July, 2017

• 23 July

  EU, German regulator studying reports of automaker collusion

  

  Bloomberg The European Commission and the German cartel office have received information about possible collusion among German automakers and are studying the matter, according to a statement. ‘It is premature at this stage to speculate further,” according to the statement from the commission’s executive arm. “The commission and national competition authorities cooperate closely with each other on such issues in ...

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• 23 July

  Swiss watch exports regain momentum over China demand

  

  Bloomberg Swiss watch exports gained for a third time in four months as Chinese demand strengthened and the UK attracted buyers with its weak currency. Shipments climbed 5.3 percent to 1.7 billion francs ($1.8 billion) in June, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in a statement that underpinned signs of a rebound from the longest slump on record. ...

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• 23 July

  Finland’s Elenia considers sale for up to $3.5bn

  

  Bloomberg Elenia Oy’s owners are preparing to kick off a sale that could value Finland’s second-largest power distributor at as much as 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion), restarting a process that was delayed last year, people with knowledge of the matter said. The utility has sent out teasers and senior executives are planning to meet with potential suitors in Asia ...

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• 23 July

  Hydro One falls as investors sour on Avista’s $3.4bn price

  

  Bloomberg Hydro One Ltd. fell the most in eight months after agreeing to buy US power supplier Avista Corp. in a $3.4 billion deal that analysts said is too costly and exposes the Canadian energy company to regulatory hassles. The merger will add Avista’s energy production and distribution operations in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska to Hydro One’s transmission network ...

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• 23 July

  Deficits forever?

  

  House Republicans, who are now deliberating the government’s 2018 budget, pledge to eliminate deficits within a decade. Well, good luck with that. It must be obvious that chronic deficits reflect a basic political impasse that can be broken only if majorities in Congress do things they’ve refused to do: trim Social Security benefits; raise taxes significantly; control health spending. There ...

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• 23 July

  Ping An’s Singapore fling. And yes, Xi knows about it

  

  Don’t be surprised if in 20 years, Singapore’s wealth-management industry starts resembling a mini-United Nations, with bankers wearing their nationalities on their sleeves. Last week, Gadfly commented on one such act of flag-waving. PT Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest lender by assets, plans to set up a private banking outfit in the city-state to target offshore Indonesian wealth. While that proposal ...

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• 23 July

  Jeff Sessions has some explaining to do

  

  Donald Trump’s vision of a Justice Department that serves Donald Trump instead of the cause of justice is horribly askew. But it is quintessentially Trumpian, and therefore unsurprising. Attorney General Jeff Sessions should know better. After the president questioned his judgment and competence in an interview with The New York Times — and said Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from ...

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• 23 July

  Nafta gets a reprieve

  President Donald Trump has made a welcome retreat from his threats to scrap ‘the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere.’ His administration’s plan for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, released this week, is surprisingly benign. Granted, the administration’s declared purpose for those talks — to reduce the US trade deficit — highlights its weak grasp of basic ...

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• 23 July

  India’s banking vigour stokes economic boom

  

  India is solidifying its position as the fastest-growing economy among the Group of 20 nations, surpassing China since 2015 with a boost from a financial industry that is winning the confidence of global investors. Financial markets can improve living standards by channelling savings, allocating credit and reducing the cost of producing and trading goods and services. In India, the financial ...

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• 23 July

  China’s cashless revolution is likely to spread

  

  On a recent trip to Shenzhen, in southern China, I came across a subway busker with two tip jars. The first was a cardboard box filled with coins and bills; the second was a small QR code taped to the box that allowed passersby to leave a tip by smartphone. On one level, this was simply smart business: Chinese made ...

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