May, 2016

• 17 May

  Trash banks in Indonesia boost savings

  

    Bali / Bloomberg   It’s clear from the dirt floor, the battered green sofa and the common-use comb hanging from a string next to the door that this is no ordinary bank. Customers here, in a poor corner of eastern Indonesia, borrow cash — and pay back trash. “The program originated from the people, it is managed by the …

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• 17 May

  Australian govt delays ‘backpacker tax’ hike

    Beijing / Bloomberg Working holidaymakers from overseas were given a reprieve on Tuesday from being hit with a so-called “backpacker tax” in Australia after a campaign by farmers and the tourism industry. The government, which is in election mode with polls on July 2, had planned to introduce the levy on foreign travellers who are often young and work …

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• 17 May

  Singapore probes Hyundai cars for sudden acceleration

    Singapore / AP Singapore’s Land Transport Authority said on Tuesday it is investigating Hyundai vehicles following reports of accidents involving sudden acceleration while reversing. In a statement, the authority said it was looking into cases of Hyundai vehicles having “unintended acceleration in reverse gear.” “It is premature to draw any conclusions at this point in time,” it said. The …

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• 17 May

  Huawei to build global smartphone brand

  

    SHENZHEN / Bloomberg Chinese tech giant Huawei wants Americans to start thinking of it as a stylish smartphone brand. Huawei Technologies Ltd., which pulled out of the US market for network switching gear four years ago due to security fears, became the No. 3 global smartphone seller last year and passed Apple in China. This year, it launched a …

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• 17 May

  Pound jumps most in 2 weeks as ‘Remain’ vote rises in Brexit poll

  

    Bloomberg The pound rallied the most in two weeks after a poll of U.K. voters released on Monday showed people who support a campaign to remain in the European Union exceeded those saying they will vote to leave by a wider margin than last month. Sterling rose against most of its 16 major peers after the ORB/Telegraph poll showed …

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• 17 May

  Sterling morphing into emerging-market currency before vote

    Bloomberg With just over a month until the U.K. vote on European Union membership, investors are increasing treating the pound like an emerging-market currency. While sterling was used as a haven during the European debt crisis, the specter of a Brexit has pushed it to the other end of the spectrum. The correlation between sterling and an index of …

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• 17 May

  Serb central bank holds rate before Brexit poll, new govt

  

    Bloomberg Serbia’s central bank left borrowing costs unchanged for a third month, refraining from easing ahead of the U.K.’s vote on whether to leave the European Union and the formation of a new government following April snap elections. The National Bank of Serbia left its one-week repurchase rate unchanged at 4.25 percent, according to a statement published on its …

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• 17 May

  Both sides in Britain’s referendum campaign target tax dodgers

  

    Bloomberg Both sides in the campaign for the U.K.’s referendum on membership of the European Union turned their fire on tax dodging on Tuesday, while disagreeing on the best way to tackle it. The Vote Leave campaign said EU rules have hampered U.K. government attempts to crack down on corporate-tax avoidance, but the “Remain” side said companies are more …

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• 17 May

  Napoleon-era Breguet pocket watch fetches US$3 million in Geneva auction

  

    Bloomberg A Breguet pocket watch owned by a general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power was sold for more than $3 million in a $19 million Christie’s sale of rare timepieces as the Geneva spring auction season revved up. The Breguet No. 217, a self-winding timepiece that features a day and month calendar, was first sold in 1800 to …

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• 17 May

  UK inflation unexpectedly slows to 0.3%; core rate drops

    Bloomberg U.K. inflation unexpectedly slowed in April, highlighting the struggle Bank of England policy makers face to revive price growth. The rate fell to 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent in March, driven lower by the cost of air fares and clothes, the Office for National Statistics said in London on Tuesday. Inflation hasn’t been lower since last year and …

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