August, 2017

• 15 August

  Middle East stocks sag over mediocre economic outlook

  DUBAI / Reuters Middle Eastern stock markets sagged again on Tuesday because of a mediocre economic outlook, with a shock loss at a real estate developer weighing on Dubai and Egypt dropping for a sixth straight day. Union Properties sank 4.3 percent to 0.82 dirham after it reported a 2.29 billion dirham ($624 million) net loss for the second quarter, ...

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• 15 August

  Euro-pound parity call chimes as Morgan Stanley joins HSBC

  

  Bloomberg What once seemed a highly unlikely call on euro-sterling is gaining momentum, with two of the world’s leading banks predicting that Europe’s shared currency will attain and even go beyond parity with the pound for the first time. Morgan Stanley sees the pair at 1.02 by the end of March, which represents a 12 percent gain for the euro ...

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• 15 August

  Standard Bank seeks to raise $3 billion for Ugandan oil pipeline

  

  Bloomberg Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s Ugandan unit plans to raise $3 billion for a crude pipeline by the second half of next year as the East African country prepares to start oil production by 2020. Stanbic Bank Uganda was appointed alongside Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. as joint financial adviser for the 1,445-kilometre pipeline, Patrick Mweheire, the chief executive officer ...

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• 15 August

  SA court scraps bid to alter central bank role

  

  Bloomberg South Africa’s High Court scrapped a bid by the nation’s anti-graft ombudsman to change the central bank’s inflation-targeting mandate. The Public Protector’s instruction that lawmakers should start a process to change the constitution and amend the Reserve Bank’s mandate is set aside, Judge Cynthia Pretorius said in a ruling. The judgment removes the risk of politicians interfering in the ...

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• 15 August

  HK likely to raise banks’ interest rates

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s attempt to force bank interest rates higher—seen by some as a bid to arrest losses in the local currency—has been given a big fat zero by the markets. Plans to sap liquidity by boosting debt sales triggered an about-turn in the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, spurring speculation over the fate of one of the world’s surest ...

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• 15 August

  Money-laundering scandal hurts all banks, says lobby chief Bligh

  

  Bloomberg The Commonwealth Bank of Australia money-laundering scandal has damaged public’s perception of the whole banking sector, according to the head of the industry’s lobby group. “The issue that Australian banks are suffering with is community trust and public reputation,” Australian Bankers’ Association Chief Executive Officer Anna Bligh said in an interview. “The events of the past week, 10 days, ...

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• 15 August

  Danske tells biggest clients it doesn’t want all their deposits

  

  Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S is telling corporate clients to think hard about what to do with their excess cash before December 31, because Denmark’s biggest lender doesn’t want it. After a world-record-setting half decade of negative interest rates, Denmark still has a few surprises up its sleeve that show how such a monetary regime works in practice. Though corporate clients ...

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• 15 August

  Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

  

  Bloomberg Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways withdrew its financial support to German carrier Air Berlin Plc, which has filed for insolvency on Tuesday. In an official statement, Etihad Airways said that this latest development is “extremely disappointing for all parties,” especially as the state-owned airline “has provided extensive support to Air Berlin for its previous liquidity challenges and restructuring efforts over ...

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• 15 August

  Retailers enter Iceland in end to price tyranny

  

  Bloomberg A common complaint heard on the streets of Reykjavik—apart from the weather—is about prices. A standard burger will set you back as much as $20, while branded sneakers cost double what they sell for in the US. That’s about to change. Nearly eight years after McDonald’s pulled out of Iceland due to spiraling costs, international retail giants are now ...

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• 15 August

  Broad-based advance in US retail fuels spending

  Bloomberg US retail sales advanced in July by the most this year, with widespread gains from department stores to building materials outlets that signal a robust start to consumer spending in the third quarter, according to Commerce Department figures released Tuesday. Overall sales climbed 0.6% (est. 0.3% gain) after 0.3% advance in prior month. Sales excluding autos and gasoline rose ...

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