February, 2019

• 16 February

  Video games are changing!

  

  Bloomberg As the video game model evolves, Morgan Stanley expects the market to pay less for publishers until they develop a better sense of what works. The success of free-to-play games like Fortnite by Epic Games and recently released Apex Legends by Electronic Arts Inc. are changing player behavior, as gamers may not see the utility of paying $60 for ...

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• 16 February

  Google to spend $13bn on data centers, offices

  

  Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Google plans to spend $13 billion on data centers and offices across the US in 2019, saying the investment will create thousands of new construction jobs in states outside its traditional base of California. The new spending builds on $9 billion the company put into expanding across the country last year. By the end of 2019, Google ...

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• 16 February

  Nintendo unveils new games to boost switch

  Bloomberg Nintendo Co. has unveiled 18 previously unannounced games as the company doubles down on software titles to revive slumping sales of the Switch console. Among the most promising new games are Super Mario Maker 2, which will go on sale in June, and Zelda: Link’s Awakening slated for some time this year. The release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses ...

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• 16 February

  ECB moves closer to inject fresh stimulus in euro-area economy

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) took a step closer to injecting fresh stimulus into the weakening euro-area economy as one of its top policy makers said discussions are under way on offering banks new long-term loans. The comments by Benoit Coeure, the ECB Executive Board member in charge of markets, provided the strongest signal yet that euro-area policy makers ...

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• 16 February

  India’s Yes Bank under fire from regulator over breaches

  

  Bloomberg Yes Bank Ltd. came under fire from the Reserve Bank of India, which said its selective disclosures from an audit report by the regulator was a “deliberate attempt” to mislead the public. The risk assessment report on Yes Bank prepared by the RBI identified several lapses and regulatory breaches in various areas of functioning, the company said in a ...

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• 16 February

  Commerzbank vows to restore revenue growth

  

  Bloomberg Commerzbank AG vowed to restore revenue growth after posting its weakest fourth quarter in four years as competition for corporate clients weighs on Chief Executive Officer Martin Zielke’s turnaround plan. Revenue for the group declined 3.3 percent to 2.04 billion euros, the Frankfurt-based lender said. “Commerzbank will concentrate on further growth in the core segments, and is targeting higher ...

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• 16 February

  RBS makes special investor payout as Brexit starts to bite

  

  Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) plans to award shareholders a special dividend as the British lender seeks to assuage concerns with the UK’s departure from the European Union looming. The bank, which required one of the costliest bailouts in financial history, swung to a better-than-expected profit before tax of 572 million pounds ($733 million) in the fourth ...

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• 16 February

  Credit Agricole trading revenue plunges in Q4

  Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA’s trading revenue plunged in the fourth quarter, extending a tough quarter for French investment banking after volatile markets at the end of the year kept clients on the sidelines. Capital-markets and investment-banking revenue declined 29 percent in the last three months of 2018, led by fixed income. However, the lender’s earnings are less dependent on investment ...

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• 16 February

  China’s JPMorgan wannabe turned into a $34bn debt risk

  

  Bloomberg It was supposed to be China’s answer to JPMorgan Chase & Co. But less than five years after China Minsheng Investment Group Corp. (CMIG) outlined plans to become a financial colossus, the company has instead turned into a symbol of the turmoil sweeping China’s once-vaunted private sector. After shocking investors with a missed bond payment last month, CMIG has ...

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• 16 February

  Ailing Jet Airways gets lifeline from banks in debt-swap deal

  

  Bloomberg Lenders to Jet Airways India Ltd. proposed a bailout of the beleaguered carrier, potentially paving the way for a revival of the airline that was on the verge of collapse. Mumbai-based Jet Airways, which needs 85 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) to help it get back on its feet, will be revamped with banks becoming the biggest shareholders of the ...

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