December, 2018

• 31 December

  AI competition looks like a new space race

  

  It’s been another year of relentless artificial-intelligence (AI) hype and incremental AI achievement. Machines still beat humans only in carefully constructed environments or at narrow tasks. The good news is that, as technology progresses, the race for leadership is still wide open, and even Europe, where politicians fret that continent is lagging behind China and the US, is still quite ...

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• 31 December

  China’s $856bn startup juggernaut gets stuck

  

  If you’re impressed by Masayoshi Son’s $100 billion Vision Fund, China’s $856 billion in “guidance funds” will blow your mind. The country is quickly becoming a major player in the venture capital world. This year, Chinese investors are involved in over $90 billion worth of deals, second only to the US and up from only $11.5 billion five years ago. ...

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• 31 December

  Life is getting too hard for the central banks

  

  For reasons largely outside its control, the Federal Reserve is now being widely blamed for fueling financial market instability and risking derailment of the US economy. This is quite a contrast from just a few month ago, when it was still being feted by many for its role as an active and effective repressor of financial market volatility. It is ...

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• 31 December

  Fed understands it needs to communicate better: El-Erian

  

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve realises that it can’t put its key policy tool, the federal funds rate, on autopilot, and that it needs to better communicate its policy decisions, said Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz SE’s chief economic adviser. “Even the Fed is understanding that it needs to communicate better,” El-Erian said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” It needs to ...

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• 31 December

  Emerging markets at mercy of trade, Fed after a painful 2018

  

  Bloomberg Until a trade dispute between the US and China is resolved, a single tweet on the matter will have the power to ignite rallies and sell-offs. The tweet in question this week is President Donald Trump’s declaration that “big progress” is being made towards a deal between the US and China, and it may spur gains across emerging markets. ...

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• 31 December

  Trade protectionism will crimp global growth in 2019, says ECB

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank expects the global economy to slow in 2019 as rising protectionism curbs trade growth. While economic activity has remained resilient around the world, it has also become more uneven and signs of moderating momentum are increasingly evident, according to the ECB’s latest economic bulletin. Global trade growth has weakened and uncertainties about future trade relations ...

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• 31 December

  United Bank of India first to announce cash injection

  Bloomberg United Bank of India became the first of the country’s ailing state-run banks to announce a new cash injection from the government, disclosing in a filing that it will receive 21.6 billion rupees ($308 million) to improve its capital ratios. The announcement sent the bank’s shares up as much as 14 percent, set for the biggest gain since October ...

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• 31 December

  SNB disregards critics as franc keeps negative rates in play

  

  Bloomberg Swiss National Bank (SNB) interest rates are stuck to the floor and 2019 could see criticism of the policy growing louder: The financial sector hates it and there’s trouble brewing in the real estate market. After nine years of economic growth and the eradication of deflation risks, the arguments are building for the SNB to call time on the ...

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• 30 December

  Abu Dhabi reinforces position as global tourism destination

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism has made many achievements, in light of the emergence of specialist tourism trends and its efforts to improve local tourism infrastructure and to inaugurate new attractions that combine originality, modernity and hospitality. These achievements have positively affected the number of visitors to the emirate and its hotel occupancy ...

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• 30 December

  Japan imports 26.5mn barrels of oil from UAE

  TOKYO / WAM Japan has imported 26.528 million barrels of crude oil from the UAE in November 2018, data released on Sunday by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in Tokyo showed. This accounts for 28.3 percent of Japan’s total crude imports, the agency that belongs to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, reported. Japan’s total crude oil ...

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