May, 2017

• 29 May

  Swiss economic growth still left in shade by Germany

  

  Bloomberg If the Swiss economic growth is still left in the shade by Germany this week, its central bank knows exactly why. Two-and-a-half years after suffering an exchange-rate shock that made its exports even more expensive, Switzerland has yet to rediscover its knack of outperforming neighboring Germany. While the two economies boast significant similarities, prompting the Swiss to dub their ...

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• 29 May

  ‘US duties to drive Canada wood exports to China’

  

  Bloomberg A rise in US tariffs on Canadian softwood will help drive an increase in lumber exports to China and other Asian markets, Canada’s top trade official said. “There’s an enormous opportunity,” said Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in an interview in Singapore. “Diversification is the key, that’s why Canada has an ambitious trade agenda.” With other Canadian industries also bracing ...

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• 29 May

  London’s hottest home markets see price cuts

  

  Bloomberg On the less fashionable fringes of London, home sellers are quickly finding out just what the market can bear. Buyers fleeing the capital’s costly center turned peripheral boroughs into London’s hottest property markets. Now, more sellers in those areas are being forced to cut their prices after values quickly outstripped the spending power of the average buyer. The number ...

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• 29 May

  Russia starts largest renewable energy auction in bid for jobs

  

  Bloomberg Russia is pressing ahead with its biggest-ever auction for renewable energy, seeking to award contracts to purchase 1.9 gigawatts of clean electricity as well as attracting foreign investment to support jobs at home. The government tender starting on Monday has attracted the interest of For-tum Oyj, Finland’s largest energy com- pany, which is prequalified to participate in the auction. ...

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• 29 May

  OPEC wins hedge funds back with jump in oil bets

  

  Bloomberg Hedge funds are giving OPEC some credit again. Following four weeks of growing pessimism, bets on rising West Texas Intermediate prices jumped the most this year just as Saudi Arabia and Russia were mustering support for the deal they struck in Vienna last week, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. What happens to US stockpiles will be key ...

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• 29 May

  Oil trades below $50 as market pessimism on OPEC deal lingers

  

  Bloomberg Oil traded below $50 a barrel after OPEC underwhelmed investors with its production-cut extension deal. Futures fell 0.2 percent in New York. Prices closed 1.1 percent lower last week after OPEC agreed to extend limits on crude output through the first quarter of 2018. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the oil-cuts strategy is working and that global ...

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• 29 May

  Iraq may consider hedging crude production

  

  LARNACA / Reuters Iraq may look at hedging part of its crude oil production, the head of the OPEC member’s oil marketer SOMO said, as a way to protect government revenue against the risk of oil price volatility. “It is in our strategy in the future that maybe we will consider hedging part of Iraqi crude … SOMO is floating ...

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• 29 May

  A path forward in Syria and Iraq, post-IS

  

  The Manchester terror attack by an alleged IS ‘soldier’ will accelerate the push by the US and its allies to capture the terror group’s strongholds in Mosul and Raqqah. But it should also focus some urgent discussions about a post-IS strategy for stabilizing Iraq and Syria. For all President Trump’s bombast about obliterating the IS, the Raqqah campaign has been ...

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• 29 May

  For Tata, tea break’s over and now its time to sweat capital

  

  India’s $103 billion Tata Group, the maker of Tetley Tea, went on an extended beverage break in October last year, when it acrimoniously fired its chairman. The ensuing battle for control was distracting, but ultimately proved to be a storm in a teacup. Now that the saga is over, Tata Sons Ltd, the group’s unlisted holding company, is going back ...

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• 29 May

  When intelligence isn’t shared, criminals win

  

  British police were justifiably furious when evidence from their investigation into the Manchester terrorist attack found its way into news reports. The leaks undermine the investigation and the confidence of victims and witnesses, whose cooperation is crucial. The immediate consequence is that Manchester police have stopped sharing information about their investigation with U.S. officials, who are widely believed to the ...

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