February, 2018

• 3 February

  Boeing needs to stay out of its own way

  

  What goes up must come down, unless we’re talking about Boeing Co. The plane-maker — now also the biggest US industrial company after doubling its market value over the last year — reported fourth-quarter results last week that were nearly perfect. The recently passed US tax legislation contributed an outsized $1.74 to Boeing’s fourth-quarter earnings per share, equating to a ...

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• 3 February

  Kuroda deserves a second term as BOJ governor

  

  The re-election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in October was welcomed warmly by stock market investors. The reappointment of Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to another five-year term starting this April would also be viewed as a reassuring sign of policy continuity. The Japanese tradition of naming economic expansions after Shinto deities dates back to the 1950s. A fitting ...

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• 3 February

  UK banks fearing Brexit have US blueprint to follow

  

  Bloomberg UK politicians pushing for a post- Brexit trade deal on financial services are trying to stem an exodus of bankers from the City of London. For British banks, the stakes aren’t quite as high. A UK withdrawal with no preferential access to the single market would result in declining tax revenue and the potential loss of 75,000 finance jobs ...

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• 3 February

  Bitcoin ban expands across credit cards

  

  Bloomberg A growing number of big US credit-card issuers are deciding they don’t want to finance a falling knife. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. said they’re halting purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on their credit cards. JPMorgan, enacting the ban, doesn’t want the credit risk associated with the transactions, company spokeswoman Mary Jane ...

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• 3 February

  Deutsche Bank traders set for ‘generous’ bonus despite slump

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer John Cryan, seeking to restore morale after massive bonus cuts last year, raised compensation for traders and bankers in 2017. He didn’t get much in return. Trading at Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank slumped 27 percent in the fourth quarter to 886 million euros ($1 billion), while fees from advising on deals and arranging debt ...

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• 3 February

  Wells Fargo hit with growth ban in Yellen’s final act

  

  Bloomberg After markets closed on her final workday in office, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen delivered a blow to one of the nation’s largest banks: Wells Fargo & Co. won’t be allowed to grow until it cleans up. Fed officials said the San Francisco-based lender’s pattern of consumer abuses and compliance lapses called for an unprecedented sanction. Until Wells Fargo ...

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• 3 February

  BOE to start countdown to next interest-rate hike

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of England will probably raise its economic growth forecasts next week, setting the scene for a potential interest-rate increase within months. In a survey for Bloomberg, all but one of 17 economists see the BOE lifting its 2018 projection, with the predictions for the next two years most likely to be left unchanged. The central bank will ...

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• 3 February

  Boeing’s endangered 747 gets lifeline as UPS buys 14 jumbos

  

  Bloomberg The long goodbye for Boeing Co.’s iconic 747 jetliner is turning out to be a little premature. The planemaker won a $5.65 billion lifeline for the endangered jumbo as United Parcel Service Inc. exercised options for 14 more of the freighters. The deal came weeks after Delta Air Lines Inc. parked the last of its 747 aircraft, marking the ...

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• 3 February

  Boeing woos Brazil’s Embraer to form commercial jet firm

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. is wooing Embraer SA with a plan to form a commercial-jet venture instead of an outright acquisition, people familiar with the talks said. The two planemakers have made good progress on the framework for a deal, but hurdles remain and the final terms are still being hammered out, said one of the people, who asked not to ...

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• 3 February

  India plans to expand airport capacity fivefold

  

  Bloomberg India plans to increase its airport capacity more than fivefold to help handle a billion trips as carriers in the surging market await delivery of over 900 aircraft. Airline stocks surged. The proposal is part of an infrastructure boost announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the federal budget for the year starting on April 1. The government will ...

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