August, 2018

• 4 August

  Monte Paschi keeps up profit momentum

  

  Bloomberg Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA rode lower costs and an asset sale to a second straight quarter of profit, even though a sharp drop in the value of Italian state debt hit revenue and eroded capital. Second-quarter net income totalled $117 million, the Siena, Italy based bank said in a statement, confirming progress toward a turnaround after ...

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• 4 August

  French speakers apply in Paris for new credit role leaving London

  Bloomberg Bond-market strategists interested in Bank of America Corp.’s latest opening probably shouldn’t apply if they can’t speak French or don’t want to live in Paris. “Although not certain as yet, the role is very likely to be based in Paris as part of the firm’s Brexit transition,” the US lender said in a job advert for a credit strategist ...

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• 4 August

  Volatility is back in Japan’s bonds as traders confront Kuroda

  

  Bloomberg The day after Haruhiko Kuroda pledged to allow greater swings in Japan’s giant bond market while pushing back against rapid increases, traders are putting him to the test. Moves in 10-year government debt futures were so extreme — a drop of as much as 0.5 percent, the most in almost two years — that they triggered an emergency margin ...

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• 4 August

  Billions put at risk for US LNG exports on China 25% tariffs

  

  Bloomberg China is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of US liquefied natural gas, potentially a major blow to an emerging American business. It’s the first time the fuel has been ensnared by the trade war, coming as part of a $60 billion response to a Trump administration plan to impose more levies. The move adds new ...

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• 4 August

  Eskom’s borrowing cost falls in first sale since 2015

  

  Bloomberg It’s turning into a good week for Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned electricity company. The cash-strapped utility’s borrowing costs fell as it tapped international debt markets for the first time in more than three years, barely a week after it secured a $2.5 billion loan from China Development Bank. It also moved closer to a wage deal ...

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• 4 August

  Saudi Arabia reduced crude production in July

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia, which recently pledged oil-supply increases to tame rallying crude prices, cut production last month, according to OPEC delegates familiar with the matter. The biggest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 10.3 million barrels a day in July, according to the delegates, who asked not to be identified because the data is private. The kingdom ...

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• 4 August

  It’s tit-for-tat as US, China trade war deepens

  

  Bloomberg The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies is taking on a life of its own. When President Donald Trump first threatened to slap tariffs on Chinese goods in March to punish Beijing for stealing American intellectual property, trade experts warned the two nations risked slipping into a downward spiral of tit-for-tat trade actions. The global economy now ...

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• 4 August

  Kraft Heinz narrowing list of bidders in $1 billion India sale

  

  Bloomberg Kraft Heinz Co. has narrowed the list of bidders for a portfolio of Indian businesses it’s selling that includes the children’s milk drink Complan, people with knowledge of the matter said. Tata Group, India’s biggest conglomerate, and Dabur India Ltd., the $11.3 billion consumer-goods company, are among suitors selected for the second round of bidding, according to the people. ...

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• 4 August

  Senators slam Google over ‘China search engine’

  

  Bloomberg A group of Republican and Democratic senators slammed Alphabet Inc.’s Google over reports it is developing a censored version of its search engine for the Chinese market. China critic Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, was joined by five other lawmakers on a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai demanding answers about the proposed “Dragonfly” search engine. “If true, ...

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• 4 August

  Fiat Chrysler seeks to block Mahindra jeep knock-off in US

  

  Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV filed a US trade complaint seeking to prevent Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. from importing an off-road vehicle that looks similar to its iconic Jeep. The Fiat Chrysler group filed the complaint on August 1 at the US International Trade Commission, claiming that the Mahindra Roxor infringes key characteristics of Jeep’s signature trade dress ...

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