July, 2018

• 29 July

  China’s shift from greenback detractor to record borrower

  

  Bloomberg China used to rail against the outsize role of the US dollar. But in a major turnaround, the world’s second-biggest economy has started embracing the currency of its larger rival. Chinese companies and banks—and even the government—sold bonds denominated in dollars at a record pace last year, and underwriters expect that growth to continue for years. The roughly half-trillion-dollar ...

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• 29 July

  Amateur investors get new way to make risky crypto bets

  Bloomberg Retail punters now have another way to make risky wagers on cryptocurrencies. CMC Markets Plc, a London-based brokerage controlled by Peter Cruddas, has joined rivals including Plus500 Ltd. and IG Group Holdings Plc in allowing amateur investors to make bets on Bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the biggest digital coins. Retail traders can use contracts-for-difference, a form of derivatives ...

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• 29 July

  Tech giants face terror law in EU crackdown on internet hate

  

  Bloomberg Google, Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. have taken significant steps to expunge IS propaganda and other terrorist content from their platforms. But taking no chances, the European Union (EU) is set to propose a tough new law anyway — threatening internet platforms, big and small, with fines if they fail to take down terrorist material, according to people familiar ...

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• 29 July

  Amazing progress in Nafta talks, says official

  

  Bloomberg The US is now making “absolutely amazing’’ progress toward renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), and a deal could come as early as this fall, according to White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett. “My guess is that we will see something by the fall,’’ Hassett said in an interview that aired Saturday on Fox ...

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• 29 July

  Heat of trade tensions slam French firms as exports drop

  

  Bloomberg An escalating trade spat between the US and the European Union may be starting to leave its mark in France. Exports of manufactured goods from the country dropped in July for the first time in almost two years, IHS Markit said, noting the decline coincides with reports that global trade tensions are weighing on external demand. A gauge of ...

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• 29 July

  Harley-Davidson slashes profit margin forecast

  

  Bloomberg Harley-Davidson Inc. cut its forecast for profit margin this year, adding to its predictions of damage done by President Donald Trump’s trade war. Operating margin will drop to between 9 percent and 10 percent this year due to the expected impact of tariffs, the Milwaukee-based manufacturer said in a statement. The company had been projecting a margin of as ...

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• 29 July

  US farmers to get billions in aid

  

  Bloomberg US farmers will see the first payments of a $12 billion subsidy program designed to shield them from a burgeoning trade war starting in September, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said. “The mitigation payments will be eligible in September in some degree and into October and the fall,” Perdue said on the sidelines of an event at the U.S. Embassy ...

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• 29 July

  Venezuela’s Maduro delays new currency rollout

  Bloomberg President Nicolas Maduro announced a two-week delay to a planned currency redenomination to August 20, when Venezuela will lop five zeroes off the refurbished bolivar and also link it to the country’s Petro cryptocurrency. By “anchoring” the Sovereign Bolivar, as the new currency will be called, the Petro will help stabilize the economy, Maduro said in a speech on ...

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• 29 July

  Robots will bolster UK growth and create new jobs, says PwC

  

  Bloomberg Robots could destroy about 7 million existing UK jobs but create at least that many more over the next two decades, according to analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers. There will still be winners and losers. Worst hit will be manufacturing, which could see 25 percent of current staff cut by 2037 because of artificial intelligence and related technologies, the report said. ...

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• 29 July

  The Federal Reserve’s strange ‘independence’

  

  “The Federal Reserve is meant to be independent of parochial political interests. But it’s got to operate — I think of this as a kind of band, sometimes wide, sometimes narrow — within the range of understanding of the public and the political system. You just can’t go do something that is just outside the bounds of what people can ...

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