordic bank shares with DNB ASA, Norway’s largest lender, falling as much as 4.6 percent. SEB ...

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• 4 March

  BNP wins dismissal of suit over $186mn ‘fat finger’ mistake

  

  Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA won dismissal of a German lawsuit by a trader seeking 163 million euros ($186 million) for a “fat-finger” mistake in a 2015 transaction. The Frankfurt Regional Court on February 26 ruled it can’t look into merits of the case, which involved an error on the bank’s system that displayed derivatives priced at 108.80 euros each instead ...

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• 4 March

  Dalton calls for buybacks, board seat at Shinsei Bank

  

  Bloomberg Dalton Investments stepped up its pressure on Shinsei Bank Ltd., continuing a years-long effort to bring change at the Japanese lender. The US investment firm is proposing that its co-founder, Jamie Rosenwald, be put on Shinsei’s board, according to a copy of a letter to Shinsei provided by Dalton to Bloomberg. Dalton also renewed its call for the bank ...

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• 4 March

  Euro area has a glimmer of hope as ECB waits for slowdown response

  

  Bloomberg Scratch below the surface of the euro area’s dismal economic numbers and there’s a glimmer of hope that things could improve. While inflation remains in hibernation and factories are seeing orders drop, companies are continuing to hire and consumers are spending more from their rising wages. That’s why European Central Bank officials are showing reluctance to race into action ...

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• 4 March

  German growth to remain subdued: Bundesbank

  

  Bloomberg German economic growth is likely to remain subdued at least through the first half of the year as deteriorating business expectations threaten to hamper company investment — yet there’s no reason for concern, according to the Bundesbank. “There are no signs that the slowdown is morphing into a downturn,” the country’s central bank said in its monthly report. Some ...

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• 4 March

  Pentagon seeks fewer Lockheed F-35s in 2020

  

  Bloomberg The Pentagon will request 78 F-35 jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp, six fewer than previously planned, in the budget expected to be sent to Congress next week, according to defense officials. The cutback from the 84 fighters projected a year ago for fiscal 2020 is a setback for Lockheed, the No. 1 defense contractor, even as interest in ...

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