September, 2018

• 9 September

  Tumultuous Swedish election draws to a close as rifts widen

  

  Bloomberg A turbulent Swedish election campaign came to an end with little sign of compromise ahead as the establishment parties pleaded with voters to beat back an ascendant nationalist movement. The center-right and center-left blocs were in a virtual tie with voting starting on Sunday as the conservative-led opposition gained ground in recent days. But the blocs will be far ...

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• 9 September

  Boris Johnson mounts new attack on May over Brexit talks

  

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson opened a fresh attack on Prime Minister Theresa May, calling her approach to taking the UK out of the European Union “a humiliation” for the nation. The former foreign secretary wrote an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper to savage her policy of keeping Britain closely tied to EU trade rules after Brexit. “Under the Chequers ...

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• 9 September

  Salvini plays ‘victim card’ in struggle with judges

  

  Bloomberg Italians may feel they’ve seen this story before as the country’s top politician lashes out against magistrates who have put him under investigation and blocked his party’s finances. But this time it isn’t Silvio Berlusconi. Deputy Premier and League leader Matteo Salvini has launched a series of attacks on prosecutors who “haven’t been elected by anyone” after being notified ...

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• 9 September

  Zuma, top ANC officials reported to meet to plan ousting Ramaphosa

  

  Bloomberg South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma and other top figures in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) met secretly this week to discuss a strategy to remove his successor Cyril Ramaphosa, the Sunday Times newspaper reported, without citing anyone. Zuma held talks in Durban on Thursday with party allies, including ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule and former premier of ...

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• 9 September

  S&P momentum breaks as tech, trade war bite

  

  Bloomberg Returning from vacation is a drag — in life, in stocks. True to form, September started with the worst S&P 500 retreat since June. Anyone hoping last month’s momentum would persist was disappointed. After hitting a record on August 29, the index has fallen on five of six days, with the twin tech pillars of semiconductors and the FAANGs ...

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• 9 September

  Yuan outperforms peers as China deters bears before tariffs

  

  Bloomberg China’s currency outperformed its Asian emerging market peers this week, as state-owned banks were said to have squeezed short sellers last week before a potential wave of new US tariffs. After five months of declines, the offshore yuan was poised to become the strongest emerging market Asian currency in the first week of September. State-owned banks bought yuan forward ...

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• 9 September

  ONGC $1.6bn stake sale to face subsidy hurdle

  

  Bloomberg India’s efforts to sell a $1.6 billion stake in Oil & Natural Gas Corp. has run into concerns that government policies on fuel pricing would weigh on the state-run explorer’s share price, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Investors and fund managers that met with Indian government officials during a US roadshow last month voiced concern that ...

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• 9 September

  Duke Energy gives up on new nuclear

  

  Bloomberg Duke Energy Corp., one of the largest US utility owners, is giving up on building new nuclear plants. For the first time since 2005, the company didn’t include the prospect of adding more reactors to its fleet in long-term plans filed with state regulators. The move comes about a year after Duke cancelled plans to build a nuclear plant ...

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• 9 September

  Equatorial Guinea may end oil-service contract

  Bloomberg Equatorial Guinea may exclude oil-service companies TechnipFMC Plc, Subsea 7 SA and Schlumberger Ltd. from the country because they aren’t complying with local-content rules over training and jobs, said a government official. Major oil companies could be asked by the end of September to cancel their contracts with those service providers and issue new tenders, the official said, asking ...

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• 9 September

  I Squared explores sale of Viridian

  

  Bloomberg I Squared Capital, the private equity firm led by former Morgan Stanley executives, is considering a sale of Irish power producer Viridian Group Holdings Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said. The infrastructure-focussed investment firm is sounding out potential buyers to gauge their interest in Viridian, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information ...

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