July, 2017

• 30 July

  UK financial regulator right to retire Libor

  

  The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has announced the end of Libor — the London interbank offered rate, one of the world’s most important interest-rate benchmarks. This is no minor technical adjustment. The change will have far-reaching effects in global financial markets. It’s a good move — and the timing is right. Libor is used to set payments on more than ...

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• 30 July

  Emmanuel Macron’s ‘embarrassing’ act

  France’s new president, Emmanuel Macron, vowed to attract more foreign investment and to push for greater European integration. His government’s decision to block an Italian takeover of France’s STX shipyard has broken both promises in one fell swoop. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said recently that France would temporarily nationalize the yard —blocking a deal that would have seen Italy’s ...

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• 30 July

  Sharif’s ousting returns Pak to high risk investor play

  

  The ousting of Pakistan’s prime minister by the country’s top court dramatically raises the risk profile for investors and businesses in the tumultuous, but fast-growing South Asian economy. The Supreme Court’s disqualification of Nawaz Sharif after a graft probe, prompting his resignation, poses big challenges to the country’s credit profile. As the stock market dipped on Friday, the court’s dramatic ...

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• 30 July

  BT’s only option is distraction with a shiny dividend

  

  Britain’s biggest telecoms provider, BT Group Plc, has been having a terrible time of it lately. Its shares are the fourth-worst performer on the FTSE 100 so far this year, and the worst among European industry peers. On Friday, it reported financial first-quarter results that reveal how hard it will be to change investors’ minds about its prospects. While the ...

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• 30 July

  Don’t worry about FB’s revenue growth. Be happy

  

  Facebook has warned for months that its runaway train of revenue growth is running out of steam. The company showed on Wednesday that it is laying new track as fast as it can. Facebook continues to be one of the fastest growing and most profitable tech companies in the world. Revenue rose 45% in the second quarter, the company said ...

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• 30 July

  Poor Q2 earnings dent Saudi in weak region

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Disappointing second-quarter results from large cap Saudi Arabian companies were the main drag on the local index on Sunday, while neighbouring bourses were mostly weak. The Riyadh index fell 0.8 percent as the largest petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) lost 1.3 percent after it reported a second-quarter net profit of 3.71 billion riyals ($989.3 million), below ...

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• 30 July

  Italy sets price for its share of Monte Paschi capital raise

  

  Bloomberg Italy took the final steps to revive Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, setting the price for its portion of the aid package needed to keep the world’s oldest bank in business. The government will pay 6.49 euros per share as part of the bank’s capital raising, according to a statement from the lender. Italy earlier this week ...

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• 30 July

  Bank of England to cut growth forecasts over ‘rate-increase’

  

  Bloomberg Mark Carney signaled in June that a Bank of England rate increase may be approaching. Economists doubt it is here just yet. The governor, overseeing an economy that slowed sharply in the first half, will lower growth projections for the next two years when he presents the central bank’s latest forecasts next week, according to economists. The inflation outlook ...

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• 30 July

  Europe can still build investment-bank champions, says BNP

  

  Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA is showing it’s still possible to build a big investment bank franchise from Europe. France’s largest lender outshone Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG and much of Wall Street for another quarter, posting a standout performance in equity derivatives to help drive better-than-expected profit. Among bright spots: Equity and prime services revenue jumped 26 percent amid surging demand ...

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• 30 July

  Leadership race heats up at Bank of Italy

  

  Bloomberg The euro area’s third-largest economy is seeking someone to help oversee its struggling recovery — and review the European Central Bank (ECB) stimulus the country relies upon. Competition for the top job at the Bank of Italy, which comes with a seat on the ECB’s Governing Council, is heating up. The position has a high-profile history — ECB President ...

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