December, 2017

• 24 December

  Israelis take to streets against corruption

  Bloomberg Thousands of Israelis demonstrated against government corruption as police move to wrap up an investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicions of bribery. In addition to the weekly march in central Tel Aviv by liberal opponents of the government, which police said drew about 5,000 people, about 500 conservatives normally allied with Netanyahu held a parallel protest in ...

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• 24 December

  Suddenly, America’s trade deficit isn’t so terrible

  

  It’s possible that more than half of the US’s trade deficit is a mirage — an artifact of corporate shenanigans designed to avoid taxes. Official statistics say that the US trade deficit is about 3 percent of gross domestic product — smaller than in the 2000s, but still historically large. But a recent Goldman Sachs note about tax reform makes ...

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• 24 December

  World’s emerging markets don’t control their own destiny

  

  For all the hype about the decline of the West, it still largely controls whether emerging markets thrive or suffer. The broad global pick-up in growth this year propelled emerging markets toward the biggest gains in stocks and currencies in almost a decade. China’s debt binge did add ballast to the global expansion, and the country’s neighbors are vulnerable to ...

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• 24 December

  Steinhoff faces a firesale, but it’s set for a fizzle

  With the crisis deepening at Steinhoff International Holdings NV, a January sale of its assets looks increasingly likely. But this is not the time to be offloading retail businesses. The company was putting a brave face on its operating performance at a presentation to creditors on Tuesday. That does not alter the fact that for some of its large assets, ...

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• 24 December

  Italy’s Five Star Movement is reckless on the euro

  Italy’s Five Star Movement, which is on track to win the most votes in next year’s election, likes to portray itself as the party of transparency and honesty, in contrast with the opportunism of the mainstream political forces. When it comes to Italy’s membership of the euro, however, Five Star are showing the same kind of reckless expediency they attack ...

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• 24 December

  A strategy for deciding when to sell bitcoin

  

  Running a money-management firm provides a window into the psyches of all kinds of people: long-term investors, real estate speculators, institutional traders, tech entrepreneurs and everyone in between. During any given week, I speak with all sorts of people who have capital at risk in markets. Most understand what they are investing in and why. Then there are the folks ...

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• 24 December

  Boeing’s Brazilian flight of fancy could backfire

  

  Boeing Co.’s latest salvo in the escalating battle with its planemaking rivals could wind up piercing its own foot. The $175 billion company, it was revealed, is in talks to acquire Brazilian regional-jet maker Embraer SA. The deal would give Boeing products that compete with the Bombardier Inc. C-Series planes in which its rival Airbus SE just agreed to acquire ...

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• 24 December

  SCOTUS case could enhance public workers’ rights

  

  It is protected by Washington state’s lopsidedly Democratic political class, which knows who butters its bread. It has been provided with bespoke law, tailored for its comfort. Nevertheless, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has been so avaricious in its objectives and so thuggish in its methods that it has been bested by the Freedom Foundation. This small conservative outfit, ...

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• 24 December

  You need our banks as much as they need you: UK to EU

  

  Bloomberg The day after the European Union’s chief negotiator warned that there could be no special deal for Britain’s finance sector, the UK sent a message back: You need our banks as much as they need you. “The City of London is actually the banker for Europe,” Prime Minister Theresa May told a parliamentary committee. “It’s a significant provider of ...

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• 24 December

  Czech rate hikes seen interrupted as slower inflation buys time

  

  Bloomberg The Czech Republic is set to leave further interest-rate increases until next year as a slowdown in inflation sidelines calls from some within the central bank to raise borrowing costs more aggressively. After raising its benchmark rate in August and November to cool price growth in one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies, the central bank will hold it at 0.5 ...

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