January, 2019

• 9 January

  Kenya party rift risks ethnic tensions

  

  Bloomberg An alliance that helped deliver Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta two terms in office is fracturing, reviving tensions in the country’s Rift Valley region that was wracked by widespread violence a decade ago. The deputy chairman of the ruling Jubilee Party stepped down after saying Deputy President William Ruto shouldn’t be allowed to succeed Kenyatta. That undermines an arrangement in ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Germany and France bolster cooperation to counter fraying Europe

  

  Bloomberg Germany and France will deepen their 55-year-old alliance as the main defenders of European Union cooperation seek to counter forces tearing at the bloc’s bonds. Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will sign a treaty in the German border town of Aachen on January 22. The pact, which was signed off by Merkel’s cabinet, calls for joint ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Stocks climb amid optimism over US-China ‘agreement’

  

  Bloomberg Stocks rose globally after the US and China concluded three days of trade talks and appeared to be closer to agreement on a number of areas. The dollar dipped and Treasuries were steady as investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, which may offer insight into the decision to raise rates and the pace ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Indian stocks head for tough year ahead

  

  Bloomberg The party’s over for Indian equities, with stocks headed for another tough year as a shrinking global cash pool dims prospects of an improving economy and expected recovery in company earnings boosting stocks, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Imagine you are at a New Year party and happy to find out that there’s more room to dance ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  China car sales fall for first time in 20 years

  

  Bloomberg The growth engine for the world’s car industry has been thrown into reverse, with China recording the first annual slump in auto sales in at more than two decades and more pain predicted in 2019. Sales in the world’s biggest market fell 6 percent to 22.7 million units last year, the first annual decline in at least two decades, ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  China Road wins $134mn bridge tender

  Bloomberg China Road & Bridge Corp won a tender for 77 billion CFA francs ($134 million) to build a bridge in the West African nation’s commercial capital, Abidjan. The contract is part of the $700 million Cocody Bay precinct project, the presidency said in a statement published in the state-owned Fraternite Matin newspaper. Funded by the Islamic Development Bank, it ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Infosys drives India stocks higher in earnings season

  

  Bloomberg India stocks rose, led by Infosys Ltd after the software exporter said it will consider buying back shares and issuing a special dividend at its board meeting this week. Earnings season for companies began on Wednesday with IndusInd Bank Ltd. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.7 percent to 36,216.90 in Mumbai. The broader NSE Nifty 50 Index added 0.3 ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  US-China trade talks end on positive note

  

  Bloomberg China and the US wrapped up three days of trade talks, with people familiar saying their positions were closer on areas including energy and agriculture but further apart on harder issues. Beijing will be releasing a statement soon on the negotiations, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, adding that a one-day extension shows both sides are serious about ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Ghosn loses appeal against detention

  

  Bloomberg Carlos Ghosn lost an appeal against his ongoing detention, diminishing prospects of an early release on bail for the auto industry icon fighting charges of financial misconduct while he was heading Nissan Motor Co. The Tokyo District Court rejected the petition filed by Ghosn’s defense team, according to a statement from the court shared with the media by the ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Indonesian president wants to save billions lost to infamous Jakarta traffic

  

  Bloomberg Indonesian President Joko Widodo is on a mission to save billions of dollars lost to Jakarta’s notorious traffic congestion. Widodo, known as Jokowi, held a cabinet meeting and ordered officials to tackle the worsening traffic bottleneck in the Greater Jakarta area that authorities estimate causes about 65 trillion rupiah ($4.6 billion) of annual economic losses. The president also asked ...

  Read More »