October, 2018

• 30 October

  RBC’s new idea to ease Canadian crude pain

  Bloomberg With new pipelines unlikely to come online anytime soon, analysts at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) are floating a new idea to ease Alberta’s crude oil bottlenecks: Give producers a temporary respite from making royalty payments. Suspending the average 5 percent royalty that Alberta’s oil producers pay to the province in the form of cash or barrels of crude ...

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• 30 October

  China aims to pull more currency trading to domestic markets

  

  Bloomberg China plans to deepen its foreign-exchange markets to encourage both domestic and overseas players to trade and borrow external currencies more onshore, in the latest step towards fostering a global role for its financial system. The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), an arm of the central bank, plans to develop swaps involving overseas currencies — such as between ...

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• 30 October

  Top Chinese online brokers prepare for IPO showdown in US

  

  Bloomberg Two of China’s top online brokers for trading overseas stocks are preparing to face off in the U.S. market. Tiger Brokers, backed by veteran investor Jim Rogers, is planning a $200 million US initial public offering (IPO) early next year, people with knowledge of the matter said. Futu Securities, a rival backed by tech tycoon Pony Ma’s Tencent Holdings ...

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• 30 October

  India turns to eco-friendly firecrackers to battle smog

  

  Bloomberg The smog is so bad in India the government is developing firecrackers that emit less pollution. Scientists at the government-run Council of Scientific and Industrial Research institute have created pyrotechnic prototypes that emit about 30 percent less particulate matter, India’s environment minister Harsh Vardhan said at a briefing in New Delhi. Costs for consumers are estimated to be as ...

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• 30 October

  Sony’s PlayStation heads for record year

  

  Bloomberg Sony Corp. upgraded its earnings outlook for a second straight quarter, thanks to a plethora of hit video-game titles that are boosting the PlayStation business. Operating profit for the current fiscal year through March will be 870 billion yen ($7.72 billion), up from the prior forecast of 670 billion yen, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. ...

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• 30 October

  US-Japan tug of war keeps yen traders on their toes

  

  Bloomberg A tug-of-war between Japanese and American traders has been keeping yen watchers busy in October, according to a pattern which has emerged in daily price moves for the currency several times this month. On those days, the yen has shown a tendency to strengthen during US trading hours, as stock market volatility sparks a flurry of haven bets, before ...

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• 30 October

  UK targets tech giants with a digital services tax in 2020

  

  Bloomberg Commonly seen as a tech-friendly hub, the UK is now targeting the likes of Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc. by introducing a digital services tax, joining the growing chorus against cash-rich tech giants. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond unveiled the measure in his Autumn Budget in London. Aiming to raise 400 million pounds a year ($512 million) ...

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• 30 October

  Britain’s gig economy faces biggest test as Uber heads to court

  

  Bloomberg Just months after Uber Technologies Inc. persuaded a London judge to allow it to keep operating in the city, the ride-hailing company is back in court. At stake this time is an issue that could strike at the core of the UK’s burgeoning gig economy: whether Uber’s drivers are really self-employed. Two days of hearings kicks off at the ...

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• 30 October

  IBM trying to steer clear of bond market’s triple-B bogeyman

  

  Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. is trying to avoid the fate of other companies that loaded up on debt to fund acquisitions, saying it will use some of its cash hoard and suspend share buybacks in an effort to prevent downgrades to the cusp of junk. The transaction will take IBM’s debt load close to $80 billion as it pursues ...

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• 30 October

  Novartis cuts 20 pct of drug-research projects

  

  Bloomberg Novartis AG has dropped about a fifth of its research projects as the drugmaker narrows its focus on the most cutting-edge medicines. The pharmaceutical giant has reduced its drug programs to 340 from 430 after completing a review of its portfolio, Jay Bradner, president of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, said in an interview. Among the resea-rch projects ...

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