December, 2018

• 17 December

  Italy’s 2% pledge is just cosmetic

  

  Italy’s populist government has pledged to the European Commission that it will lower its deficit target to 2 percent of national income next year. For a cabinet that vowed to defy the ‘bureaucrats’ in Brussels, this is a stunning climb-down. But unless Rome is ready to row back on some of the key pledges included in its 2019 budget, it ...

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• 17 December

  Something weird is going on with German debt

  

  Falling yields on German government debt is the sign of a classic ‘risk-off’ mentality. As fear grows, investors plump for safety. But where’s the crisis in Europe? Yields on 10-year bunds have fallen steadily by 30 basis points in the past two months. And German notes out to eight years are now in negative territory. It’s hard to fathom why. ...

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• 17 December

  May’s delaying tactics makes Brexit worse

  It’s unclear what UK Prime Minister Theresa May hoped to get from leaders of the European Union (EU) at their recent summit. As things turned out, she got less than nothing — a public brush-off that further weakened her standing at home, if that were possible. Her Brexit strategy has collapsed, and nothing is to be gained by persisting with ...

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• 17 December

  The bubble is losing air. Get ready for a crisis

  

  The ‘everything bubble’ is deflating. The fact that it’s happening relatively slowly shouldn’t blind us to the real threat: The world is dangerously underestimating how hard it’ll be to deal with the fallout once it pops. Frothy markets can’t disguise the warning signs. The shift to tighter monetary policies in the West is putting pressure on global equity and real ...

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• 17 December

  Having biggest private jet doesn’t always help

  

  By rights, wealthy finance types should adore Bombardier Inc. The Canadian aerospace and train manufacturer’s Global 7500 is the biggest business jet around and can fly non-stop from New York to Hong Kong reaching almost the speed of sound. It’s yours for a mere $73 million. To describe the cabin as roomy is an understatement. There are four separate “living ...

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• 17 December

  How Meng Wanzhou’s arrest might backfire

  

  I am concerned with Canada’s recent arrest and possible extradition of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. Meng was travelling in Canada, switching planes using a Chinese passport, when she was taken into custody. If sent to the US, she would face charges of trying to defraud United States financial institutions, each carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years. And ...

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• 17 December

  Fed enters brave policy world as rates near normal levels

  

  Bloomberg As the Federal Reserve approaches the final stages of monetary policy normalisation 10 years after it cut interest rates to zero, it faces the tough task of charting a less certain path while taking incoming fire from President Donald Trump. Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues are expected to ignore Trump’s criticisms and raise interest rates this week for ...

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• 17 December

  Raid on Deutsche Bank hasn’t helped revenue, says CFO

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG’s quarterly revenue was impacted by the raids on its Frankfurt headquarters, Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke told Bloomberg. “The raid has not helped us on the revenue side, especially in a weak market environment like we have seen in December,” von Moltke said in email comments. “We expect these negative effects to fade away soon ...

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• 17 December

  More banks in crosshairs as Denmark tax probe grows

  

  Bloomberg Denmark is trying to find out just how many banks were involved in suspicious stock trades executed for the sole purpose of getting a tax rebate. The transactions in question started more than a decade ago, after Denmark and Switzerland made it possible to claim back taxes on dividends through a revised double-taxation accord between the two countries. Nordea ...

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• 17 December

  Borrowers brace for end of easy money

  

  Bloomberg Bankers and borrowers are bracing themselves for a difficult year selling eurobonds now that the days of easy money are coming to an end. January’s often the busiest month of the year for new bond sales but as credit markets lose their biggest backer and political threats loom — Brexit, Italian fiscal angst and trade woes — companies must ...

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