December, 2018

• 19 December

  Citigroup faces $180mn loss on Asia loan

  

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc faces losses of as much as $180 million on loans made to an Asian hedge fund whose foreign-exchange wagers went awry, prompting board-level discussions and a business shakeup, according to a person briefed on the matter. The hedge fund, managed by a unit of GF Holdings (Hong Kong) Corp, and Citigroup are in discussions on the positions ...

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• 19 December

  The $7.9trn pile of negative-yielding debt is growing fast

  

  Bloomberg For all the hand wringing over the end of ultra-loose monetary policy, the world just doesn’t seem able to shake its addiction to negative-yielding debt. Only two months ago, speculation was rife that the Bank of Japan would have to step in to stop yields from rising. Now, rates on benchmark bonds are poised to drop back below zero. ...

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• 19 December

  United to acquire ExpressJet stake to boost domestic hubs

  

  Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc. agreed to acquire a stake in ExpressJet Airlines, one of its regional affiliates, in a $70 million deal that will give the No. 3 US carrier more control over short-distance flying and a fleet of about 150 small jets. By gaining sway over more United Express service, the purchase furthers United’s plan to bolster service ...

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• 19 December

  Puma refurbishes its RS-Computer shoe

  

  Bloomberg Puma’s latest contribution to the world of retro footwear — or is it the wearable tech movement? — is a revamped 32-year-old sneaker with computers in its heels. The German company is selling a refurbished version of its 1986 RS-Computer shoe, which presaged an era in which athletes use gadgets to keep track of steps taken, distances covered and ...

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• 19 December

  Boeing sets new $20bn buyback programme

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. directors authorised a record $20 billion share buyback programme and boosted the company’s dividend 20 percent — a sign the planemaker doesn’t intend to stop showering cash on investors any time soon. The company’s share price has more than doubled since it embarked on a strategy of rewarding shareholders as production of the marquee 787 Dreamliner stabilised ...

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• 19 December

  Ceconomy latest victim of retail crisis

  

  Bloomberg Ceconomy AG, Europe’s biggest consumer-electronics retailer, eliminated its dividend and warned that earnings will decline another year in the retail industry’s latest disaster. The stock fell as much as 16 percent to a record low as the departure of Chief Financial Officer Mark Frese leaves the company facing a leadership void. The 54-year-old executive, who has been helping to ...

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• 19 December

  Retailer accuses Amazon of copying furniture

  

  Bloomberg Williams-Sonoma Inc. sued Amazon.com Inc. in a case that challenges the online retailer’s private label push that started with batteries, baby wipes and phone chargers and has expanded to include clothing, toys and high-end furniture. Amazon’s “Rivet” line includes products that are “strikingly similar” to Williams-Sonoma’s West Elm brand, including a $300 orb chair the household goods maker introduced ...

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• 19 December

  UK retail bonds decline amid shopping season

  Bloomberg Bonds of UK retailers extended declines as the industry’s crisis deepens in the run-up to the Christmas holiday. New Look Retail Group Ltd.’s 700 million pounds ($886 million) of notes due in July 2022 fell for a 16th day to about 46 pence, the lowest in six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The British fashion chain is ...

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• 18 December

  Saudi Arabia boosts spending in 2019 budget to SAR1.106 trillion

  

  RIYADH / WAM The Saudi Council of Ministers, chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has approved the largest budget in the Kingdom’s history with SAR1.106 trillion spending in 2019, approximately 7 percent higher than the projected expenditure by the end of the fiscal year 2018. This came in a session held ...

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• 18 December

  Adnoc, Cepsa award Spanish firm key contract in Ruwais

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and its project partner Cepsa have announced the awarding of a key contract, as both companies move forward with plans to develop a world-scale linear alkyl benzene (LAB) plant in the Ruwais Derivatives Park. The LAB project is the first of the derivative units to be advanced under Adnoc’s ...

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