January, 2019

• 6 January

  Why internet censorship doesn’t work and never will

  

  Regulating speech is difficult even under the best of conditions, and the internet is far from the best of conditions. Its patchwork system of regulation by private entities satisfies no one, yet it is likely to endure for the foreseeable future. By way of explanation, consider a case in which authority is (mostly) centralised and the environment is (mostly) controlled: ...

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• 6 January

  Saudi Arabian banks set for 4-year high growth in 2019

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabian banks may report double-digit earnings growth this year as rising interest rates and increased government spending offset the risk of higher bad-debt charges. Even loans may expand faster after four years of declines led to a contraction in 2017. The government’s 2019 budget increased spending in the face of plunging oil prices. “More stimulus, business confidence, privatisation ...

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• 6 January

  Nordea finds no room on Euro Stoxx index

  

  Bloomberg The biggest Nordic bank is starting to feel a lot smaller. Nordea Bank Abp joined the euro zone in October by moving its headquarters to Helsinki from Stockholm. A month later, it learned it was losing its status as a global systemically important bank. Now, it appears Nordea is also too small to make it into the Euro Stoxx ...

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• 6 January

  Ghana settles banking sector cleanup

  

  Bloomberg Ghana completed a cleanup of its banking industry in which lenders were required to raise their capital and improve governance, with two-thirds of them meeting the new requirements, Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison said. The West African nation has “23 well-capitalised” banks, compared with 34 previously, which raised their holdings to at least 400 million cedis ($81.1 million), ...

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• 6 January

  South African Reserve Bank deputy chief quits

  Bloomberg South African Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Francois Groepe has resigned, leaving only five people on the central bank’s rate-setting panel. He will leave at the end of the month, which is after the Monetary Policy Committee’s next interest-rate decision on January 17. Groepe has been a deputy governor and member of the MPC since January 2012. The MPC increased ...

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• 6 January

  Powell, Trump locked in a battle for Wall Street’s trust

  

  Bloomberg Jerome Powell has been sucked into a one-sided communication fight with Donald Trump, who blames the Federal Reserve chairman for losses in the stock market. Powell can’t match the president’s megaphone on social media. But he can try to prevent equity prices becoming the barometer of Fed success by reminding the public that Congress gave it a different mandate: ...

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• 6 January

  Sears prepares for possible liquidation as ESL bid fails

  

  Bloomberg Sears Holdings Corp is preparing to potentially wind down the iconic retailer after Chairman Eddie Lampert’s bid to buy several hundred stores out of bankruptcy fell short of bankers’ qualifications, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The retailer started laying the groundwork for a liquidation after a series of meetings in which its advisers weighed the merits ...

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• 6 January

  Malaysia’s Mr DIY eyes $500mn IPO

  

  Bloomberg Mr DIY, Malaysia’s biggest home improvement retailer, is exploring an initial public offering that could raise about $500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company has been interviewing potential underwriters as it considers a listing in Kuala Lumpur, according to the people. Mr DIY is targeting a market value of about 10 billion ringgit ($2.4 billion), ...

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• 6 January

  Delta Air plunges after cut to revenue forecast

  

  Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc plunged the most in more than six years, pulling rivals lower, after disappointing ticket pricing forced the carrier to cut its revenue forecasts for the second time in two months. Fourth-quarter revenue from each seat flown a mile, or unit revenue, will rise 3 percent from a year earlier, the Atlanta-based airline said in a ...

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• 6 January

  Airbus falls short of 800-jet delivery target

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE narrowly missed its reduced target for aircraft deliveries last year even after the company’s factories operated until the last minutes of December 31 to complete remaining jetliners, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Handovers topped 790 but failed to reach the goal of about 800, said one of the people, who asked not to be ...

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