July, 2018

• 10 July

  PM Mahathir calls on his cabinet to declare wealth

  

  Bloomberg PM Mahathir Mohamad is putting safeguards in place to prevent graft in Malaysia by requiring his cabinet declare their wealth and refuse gifts more valuable than perishable food and flowers. “We will do everything possible,” Mahathir told reporters in Putrajaya. “We are in the midst of formulating laws and ways of administration so that we can reduce corruption and ...

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• 10 July

  Brazil votes: Ghost names plague ‘women quota’

  

  Bloomberg With elections approaching, Brazil’s political parties are preparing to field the legally required minimum quota of female candidates, but that doesn’t mean they want them to win. Take Danielle Silva Lopes, for example, who only found out on polling day in October 2016 that she was running for city councilor in Sao Paulo for the Christian Social Democratic Party, ...

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• 10 July

  One sure way to hurt US economy? Cut immigration

  

  What caused the Great Depression? Most people wou-ld probably say that the trigger was the stock market crash of 1929. From peak to trough, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 88 percent of its value, and the index didn’t regain that peak until the mid-1950s: There was also a housing boom and bust in the 1920s, which was probably ...

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• 10 July

  It’s size that did it for Idemitsu

  

  The last two major companies holding out against Japan’s plans to consolidate its bloated refinery sector are finally giving in. After almost three years of wrangling driven by Idemitsu Kosan Co’s founding family, the company will merge with Showa Shell Sekiyu KK after shareholders — including those founders, who opposed the initial version of the deal — signed off. The ...

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• 10 July

  Son has a plan for Yahoo Japan. It begins with D

  A shoe just dropped for Masayoshi Son. Shares of Yahoo Japan Corp rose as much as 13 percent on Tuesday after SoftBank Group Corp said it will buy $2 billion worth of stock in the internet portal, or an 11 percent stake, from Altaba Inc. Investors were elated because the block sale eased concerns over a messy open-market sale that ...

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• 10 July

  Trade wars risk spurring currency devaluations

  Rising global trade tensions are morphing into a conflict fought with currency devaluations that historically have proven even more important than tariffs in influencing economic growth and financial markets. If this trend continues, the ultimate impact will likely be negative for asset valuations. This shift, which is aimed at gaining export competitiveness, is important for investors partly because it will ...

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• 10 July

  May’s Brexit gamble might actually work

  

  Theresa May’s plan for Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the European Union comes at least 18 months too late. With only a few months of real negotiating time before the UK leaves, it has triggered the worst political turmoil yet faced by May, calling into question her future as prime minister. On top of all that, it’s a plan that the ...

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• 10 July

  Tesla can win in China, on Beijing’s terms

  

  Elon Musk is heading to the world’s biggest market for electric cars. Again. This time around, the Tesla Inc. CEO doesn’t have much choice. Musk’s visit to Shanghai , following Tesla’s move to register a wholly owned subsidiary in China, could provide the solution to the problems the carmaker is combating at its factories, in financial markets and with its ...

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• 10 July

  Bond market signals boom times will end soon

  

  It’s abundantly clear that Americans as a whole are experiencing the best economy since the Great Recession. US employers are adding so many workers that more people are growing encouraged to enter the labour force. Wage growth is well above the average of the past decade. Corporate earnings remain rock solid. For bond investors, though, the question is never really ...

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• 10 July

  Improving euro-area inflation appears self-sustained: Draghi

  

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi said the improvement in euro-area inflation is on a self-sustained path as he struck a confident tone that the European Central Bank (ECB) can withdraw its stimulus despite the rising specter of a global trade war. Addressing European Parliament lawmakers, the ECB president urged the region’s governments to lead by example by pushing back against creeping protectionism, ...

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