December, 2017

• 19 December

  Europe’s sovereign-bank ‘doom loop’ can’t be broken

  

  Ever since the financial crisis, the European Union has grappled with how to solve the so-called sovereign bank doom loop — the phenomenon whereby weak banks can destabilize governments that support them and over-indebted governments can push banks holding their bonds over the precipice. The widely touted solution is the European Banking Union, which the European Commission wants completed by ...

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• 19 December

  Central banks tap big data to help craft policy

  

  Bloomberg Central bankers around the world have set up or are creating departments to embrace big data in the quest for deeper insight into the economies they manage. “Isaac Asimov once said, ‘I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them,’” David Hardoon, chief data officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a recent speech. “We ...

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• 19 December

  ‘Bankers replaced by bots won’t stay jobless’

  

  Bloomberg Sweden’s financial industry is growing at a fast enough pace to ensure that the thousands of bankers being replaced by robots will still be needed, according to the country’s financial regulator. A digital revolution is seemingly making humans redundant. But Martin Noreus, the deputy director general at the Stockholm-based Financial Supervisory Authority, says most of the bankers affected won’t ...

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• 19 December

  Bank of Singapore hires private bankers for Mideast wealth

  

  Bloomberg The private-banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. is adding more staff in Dubai, as the Singapore lender se- eks a greater role managing the money of the Middle East’s wealthy and of Indians living overseas. Bank of Singapore plans to hire about 20 relationship managers next year to cater to non-resident Indians and rich people in the Arab world, ...

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• 19 December

  RBA could raise rates as soon as May

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s central bank may start raising interest rates from a record low as soon as May, putting the brakes on house-price growth, according to hedge fund manager Brett Gillespie. A drop in the unemployment rate to 5 percent in the second quarter of next year will be the trigger for the Reserve Bank of Australia to start lifting rates, ...

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• 19 December

  Ukraine set to fill central bank governor’s role after 8 months

  

  Bloomberg Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is set to propose a new central bank governor this week, filling a position that’s been vacant since May as the government struggles to get its $17.5 billion bailout back on track with the International Monetary Fund. Poroshenko will reveal his nomination in the next two days, with parliament to vote on his proposal on ...

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• 19 December

  Bombardier dumping puts new 737 at risk, says Boeing

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. warned that its 737 Max 7 passenger jet may not survive if Bombardier Inc. continues to sell aircraft below fair-market value, as the two planemakers square off in a case that’s putting profits and diplomatic ties on the line. “Our Max 7 is at extreme risk,” Kevin McAllister, the head of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, told a ...

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• 19 December

  Atlanta airport blackout shows grid’s weakness

  

  Bloomberg A sudden power failure at the world’s busiest airport that stranded thousands of passengers and snarled US holiday air traffic underscores the vulnerability of the nation’s grid. The 11-hour outage was caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility that also cut backup supplies to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, said Southern Co.’s Georgia Power utility. Frustrated passengers were ...

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• 19 December

  Hershey nears to $1.6bn deal to buy Austin-based Amplify Snack

  

  Bloomberg Hershey Co. is near a $1.6 billion deal to buy Amplify Snack Brands Inc., according to CNBC, which cited unidentified sources familiar with the matter. The deal values Amplify at $12 a share, CNBC said, which would represent a 71 percent premium to Friday’s closing price of $7 a share. Amplify, based in Austin, Texas, has a market cap ...

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• 19 December

  Hong Kong malls that people can’t avoid attract Goldman, Puma

  

  Bloomberg Forget Gucci and Rolex. Grocery stores, hair salons and tutoring centres may have the brightest future for Hong Kong retail as high-end malls get squeezed by forces beyond their control. That’s according to property consultants including Savills Plc, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and CBRE Group Inc., who say that community shopping centres targeting local customers are better suited to ...

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