January, 2018

• 31 January

  Britain has indeed lost its bearings on Brexit

  

  The leaked UK government forecasts of Brexit’s impact on the economy discusses several scenarios, none of them favorable. But the scariest takeaway was that London still isn’t clear on what kind of deal it’s capable of getting, or what it wants. Almost 600 days have passed since the referendum. The three scenarios discussed in the assessment dated January 2018, are ...

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• 31 January

  Trump’s rejection of TPP a disaster

  

  As President Trump prepares to appraise the state of the union, it’s worth remembering what still ranks as one of the worst decisions of his presidency: the withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It happened just about a year ago. You’ll recall that the TPP was an agreement between the US and 11 other countries — ...

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• 31 January

  JPMorgan health venture, a hazard to its deal fees

  

  Snubbing JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment bankers may soon become the norm in one pocket of Corporate America. But the bigger picture justifies the sacrifice. The largest US lender said on Tuesday that it’s teaming up with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. to lower the cost of US employee health-care coverage. The move sent a shock wave through stocks ...

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• 31 January

  India’s Modi should keep his fiscal promises

  With elections in sight, India’s government is under pressure to loosen fiscal policy in its budget on Thursday. Tempting as this may seem, it would be a mistake. Chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has made the most candid argument for relaxing the country’s tough fiscal stance: Given the political calendar, promises to honor the targets simply wouldn’t be believed. He ...

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• 31 January

  China, US Treasuries and the temporary truths

  

  In a span of less than 24 hours, we went from a Bloomberg News report last week that China might reduce its exposure to US Treasuries to China’s denial and claims of ‘fake news.’ I suspect the original story and the denial had official backing, with the initial news viewed as a “temporary truth” that would dissipate like a Snapchat ...

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• 31 January

  Ireland should stand on its own two feet

  

  As far as the European Union is concerned, it’s still 2010. If ever there was evidence that officials haven’t got the message that the crisis is over, you need look no further than Ireland. The European Union issued a 2.4 billion-euro ($3 billion) seven-year bond, and the funds will refinance some of Ireland’s bailout borrowings. As is always the case ...

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• 31 January

  Apple’s iPhone sales cycle is looking a lot less super

  

  Remember the hype about the iPhone “super cycle?” Wall Street doesn’t. There was a popular investment theory that Apple’s 2018 would be something like a repeat of 2015, when the first larger-screen iPhone models flew off store shelves. Apple sold 231 million iPhones in its 2015 fiscal year, or 37 percent more than it did in the previous year. Apple ...

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• 31 January

  EU softens push to keep clients from exiting failing banks

  

  Bloomberg European Union policy makers are softening plans to stop clients pulling money from banks suffering a financial crisis, according to a draft plan seen by Bloomberg News. Regulators have been debating the length of time that traders and other clients should be suspended from yanking funds when a lender is deemed to be failing. An earlier proposal for two ...

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• 31 January

  European Union’s biggest rate hawks set to hike again

  Bloomberg The Czech central bank will probably raise interest rates for the third occasion in less than a year on Thursday and for the first time since 2013 release a currency outlook that may guide investors on what to expect in further monetary tightening. The Czech National Bank will raise its main interest rate to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent, ...

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• 31 January

  Hungarian central bank seeks redemption in swap auction rerun

  

  Bloomberg For a central bank that’s become used to an almost limitless ability to steer markets, Hungary’s rate meeting served as a measure of reckoning, with officials looking to guide their latest round of unconventional easing back on track. Policy makers, who had to scramble to revamp the rules after a swap sale sparked the biggest bond sell-off in more ...

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