April, 2018

• 28 April

  How to fix US healthcare

  

  No doubt about it: Health care is a vexing political problem. There’s a contradiction at the core of our thinking. We want the best care when we or loved ones get sick. It’s a moral issue. There should be no limits on treatment. But the resulting uncontrolled health spending harms the country. It undermines other priorities — higher wages (more ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Sing it from the mountains, iPhone supercycle is dead

  

  Whisper it in the cafes of Silicon Valley, mutter it in the teashops of Shenzhen, yell it from the Austrian mountain top, where only the goats will hear you. The supercycle is dead. I’m calling it. Before Apple Inc. unveiled the iPhone X in September, some investors expected the company’s new flagship product to drive a multi-year growth cycle, much ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Technology is getting EU privacy rules all wrong

  

  Internet users throughout the European Union – and, in some cases, in the rest of the world as well – are starting to get gently pushed towards accepting various companies’ new service and privacy terms that comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is going into effect on May 25. Trying to deal with it has convinced ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  BOE rate-hike forecasts dumped as growth shock proves last straw

  

  Bloomberg Economists abandoned predictions that the Bank of England (BoE) will increase interest rates next month after two weeks of disappointing data and the public doubts of Mark Carney. The shock near-stagnation of the economy proved the final straw after the BOE governor raised questions about such a move last week. Firms including NatWest Markets, SEB, Berenberg and ING have ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Japan bank draws scrutiny for switch to Trump regulator

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s biggest bank has been accused by New York officials of dodging tough oversight by swapping its state license for a federal one, putting itself under a US agency on the front lines of President Donald Trump’s push to ease financial rules. The November move by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) is now drawing scrutiny from a key ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Central banks take it easy to give global growth second look

  

  Bloomberg Central banks from Frankfurt to Ottawa appear to be taking a lower gear on the road away from easy monetary policy amid signs some key economies are slowing. The European Central Bank avoided any discussion of its next steps toward ending bond buying and Sweden’s Riksbank pushed back a plan to raise interest rates for the first time in ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Draghi: Eurozone economic outlook is solid

  

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi said European Central Bank policy makers refrained from discussing the end of asset purchases or even the stronger euro as they focussed on gauging the health of the region’s economy. The Governing Council spent its two-day meeting assessing a raft of weaker economic data, the ECB president said at a news conference in Frankfurt. While acknowledging that ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Latvia wants clampdown on banks to reopen US dollar system

  

  Bloomberg Latvia’s prime minister says his nation is cracking down on shady dealings in the financial sector to help local banks regain access to directly transact in dollars. Doing so is vital for boosting trade and investment, according to Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, whose government has sought to tighten banking supervision after the demise of the Baltic nation’s No. 3 ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  US presses China over IP concerns amid tariff dispute

  

  Bloomberg The US issued a new warning to China on its handling of intellectual property as President Donald Trump prepares to dispatch senior advisers to the Asian nation to head off a trade dispute. The US Trade Representative’s office kept China on its “priority watch list” of countries whose IP practices require monitoring. China has an “urgent need” to fix ...

  Read More »
• 28 April

  Honda profit forecast falls short on yen appreciation

  

  Bloomberg Honda Motor Co., which until last year was the fastest-growing car brand in China, gave a full-year profit forecast that trailed analysts’ estimates on a stronger yen as it halted sales of its popular CR-V crossover in the world’s largest vehicle market. Operating profit will probably fall to 700 billion yen ($6.4 billion) in the year ending March 2019, ...

  Read More »