April, 2018

• 3 April

  Give China’s chipmakers a reason to care

  

  Just as the market’s love for the FANG stocks turns to angst, the US government is looking to ban Chinese investments in its technologies. That’s a bigger problem for the country’s expensive chipmakers than their would-be Asian acquirers. Semiconductors and 5G wireless communications are among areas that would be placed off-limits under plans to invoke a law reserved for national ...

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• 3 April

  Schools in the US should pay teachers what they’re worth

  

  From West Virginia to Arizona, public-school teachers are in revolt. They are demanding better pay, and they deserve it — so long as their salaries are tied to their performance. It’s not that US teachers are underpaid; the median income for the country’s 1 million high-school teachers, for example, is more than 50 percent higher than that of the general ...

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• 3 April

  Duterte’s ace in the hole for Asia’s worst market

  Everyone loves an underdog, unless it’s Rodrigo Duterte and the Philippine peso. The Philippines is Asia’s worst stock and currency market this year. A 6 percent slump in the benchmark index combined with a 4.6 percent slide in the peso means US dollar-based investors are looking at double-digit losses. Year-to-date, foreigners pulled more than $580 million from shares, after inflows ...

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• 3 April

  A good story doesn’t make a great investment idea

  

  The return of volatility in the first quarter versus 2017 was our focus last week. Some interesting pushback followed the premise that prices seem to ignore news sometimes and at other times hang on every headline. My explanation: Most people have this correlation backward. Contrary to widespread belief, the news does not drive markets or prices; rather, it is the ...

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• 3 April

  More caution can help FB, but it can hurt it, too

  

  There’s a line of thinking that Facebook Inc.’s business won’t be significantly damaged by the company’s series of scandals. But Facebook is already shifting how it operates in ways that will pinch its finances or limit its strategic maneuvers. First, it’s worth noting how little has changed for Facebook investors after two weeks of fury over the company’s role in ...

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• 3 April

  Competition for Amazon’s HQ2 becomes more political

  

  The competition for Amazon’s second headquarters is only getting fiercer. The politicking that goes with it ranges from subtle and behind the scenes to brazenly in-your-face. At stake is a destiny-changing bonanza that is a modern-day equivalent of a railroad siting. Amazon’s decision makers are weighing many factors among 20 finalist locations, and only they know how much certain variables ...

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• 3 April

  Dearth of deposits pushes China big banks to short-term debt

  

  Bloomberg China’s biggest lenders are increasingly using short-term financing to meet demand for loans, in a de-velopment that could push up money-market rates. The banks are rushing to sell negotiable certificates of deposit, an instrument that sounds like a saving account but is actually more like a bond. Issuance of these by the five largest lenders more than doubled to ...

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• 3 April

  Oman central bank eases capital, lending curbs to spur growth

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Oman’s central bank said on Tuesday it is relaxing capital and credit exposure rules for commercial banks and taking other steps to boost lending in a bid to boost economic growth. The Omani economy and financial markets have come under pressure from low oil prices and rising US interest rates, which are closely linked to rial rates, ...

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• 3 April

  BOJ is discussing stimulus exit options: Kuroda

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is talking about how to eventually exit from its massive monetary stimulus program but it’s still too early to reveal details, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told parliament on Tuesday. “Internally we’re conducting various discussions,” at the staff level, Kuroda said in response to a question from a lawmaker. How the BOJ normalises policy will depend ...

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• 3 April

  SocGen eyes more Saudi deals as bank expands in Mideast

  

  Bloomberg Societe Generale SA expects to be part of some “very large” deals involving Saudi Arabia this year, the bank’s chief executive officer for the Middle East said. “Saudi is the next big thing for us, so you will see us much more around very large Saudi Arabia transactions this year,” Richad Soundardjee said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. ...

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