June, 2017

• 6 June

  Trump administration seeks debt ceiling increase by August

  

  Bloomberg Congress should extend the US government’s borrowing authority before lawmakers depart for their traditional August vacation, the White House said, as the Trump administration sought to ratchet up pressure on Capitol Hill to avoid an unprecedented default on the national debt. “We’re looking for before they adjourn for August recess,” White House legislative affairs director Marc Short told reporters ...

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• 6 June

  Tribeca plans to target BHP board overhaul

  

  Bloomberg BHP Billiton Ltd.’s board is being targeted for a sweeping overhaul by Tribeca Global Natural Resources Fund, opening a potential new front in the burgeoning activist campaign against the world’s biggest mining company. The Sydney-based hedge fund, which last month joined billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. in calling for changes aimed at shifting strategy at BHP, believes about ...

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• 6 June

  Record London skyscraper values mask ‘property wobbles’

  

  Bloomberg Two miles southeast of London’s Cheesegrater tower, which sold last month for a record price, there’s proof that all is not calm in the city’s property market. At Canada Water, developer British Land Co., which also owned half of the skyscraper, has seen the value of land slashed by almost 11 percent as investors lose their appetite for riskier ...

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• 6 June

  As Trump disrupts, Moscow celebrates

  

  When Russian officials and analysts here talk about the US investigation of their alleged hacking of the 2016 campaign, two themes predominate: They’re flattered that their country is seen as such a powerful threat, and also amazed that America is so preoccupied with the scandal. This is the official line, to be sure, but it was also expressed by several ...

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• 6 June

  KKR with record Asia fund, one eye on Japan makes sense

  

  KKR & Co. is stepping up investments in Japan. That’s a wise geographical choice. The US private-equity firm, which said it has raised a record $9.3 billion Asia fund, has made considerable strides in a country once hostile toward corporate takeovers. Of its top five deals in the region, three have been in Japan. Toshiba Corp.’s chip unit would be ...

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• 6 June

  Shine some sunlight on Trump’s swamp

  The notion that Donald Trump would ‘drain the swamp’ was always suspect. The then-candidate himself confessed to second thoughts about his pledge shortly after making it. Still, the speed and extent of his abandonment are stunning. Not only did Trump hire people with real or potential conflicts of interest, he at first refused to divulge how many or to whom ...

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• 6 June

  On climate, China should think small

  It’s a common sight in rural China: rows and rows of low-rise apartment buildings, often topped by solar water heaters the size of kitchen tables. By one estimate, 30 million Chinese households rely upon the devices for hot water. They’re served by 3,000 companies that sell around one million of the devices annually. Neither subsidies nor environmental guilt account for ...

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• 6 June

  India GDP falls to 6.1%, Modi should be worried

  

  For quite a while now, it’s been rare to hear the name “India” without the giddy qualifier, “the world’s fastest-growing large economy.” Those seeking to promote India as a destination for investment — including, perhaps especially, its government — have driven home the message that India is the “bright spot” in the global economy. The latest data on economic growth ...

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• 6 June

  If corporations are people, they can be jerks

  

  Critics of globalization have named their enemies: those citizens of the world who, in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s scornful phrase, are really “citizens of nowhere.” Populist leaders are championing policies to combat such cosmopolitanism — restricting migration, rethinking regional trade deals, pressuring companies to create jobs at home. Yet while it contains some truths, the populists’ diagnosis is incomplete. ...

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• 6 June

  It’s smart to worry about the risks ETFs pose

  

  In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin asks his dad how engineers determine the weight limit on bridges. The dad answers that they do this by driving heavier and heavier trucks over the bridge until it breaks, then rebuild the bridge after discovering what it took to break it. This isn’t how engineers actually figure out the safety specifications ...

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