December, 2018

• 4 December

  Pompeo to seek NATO aid to pressure Russia on N-treaty

  

  Bloomberg Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was expected to use a gathering of NATO leaders on Tuesday to ramp up pressure on Russia over what the US has long said is Moscow’s failure to comply with a 1987 treaty on nuclear weapons. The US wants to “stay in sync” with American allies over how to address Russia’s non-compliance, according to ...

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• 4 December

  Ukraine says Russia partially unblocked its Azov Sea ports

  

  Bloomberg Ukraine said Russia had partially restored access to its ports on the Azov Sea following months of disruption and a week after its navy was fired on by its neighbour. As of Monday, ships were allowed to move in both directions through the Kerch Strait separating the Azov and Black Seas, according to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. Russia ...

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• 4 December

  Macron reverses fuel-tax hike post protests

  

  Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron’s government reversed course and suspended a planned fuel-tax hike that had sent as many as 300,000 protesters into the streets for three weeks in sometimes violent clashes. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the decision after detailing the plan in his regular meeting with governing party lawmakers. “No tax merits putting the nation in danger,” Philippe ...

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• 4 December

  Sweden political crisis enters ‘new phase’: PM

  

  Bloomberg Social Democratic leader Stefan Lofven said Sweden’s political crisis has now entered a “new phase” as he prepares to start “sharp” negotiations with key opposition parties on forming a viable coalition. The Social Democrats will hold negotiations with the Center Party and the Liberals, as well as its ally the Green Party, he said. “We will make every effort ...

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• 4 December

  UK can unilaterally end Brexit, EU top court indicates

  

  Bloomberg The UK should be allowed to reverse Brexit, according to an advisory opinion from the European Union’s top court that will fuel the campaign to thwart the divorce. The opinion, which isn’t binding, comes at a crucial moment for Prime Minister Theresa May who’s trying to convince Parliament to back the deal she brought back from Brussels but faces ...

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• 4 December

  G-20 gives markets a short-term respite

  

  The G-20 Summit in Argentina ended without fireworks involving the US, which was appropriate in a way, given the pall cast by the death of President George H.W. Bush. The US went along with a watered-down communique rather than stand in the way of a consensus, as it recently did at the Apec summit and the G-7. And rather than ...

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• 4 December

  Microsoft is ‘overtaking’ Apple

  

  If you don’t follow the regular trials and tribulations of technology companies or have been living in a cave for five years, it might be surprising that Microsoft Corp. is poised to surpass Apple Inc. as the world’s most valuable public company. While the baton was passed briefly last week, it most likely won’t be long until Microsoft is firmly ...

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• 4 December

  Not even Tencent can make up for Line’s lost friends

  Line Corp. investors are so desperate for any shred of good news that reports of a tie-up with Tencent Holdings Ltd. drove the stock’s biggest gain in two years. Users of Tencent’s WeChat Pay will be able to buy goods through Line’s platform at local retail outlets, the Japanese company said at a briefing in Tokyo. Nikkei had reported on ...

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• 4 December

  EU must boost process for evaluating banks

  The departing head of the European Banking Authority has issued a warning over the state of the EU’s so-called stress tests, which are meant to show whether banks have sufficient capital to weather bad news. Andrea Enria, who’ll shortly become head of the supervisory arm of the European Central Bank (ECB), is right that the system needs reforming, but his ...

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• 4 December

  The pound doesn’t show the full Brexit picture

  

  Markets hate uncertainty, and Brexit has it in spades. Leaving the European Union (EU) seems to present the UK with an unappealing choice of either a lot of economic harm via crashing out without a deal, or slightly less damage via Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement. But there are reasons why investors might start thinking about more blue-sky scenarios: Either a ...

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