August, 2018

• 4 August

  Carney’s ‘BoE rate hike’ inflames UK Brexit divide

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of England’s latest interest-rate increase has become another battleground in the vitriolic Brexit debate — yet many of the arguments overlook Governor Mark Carney’s reasoning. Despite Carney’s press conference and media interviews, some politicians and economists have been quick to call the move a mistake ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union, while others said it ...

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• 4 August

  Argentine central bank mulls $5bn repo loan

  

  Bloomberg Argentina’s central bank is said to be discussing a repo loan of as much as $5 billion with foreign banks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The talks with banks including HSBC Holdings Plc, UBS Group AG and Nomura Holdings Inc. are expected to continue into next week as the central bank considers its options to secure ...

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• 4 August

  JPMorgan lobbyist to join new bank trade group

  Bloomberg The newest large bank trade group has hired a longtime JPMorgan Chase & Co. lobbyist to run its advocacy and communications efforts. Kate Childress, who helped lead JPMorgan’s lobbying and regulatory efforts on the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, will join the Bank Policy Institute in September, the association announced. The hiring is a do-over for the policy institute, which had ...

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• 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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