May, 2017

• 18 May

  US industrial production rises most in over 3 years

  

  Bloomberg American factories flexed some muscle in April, boosting output by the most since February 2014 in broad fashion. Along with gains at mines and utilities, total industrial output was also the strongest in more than three years, Federal Reserve data showed. Factory production rose 1 percent (forecast called for a 0.4 percent gain) after a 0.4 percent drop in ...

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• 18 May

  Drops in US housing starts, permits show sector weakness

  

  Bloomberg Unexpected declines in US new-home construction and building permits in April indicate the market is off to a weak start this quarter, government data showed. The results indicate that residential construction is at risk of dragging down growth in the second quarter, lessening any economic rebound after weakness in the previous period. Other indicators of housing demand remain healthy, ...

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• 18 May

  China’s going to have to tighten its belt!

  

  China’s just-completed conference touting its Belt and Road initiative certainly looked like a triumph, with Russian President Vladimir Putin playing the piano and Chinese leaders announcing a string of potential deals and massive financial pledges. Underneath all the heady talk about China positioning itself at the heart of a new global order, though, lies in uncomfortable question: Can it afford ...

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• 18 May

  If you’re tired of Trump’s troubles, Europe is a haven

  

  What’s bad for Donald Trump could be great for European stocks. The scandal embroiling the US President should help a rally that’s seen returns from the benchmark Euro Stoxx 600 index surpass the Standard & Poor’s 500 index this year. For several years, the euro zone’s political backdrop has given global investors a reason, or an excuse, to be wary ...

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• 18 May

  The British Labour Party’s zombie manifesto

  If this were, say, 1974, nobody would have batted an eye at the British Labour Party’s election manifesto. But in 2017, a program of renationalization, tax hikes, wage caps and other radically socialist fare isn’t just outdated and impractical; it’s painfully beside the point. This call to return the U.K. to an era of economic dysfunction comes at the country’s ...

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• 18 May

  Intelligence sharing vital for safer world

  It was US President Donald Trump’s yet another foot-in-mouth error. The uproar over the sacking of FBI chief James Comey has hardly died down, Trump stirred the pot again. The Washington Post reported on Monday that President Trump revealed highly classified piece of information about an IS plot to Russia’s foreign minister and US ambassador. The information had been provided ...

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• 18 May

  Merkel and Macron inch towards a common budget

  

  French President Emmanuel Macron’s first trip to Berlin was a lovefest: If anyone thought German Chancellor Angela Merkel would push back on Macron’s plans to reform the European Union, they were disappointed. It’s not clear, however, if the young and impatient Macron is ready for a slow, clumsy but ultimately useful Merkel-style compromise, which appears to be in the cards. ...

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• 18 May

  StanChart’s pursuit of wealth may be a waste of time

  

  Bill Winters is trying, but it won’t be easy for the Standard Chartered Plc CEO to rebuild a wealth-management franchise that became an object of archaeological curiosity on his predecessor Peter Sands’s eight-year watch. It’s not clear if it’s worth the effort. The challenge starts at the top, with acquiring clients’ wealth, and gets tougher in the middle and at ...

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• 18 May

  Americans’ savings make wealth managers rich

  

  There was an interesting and slightly scary article in the Wall Street Journal recently, in which reporter Andrea Fuller tries to find out what fees she’s paying to the financial adviser who manages her money. At long last, after a torturous experience with the company, she finally manages to find out how much she’s paying — 1.4 percent of assets ...

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• 18 May

  Deutsche’s Cryan sees better revenue opportunities in 2017

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Cryan said there are more opportunities to increase revenue this year as Europe’s largest investment bank continues its turnaround plan. “2017 is another year of restructuring even though in a better outlook,” Cryan told the bank’s shareholders on Thursday at the annual general meeting in Frankfurt. “We see better revenue opportunities, ...

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