August, 2018

• 1 August

  UK manufacturing growth ebbs as new orders slow

  Bloomberg UK manufacturing growth slowed more than expected last month, casting doubt on the strength of the economy as Bank of England policy makers hold their crunch meeting. IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers Index for the industry fell to a three-month low of 54 in July, from 54.3 in June, the firm said in a report. The reading was below economists’ ...

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• 1 August

  White House not weighing capital gains tax change

  

  Bloomberg The White House isn’t actively considering the Treasury Department’s push to issue a rule that would slash tax bills for investors who have investment income, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the New York Times earlier this month that his agency was looking at whether it could sidestep Congress to allow capital ...

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• 1 August

  Avison Young acquires UK firm Wilkinson Williams

  Bloomberg Avison Young Canada has bought London-based real estate services firm Wilkinson Williams LLP, its first deal since receiving a $190 million investment by a big Canadian pension fund earlier this month. Wilkinson Williams represents landlords and tenants across the UK and has acted as an adviser on retail and supermarket leases. Last year, the firm advised clients on investment ...

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• 1 August

  Uber makes deal to protect S African drivers

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. is partnering with security and insurance company Chubb Ltd. to cover its South African drivers in case of death or injury as violent attacks plague the country’s cities. The new deal will pay out a lump sum to the family in case of death, or to the driver if he or she is permanently disabled, the ...

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• 1 August

  Factories from Asia to Europe put on brakes amid trade spats

  

  Bloomberg Manufacturers in some of the world’s biggest economies are putting the brakes on production as they watch trade disputes with the US unfold. Reports showed factory activity from the Asia Pacific region to Europe slowed last month. With companies issuing warnings about the impact of tit-for-tat battles over import tariffs on their profits, the data suggest that protectionist threats ...

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• 1 August

  Efforts to cast Trump as free trader are futile

  

  A lot of Republicans in Congress will tell you that they support President Donald Trump but disagree with him about trade. There is, however, a small group of conservatives who have found a more ingenious method for reconciling their support for free trade with their enthusiasm for the president. They have remade him into a fellow free trader in their ...

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• 1 August

  Guilt by ‘Permian’ hits some too hard

  

  When the Permian basin sneezes, the US oil and gas sector catches a cold. More accurately, the Permian has a nasty dose of congestion. Also more accurately, some in the industry have stro-nger immune systems than others. Exploration and production stocks that sold off in mid-May, as pipeline constraints started hitting the price of Permian barrels, have staged something of ...

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• 1 August

  Municipal junk soars as the economy roars

  A funny thing happens when the economy booms: Investors crawl out on thinner and thinner limbs. It’s happening right now in the bond markets, where the only part that is lucrative is usually the least appealing to all but the nerviest players: distressed state and local governments with the lowest credit ratings (or none at all). Think of bankrupt Puerto ...

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• 1 August

  Mark Carney is in far too much of a hurry

  Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, told Bloomberg Markets this week that predicting the pound would fall after a leave win in the Brexit referendum was “probably the easiest call” in the past 25 years of macroeconomics. Sadly for him, setting monetary policy ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU next March is proving much harder. The Bank is ...

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• 1 August

  Apple loses its thrill, but applaud the new drill

  

  Boring is a good look for Apple. The company that was once a seemingly impossible combination of rapid growth and eye-popping profits has settled into a new phase of life. It’s now clear that Apple Inc. won’t return to the iPhone-selling mania of a few years ago. Higher product prices and the regular introduction of new gadgets are patching over ...

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