September, 2018

• 23 September

  Drip, drip, drip of funds fleeing UK

  

  The UK finance industry still has few clues about what the post-Brexit landscape will look like other than the certainty that doing business with the European Union will have more friction than it does now. Fund managers aren’t hanging around for the conclusion of the divorce negotiations, and the slow hemorrhaging of jobs and assets poses a clear and present ...

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• 23 September

  Japan’s economy just might be starting new chapter

  The world’s third-largest economy has suffered from a caricature. Yes, Japan fell from its pinnacle in the 1990s because of a property crash, enfeebled banks and a dwindling population. But that was then. It’s not falling anymore. When Japan’s economy was stumbling, China became the darling of the commentariat, investors and multinational companies developing supply chains. The mood towards China, ...

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• 23 September

  US makes it harder for China to cut a trade deal

  As promised, US President Donald Trump has escalated his trade war against China — announcing tariffs of 10 percent on another $200 billion in goods, plus a threat to raise the levy to 25 percent next year. Nearly half of China’s exports to the US now face Trump’s taxes on trade. The president boasts that the latest measure will bring ...

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• 23 September

  Five essential numbers for measuring an economy

  

  When you hear about economic growth, or the size of the economy, it’s referring to gross domestic product. Invented in the 1930s, GDP measures the market value of everything produced in a country (or region, or state) in a given year. When you hear about the labor market, it usually involves the unemployment rate, which is the percent of people ...

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• 23 September

  Crumbling demand dogs Indian cement maker

  

  One of India’s most acquisitive companies is buying up cement kilns across the country, going from big to bigger. It’s got the right plan, but who’s buying the cement and actually building? Ultratech Cement Ltd. is one of the world’s biggest cement manufacturers, with the capacity to put out 90 million tons a year from plants sprinkled across India. It ...

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• 23 September

  What Jeff Bezos gets right about philanthropy

  

  The response to Jeff Bezos’s announcement of a $2 billion fund to create preschools and help homeless families has been muted if not skeptical. Some critics say that Bezos should give raises to Amazon workers first. Others argue that he should be taxed instead and the revenue put towards education. I’d like to speak up for private philanthropy, with the ...

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• 23 September

  Germany backs Deutsche-Commerzbank deal

  

  Bloomberg The possibility of merging Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG has won the backing of German officials who are seeking a new champion that would protect the nation’s economy from an exodus of foreign capital. The government is in favour of a tie-up between its two biggest banks to create a heavyweight that would finance Germany’s export-oriented economy, according ...

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• 23 September

  Bank of England officials step out in force after August hike

  

  Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) policy makers have the chance this week to share their thoughts on interest rates now that Governor Mark Carney has said he’s sticking around for longer. Four members of the Monetary Policy Committee are making public appearances — including the first speeches by Dave Ramsden and Gertjan Vlieghe since officials voted to hike interest rates ...

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• 23 September

  Polaris to take over liabilities, assets of Skye Bank Nigeria

  

  Bloomberg Nigeria’s central bank has revoked the operating license of Skye Bank Plc. and established Polaris as a bridge bank to takeover its assets and liabilities. “The strategy is for the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, Amcon, to capitalise the bridge bank and begin the process of sourcing investors to buy out Amcon,” Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele ...

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• 23 September

  Singapore warns against Bitcoin scammers

  Bloomberg Bitcoin fraudsters are misusing the names of Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong and his deputy Tharman Shanmugaratnam to tout investments, prompting a warning from the premier. “Scammers have used DPM Tharman’s and my name to solicit Bitcoin investments,” Lee said. “Don’t believe everything you see on the Internet!” Lee in a Facebook post used the crypto example to highlight ...

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