November, 2018

• 26 November

  Canadian inflation accelerates in Oct

  Bloomberg Canadian inflation accelerated slightly in October on the back of higher costs for cars, but underlying price pressures remained around the central bank’s target. The consumer price index recorded a faster-than-expected annual pace of 2.4 percent during the month, up from 2.2 percent in September, Statistics Canada reported from Ottawa. Core measures of inflation — seen as a better ...

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• 26 November

  German business confidence plummets as exports drag

  

  Bloomberg German business sentiment soured further as signs of cooling foreign demand and rising trade tensions continued to drag on growth after a summer economic contraction. The Ifo institute’s gauge of corporate confidence in Europe’s largest economy fell to 102 in November from 102.8 in October. That’s the third straight decline and is likely to add to concerns among some ...

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• 26 November

  JPMorgan sees euro 2019 rebound

  

  Bloomberg The end may be in sight for the euro’s worst run since 2015. The common currency will probably bottom out against the dollar in early next year, and rise from there as the US economic outperformance runs out of steam, undermining support for the greenback, according JPMorgan Chase & Co. It may hit a low of $1.11 in the ...

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• 26 November

  US crop yields threatened by climate change

  Bloomberg American farmers’ livelihoods are at risk from climate change as Midwestern grain yields are poised to tumble amid increasing temperatures and more extreme flooding and droughts, according to a new report. Rising heat, drought, wildfires and heavy downpours are expected to increasingly disrupt agricultural productivity in the US, according to a National Climate Assessment report. While some northern regions ...

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• 26 November

  Trump might actually be doing China a big favour

  

  Prospects for a trade deal between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Group of 20 meeting in Argentina are quite likely to founder on the question of China’s industrial strategies: While Beijing may be willing to buy more American goods to mollify Trump, it almost certainly won’t stop supporting sectors it sees as key ...

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• 26 November

  Asset managers are drowning!

  

  It’s only when the tide goes out that you find out who’s been swimming in the nude, billionaire investor Warren Buffett famously opined. And as the bull market in global stocks starts to ebb, asset management companies will find themselves dangerously exposed — with medium-sized firms the most at risk of finding themselves naked and shivering on the beach. Investment ...

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• 26 November

  Putting some intelligence into US military spending

  A new report warns Congress that the US could struggle to win, or might even lose, a war against China or Russia, because America’s military has “failed to keep pace with changing security challenges.” Why? One reason, according to the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission, is that military planners have to deal with a budget that shifts unpredictably from one ...

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• 26 November

  Beijing is confronting credit pain, and blinks

  China’s falling stock market has prompted a flurry of activity to prop up prices. From delaying forced sales of pledged stock to turning on the credit engine again, authorities see the declines as emblematic of concerns over the economy. Investors have pulled about 3.2 trillion yuan ($460 billion) out of the market this year, according to net capital data from ...

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• 26 November

  A Thelma and Louise Brexit? You know the ending well

  

  Committed Brexiters, including former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, have arrived at the conclusion that the deal Prime Minister Theresa May has negotiated is not just bad; it’s worse than remaining in the European Union (EU). That’s axiomatic. But what’s their plan? It’s not to cancel Brexit. And it’s not to hold a new public vote. Their preference appears to be ...

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• 26 November

  Target, like its peers, has a bull’s-eye on its back

  

  If you had told me even a year ago that I would soon see Target Corp. deliver a 5.1 percent increase in comparable sales over a year earlier, I don’t think I would’ve believed you. And if you also told me that Wall Street’s response to that kind of growth would be to slam the big-box retailer’s shares, then I ...

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