January, 2019

• 9 January

  Tech’s brave investors should look at Samsung

  

  Samsung Electronics Co. missed analyst estimates for fourth-quarter operating profit by 22 percent, the most in two years. That shortfall may be as much a function of sell-side analysts’ financial modeling as Samsung’s inability to deliver stronger earnings. Buy-siders, for example, have been selling down the stock since the middle of the third quarter, an indication that they saw tough ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Italy’s revolution is gone in 480 seconds

  It took Italy’s populists just eight minutes to renege on one of their flagship stances. The coalition government gave its go-ahead to a bank bailout, saying it is willing to recapitalise Banca Carige, a troubled mid-sized lender, if needed. The plan smacks of hypocrisy. For years, the Five Star Movement has accused its political opponents of using public money to ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Calling time on Ghosn not a moment too soon

  

  Where did Nissan Motor Co. end and the world of Carlos Ghosn begin? It’s unclear after his decades-long reign. “I have dedicated two decades of my life to reviving Nissan and building the Alliance,” Ghosn told a Tokyo court on Tuesday in his first appearance since his arrest, according to a prepared statement. He had worked “day and night, on ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  In Brexit Britain, taking back control means the opposite

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May likes to insist that her Brexit deal means Britain will “take back control” over its borders. But with just three months to go before the UK leaves the European Union, the very opposite is happening. Control is being outsourced, not taken back. The money and skills needed to create Britain’s post-Brexit infrastructure are making the country ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Industrial investors in US should proceed with caution

  

  Fourth-quarter earnings tend to be an afterthought for investors in the US industrial giants. By this point in time, they usually have a good sense of the year that was and have already heard from companies on the near-term outlook. Not this year. Investors don’t have the same assurances headed into this earnings season and will be parsing the numbers ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Fed’s Bostic trims his rate outlook for 2019 to one hike

  

  Bloomberg The US central bank should only raise interest rates once this year but keep going with its plan to gradually shrink the balance sheet, said Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and one of the Fed’s more dovish policy makers. “Coming into this year, a year ago, I saw two moves for 2019. Right now, ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Ex-BOJ official sees yen rising to 100

  

  Bloomberg There is a good chance the yen will strengthen to 100 against the dollar in coming months as slowing global growth and US-China trade tensions keep investors on edge, a former senior Bank of Japan official said. While that level would be tolerable, there is little the depleted BOJ can do about further yen strength or a serious downturn ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  SEB to launch new sustainability push

  

  Bloomberg Swedish lender SEB AB plans to hire 10 advisers to kick start a new push into all things energy. The bank is building a new unit within investment banking to focus on energy, an area that for SEB involves the shift away from fossil fuels to renewables, sustainable infrastructure projects, electrification and building sustainable societies, Chief Executive Officer Johan ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Barclays raider’s strategy is wrong, say analysts

  

  Bloomberg Analysts at Citigroup Inc and Berenberg poured cold water on Edward Bramson’s plans to obtain a seat on Barclays Plc’s board and shift its strategy away from the investment bank. “We believe Mr Bramson will ultimately prove unsuccessful in his objective to obtain a board seat,” said ana- lysts at Citigroup including Andrew Coombs. He “would need a shareholder ...

  Read More »
• 9 January

  Thailand bank merger could give Scotiabank path to exit from nation

  

  Bloomberg A bank merger in Thailand may finally give Bank of Nova Scotia a path to retreat from the Southeast Asian nation after three years of trying. Thai lenders Thanachart Bank Pcl and TMB Bank Pcl are in talks to merge in a deal supported by Thailand’s government. Such a transaction could give Canada’s Scotiabank — which owns 49 percent ...

  Read More »