July, 2018

• 4 July

  Japanese businesses don’t cower amid trade gloom

  So much for the trade war apocalypse. While many headlines feature gloom about the precarious state of relations between the US and its economic partners, Japan’s most widely watched indicator has some sunny patches worthy of attention. Japanese companies plan a surge in capital spending in the year through March 2019, according to the central bank’s quarterly Tankan survey released ...

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• 4 July

  Forget banks and worry about high stock prices

  

  It’s time for investors to stop fighting the last war. The next downturn most likely won’t be triggered by another meltdown of the financial system. The Federal Reserve has concluded its stress test of big banks, a look into whether they have enough money set aside to withstand another 2008-type financial crisis. The Fed announced that all 35 banks examined ...

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• 4 July

  Clothing sellers defy retail death’s rattle

  

  Specialty apparel and department store stocks have been battered in recent years as a steady stream of store closings and unenticing merchandise put their future in doubt. But the apparel and accessories business is suddenly looking more fashionable. Last week, Goldman Sachs analyst Alexandra Walvis initiated coverage of Tapestry Inc., Tiffany & Co. and VF Corp. with a buy rating. ...

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• 4 July

  T-Mobile’s argument is as loud as Legere’s style

  

  John Legere is the pitchman T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. need for their merger. Can he pull it off? The cheerleader-like qualities that have helped the CEO bring enthusiasm to T-Mobile are the same ones that induce groans. Testifying before the Senate judiciary subcommittee on antitrust June 27, Legere wore his usual uniform: a superhero-esque magenta T-Mobile t-shirt under ...

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• 4 July

  Stocks mixed in holiday-hit trading; dollar stays steady

  

  Bloomberg European stocks struggled for direction while futures for the S&P 500 advanced in a lackluster session overshadowed by the US holiday. There was a more downbeat mood in Asia where shares slipped even as the yuan extended a rebound. Telecom companies were the biggest winners on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, though declines in technology shares helped offset the ...

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• 4 July

  Rife with anxiety, markets churning at multi-year high

  

  Bloomberg Once the hallmark of this bull run, complacency has made way for angst. From junk bonds to emerging-market stocks, market turnover is through the roof, reaching multi-year highs. Within the S&P 500 Index, investors traded more than $2.9 trillion worth of shares in each of the past two quarters, a feat last achieved in early 2008. Burgeoning uncertainty — ...

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• 4 July

  Danske Bank ‘allegedly used’ to launder $8.3bn in funds

  

  Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S’s Estonian operations may have been used to launder as much as $8.3 billion in a case that has rocked Denmark and triggered calls for tougher penalties from the country’s political establishment. The amount, which represents roughly a third of Danske’s market value and almost 3 percent of Danish GDP, is more than double that previously estimated, ...

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• 4 July

  Bahrain hires Lazard to help fix finances

  

  Bloomberg Bahrain hired investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise on how to repair its strained public finances, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the island kingdom seeks to secure crucial support from rich neighbors to avoid a currency devaluation. Lazard is helping Bahrain evaluate fiscal reforms to help ease pressure on the state’s budget, the people said, ...

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• 4 July

  China’s PBOC faces policy bind over debt, growth goals

  

  Bloomberg China’s central bank is caught in a bind, as it seeks to tighten monetary policy for some parts of the economy while loosening it for others. Already engaged in the mammoth task of wringing bad debts out of China’s $40 trillion-plus financial system, the People’s Bank of China is now attempting to achieve that while simultaneously being asked to ...

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• 4 July

  Banks leave it late to secure post-Brexit future

  

  Bloomberg Just 20 banks have applied for a license to operate in the European Union in time to receive approval before Britain leaves the bloc. The European Central Bank has talked with 50 financial companies exploring options to retain the so-called passport that grants them access to one of the world’s largest economies, said Pentti Hakkarainen, a member of its ...

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