May, 2017

• 21 May

  Wal-Mart’s online sales soar as retail giant pursues Amazon

  

  Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. gained momentum in its fight against Amazon.com Inc., with its online sales growing at their fastest clip in at least five years. The e-commerce business saw gross merchandise volume — a measure of all the goods it sells online — soar 69 percent in the first quarter, Wal-Mart said. Total revenue climbed 1.4 percent to $117.5 ...

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• 21 May

  Southwest’s 737 Max engines being inspected for disc flaw

  

  Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. may have sidestepped a scheduling headache by letting other carriers take the first deliveries of Boeing Co.’s upgraded 737 Max jetliners. The discount airline, the initial buyer of the plane, is awaiting inspection results for 10 engines on its future jets to see if the turbines have a potential manufacturing defect. But that shouldn’t delay Southwest’s ...

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• 21 May

  RBI: Infusing funds into India lenders won’t solve debt mess

  

  Bloomberg Indian central bank Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said injecting new funds into lenders won’t resolve the nation’s stressed asset plight until companies take steps to reduce debt. The Reserve Bank of India is seeking to strengthen the banking system through measures including merging weaker banks and pushing to privatize some state-run lenders as it ramps up efforts to resolve ...

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• 21 May

  Merkel will push Weidmann as ECB president, reveals Spiegel

  

  Bloomberg Angela Merkel and Wolfgang Schaeuble want to install a German at the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) when Mario Draghi’s term expires in 2 1/2 years, according to Spiegel magazine. The chancellor and her finance minister are set to push for Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to become the fourth guardian of the single currency, arguing it’s finally ...

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• 21 May

  PBOC trying to keep it simple with two rates

  

  Bloomberg When Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen wants to change the cost of borrowing, investors have one main rate to watch. Her Chinese counterpart Zhou Xiaochuan, who’s been juggling multiple policy levers, is trying to focus market attention on just two. The People’s Bank of China said late last week that it will now mainly use seven-day reverse-repo operations and ...

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• 21 May

  Barclays ex-trader draws $1.2 million fine from Fed

  Bloomberg Barclays Plc’s former head of global spot foreign exchange trading was fined $1.2 million and banned from the banking industry for his involvement in rigging currency rates, the Federal Reserve said. The Fed said it imposed the penalties after Christopher Ashton failed to respond to the central bank’s June 2016 allegations that he participated in online chat rooms used ...

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• 21 May

  Bank levy on foreign firms in Australia may raise A$800mn

  

  Bloomberg Australia should extend its new bank levy to foreign financial institutions in a bid to recoup more than the planned A$6.2 billion ($4.6 billion), according to cross-bench lawmaker Nick Xenophon. Applying the tax to foreign banks as well as the nation’s five biggest lenders may recoup as much as A$800 million, which could help fund compensation for victims of ...

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• 21 May

  JPMorgan’s CEO signals optimism on economy, US rule changes

  

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said he remains optimistic about the global economy and the prospects for regulatory reform under US President Donald Trump. “Japan is growing more than it has grown in 15 years, Europe is doing well all things considered, America is chugging along,” Dimon said in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg TV ...

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• 20 May

  US, Saudi firms sign deals worth $200bn

  

  RIYADH / Reuters US and Saudi Arabian companies signed business deals worth tens of billions of dollars on Saturday during a visit by President Donald Trump, as Riyadh seeks help to develop its economy beyond oil. National oil firm Saudi Aramco said it signed $50 billion of agreements with US firms. Energy minister Khalid al-Falih said deals involving all companies ...

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• 20 May

  Mubadala commits $15bn to Softbank Vision Fund

  

  Abu dhabi / WAM Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi strategic investment fund, confirmed that it has made a US$15 billion commitment to the Softbank Vision Fund, a major technology and innovation focused fund, alongside a consortium of leading investors. The investors are joining forces to create value from the significant wave of technological change and innovation that is transforming ...

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