June, 2017

• 3 June

  Iraq’s crude exports hit 2017 high

  

  Bloomberg Oil tankers shipped the most crude from Iraq in six months in May, when OPEC’s second-biggest producer was negotiating with the group’s other members to persist with supply constraints to shore up the global market. Tankers loaded 122 million barrels of Iraqi crude at ports in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea last month, according to vessel-tracking and shipping ...

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• 3 June

  Goldman Sachs applies for Saudi equities trading licence

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Goldman Sachs has applied to Saudi Arabia’s capital markets regulator for a licence to trade equities in the kingdom, two sources familiar with the move said, in the latest step by Western banks to expand operations in the country. Goldman has made the application to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and a successful outcome could lead to ...

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• 3 June

  GE to float $1.7bn offshore wind platform in Germany

  

  Bloomberg General Electric Co. said it’s ready to ship a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) offshore wind platform destined for the North Sea, underscoring the industrial giant’s commitment to clean power. The platform is a key part of the DolWin3 offshore project and will help transmit wind power generated in the North Sea, according to Alf Henryk Wulf, who heads ...

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• 3 June

  Trump’s Paris exit damping EU will to lift carbon price

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s plan to exit the Paris climate accord is seen curbing the willingness of European Union lawmakers to tackle low carbon prices. Europe will probably need to focus on protecting its industry from economic costs the US now won’t bother with, said Andrei Marcu, a senior fellow at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in ...

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• 3 June

  ‘GM would boost demand for stock with more flavors’

  

  Bloomberg Forget car salesmen. General Motors Co. should think a little more like ice cream vendors, according to billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn. Einhorn has been waging a months-long battle with GM to get the largest US automaker to split its stock into two classes — one would collect on the company’s dividend, and the other would capture the ...

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• 3 June

  US labour market seen losing momentum

  

  Bloomberg There are plenty of explanations for the weaker-than-expected May jobs report, but the big picture is clear: The US labour market has lost some of its mojo. Monthly payroll gains are averaging 162,000 this year, a step down from the 2016 pace of 187,000, following a below-forecast rise last month and downward revisions to March and April in Labor ...

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• 3 June

  ‘Back channels’ are protocol for a president

  

  ‘Back channels’ have been used by every modern president, from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. If that’s so, what’s the problem with the pre-inauguration contacts between White House adviser Jared Kushner and two Russian intermediaries? It’s a fair question. But that doesn’t mean that the right answer is a reflexive approval of Kushner’s contacts, as offered by Homeland Security ...

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• 3 June

  An Ambani default won’t fly in India’s banking mess

  

  Balance-sheet turbulence at large Indian companies is nothing new. The $180 billion of stressed assets in the banking system are mainly due to about 60 big corporate accounts. Yet two things make this week’s meltdown in the shares and debentures of Reliance Communications Ltd an unusual cautionary tale. Banks and bondholders are sitting on a combined $7 billion exposure to ...

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• 3 June

  Theresa May’s political malpractice

  

  UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s election campaign has run into a spot of bother. Less than a month ago the Tories were leading Labour by more than 20 percentage points and heading, it seemed, for a landslide victory on June 8. One recent poll has cut that lead to just five points. The setback is May’s fault — and, oddly ...

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• 3 June

  NATO allies can spend more money, more wisely

  If Donald Trump and Barack Obama agree on something, does that mean it’s true? In the case of Europe’s woeful support of its collective defense, yes: Member states need to contribute their “fair share” toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a phrase both men used in speeches in European capitals. The question is what “fair share” means. Instead of measuring ...

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