December, 2018

• 30 December

  Emerging markets ‘tough’ for investors

  

  Bloomberg If you lost money on emerging Asian bonds and currencies this year, be warned: the first half 2019 may see more of the same. In what could be an unwelcome replay, risk assets are likely to remain at the mercy of the US-China trade war, a messy Brexit and rising US interest rates. Almost all emerging Asian currencies are ...

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• 30 December

  Oil watchers see $70 a barrel in 2019 as recession fears fade

  

  Bloomberg The world’s biggest banks are reckoning on a rebound in oil prices next year as fears of a recession prove misplaced. The Brent benchmark will average $70 a barrel in 2019, according to a Bloomberg survey of oil analysts. Futures in London and New York plunged this quarter, with volatility soaring in its final week as crude tracked gyrations ...

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• 30 December

  China okays first big power storage pilot project

  

  Bloomberg China approved its first large battery storage pilot project as it seeks to maximise clean energy output and improve grid stability. The initial phase of the venture in the northwestern prov-ince of Gansu will require 1.2 billion yuan ($174 million) of investment and have a capacity of 720 megawatt hours and storage duration of four hours, the Gansu Provincial ...

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• 30 December

  Oil mayhem hits China as top traders suspended after losses

  

  Bloomberg China is the latest victim of the wild swings in oil prices that have roiled trading firms across the globe this year. Two top officials at Unipec, one of the country’s most powerful trading companies, were suspended this week following losses on bets related to oil prices in the second half of the year, according to people with knowledge ...

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• 30 December

  Hitachi to buy Polish auto-leasing operator

  

  Bloomberg Hitachi Ltd. is seeking to buy Polish leasing and vehicle-fleet operator Prime Car Management SA, potentially setting up a bidding war between the country’s largest lender and the Japanese manufacturing conglomerate. A local leasing and fleet-management unit of Hitachi offered to acquire all shares of Gdansk-based Prime Car at 12.09 zloty each, according to a filing. That would value ...

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• 30 December

  Hong Kong land sale offers impact market

  

  Bloomberg One of Hong Kong’s biggest sales of residential land this year added to the picture of a worsening home market. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. won the site in Kai Tak with a bid of $1,726 per square foot of floor area. That’s 13 percent less than Goldin Group paid last month for a nearby parcel. “The number ...

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• 30 December

  Ghosn’s family say misconduct allegations are Nissan revolt

  

  Bloomberg The daughters of Nissan Motor Co.’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn, indicted on suspicion of violating Japan’s financial reporting laws, believe the accusations are part of an internal revolt within the carmaker to prevent a merger with Renault, the New York Times reports. His eldest daughter, Caroline Ghosn, said when she saw Nissan Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa’s televised news ...

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• 30 December

  China bond rally ends 2018 on a high note

  Bloomberg China’s red-hot bond rally is ending the year on a high note. The nation’s 10-year government bond futures surged as much as 0.49 percent in intraday trading, the most since November 14, and the yield on the notes fell in the cash bond market. This came as the PBOC net injected $32 billion into the financial system through open-market ...

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• 30 December

  China asks universities to report on gene-editing work

  

  Bloomberg China’s Ministry of Education has asked universities to inspect all research work on gene editing and submit a report to the government by year end showing that the work doesn’t breach ethical boundaries. The order comes a month after Shenzhen-based researcher He Jiankui shocked the world by claiming he had edited the genes of a pair of twin baby ...

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• 30 December

  Carbon futures set to surge again in Europe next year

  

  Bloomberg The cost of pollution in the European Union’s cap-and-trade system is likely to surge again next year, contributing to rising electricity costs that are already uncomfortable for industry. Carbon futures, reflecting the price factories and utilities pay for their emissions, tripled in 2018, making it the best performing major commodity of the year. Those contracts may surge again in ...

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