May, 2018

• 29 May

  What Ethiopia’s economy has in common with China

  

  Will Ethiopia become “the China of Africa”? The question often comes up in an economic context: Ethiopia’s growth rate is expected to be 8.5 percent this year, topping China’s projected 6.5 percent. Over the past decade, Ethiopia has averaged about 10 percent growth. Behind those flashy numbers, however, is an undervalued common feature: Both countries feel secure about their pasts ...

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• 29 May

  US stocks drop as Italian woes trigger selloff; dollar rallies

  

  Bloomberg Stocks declined, while Treasuries and the dollar rallied as the escalating political crisis in Italy engulfed markets. The S&P 500 Index dropped for a third session, following the biggest decline since March in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as Italian political turmoil lead to gridlock and set the course for another election. The flight from risk began in Italy’s ...

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• 29 May

  European markets shudder over Italy

  

  Bloomberg It looks like the debt crisis days of 2012 all over again for investors, as Italian, Portuguese and Greek bond yields surged and billionaire George Soros warned of an “ existential threat” to the European Union. The trigger was the prospect of anti-EU, nationalist parties in Italy turning a repeat election into a de facto referendum on Italy’s membership ...

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• 29 May

  Fed’s Bullard warns against rate hikes amid low inflation bets

  

  Bloomberg The Fed should slow its pace of policy normalisation to help re-align price expectations around 2 percent and maintain the credibility of its inflation target, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said on Tuesday in Tokyo. “Inflation expectations in the US remain somewhat low, suggesting that further normalisation may not be necessary to keep inflation near ...

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• 29 May

  Regulator unearths $7bn of bad loans at big Indian banks

  

  Bloomberg Bad loans at India’s five biggest state-run banks were about 456.8 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) more than the lenders had assessed. Audits by the regulator for the year ended March 31, 2017, revealed the discrepancies, triggering large losses as the banks increased provisions. If you add IDBI Bank Ltd., which doesn’t feature among the biggest but got the largest ...

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• 29 May

  Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait looks out for acquisitions as Gulf lenders merge

  

  Bloomberg Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait is on the look out for acquisitions in the Gulf region as it seeks to boost revenue from international operations. “We want to manage and absorb the last merger, but we’re always looking for acquisitions,” Chief Executive Officer Michel Accad said in an interview in Kuwait City. “We can consider anything at the right ...

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• 29 May

  ‘MiFID II to exacerbate dip in analyst coverage’

  

  Bloomberg The biggest bank in the Nordic region says Europe’s revision of market rules is likely to exacerbate a slump in the number of analysts covering smaller companies, making it harder for them to raise capital. Nordea Bank AB says the firms affected by the development should consider commissioning their own research to help “alleviate the risk of falling off ...

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• 29 May

  Italian drama reawakens fear of Europe’s sovereign-bank loop

  

  Bloomberg Reports of the death of the sovereign-bank “ doom loop” are greatly exaggerated. Italian government bonds have blown up, with the yield on two-year notes skyrocketing by as much as 192 basis points on Tuesday to the highest level since 2012. Spreads on subordinated de-bts from euro-area financial companies, meanwhile, have jumped in sympathy as Rome’s political turmoil reverberates ...

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• 29 May

  Bombardier plans two new luxury aircraft amid demand

  

  Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. will build two new private planes in response to growing demand for large-cabin business jets. The Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft will come equipped with redesigned cabins, an optimised wing and all-new Rolls-Royce engines, Bombardier said in a statement. The models, which will have ranges of 5,700 and 6,600 nautical miles, respectively, will likely enter service ...

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• 29 May

  JAB to buy sandwich chain Pret A Manger from Bridgepoint

  

  Bloomberg JAB Holding Co. agreed to buy sandwich chain Pret A Manger, adding a UK business to its portfolio of coffee and food brands that includes Panera Bread Co. and Au Bon Pain. JAB and the seller, private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers Ltd., didn’t disclose the terms of the deal in a statement. The price is about $2 billion, including ...

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