February, 2017

• 13 February

  Trump’s unwanted gift to Wall Street

  

    President Donald Trump says he wants to reduce the regulatory burden on the finance industry. But by taking aim at a new rule on retirement advice, he’ll most likely add to that burden — and harm many small investors at the same time. In the US, saving for retirement can be a perilous endeavor. “Free” advice often isn’t. Advisers ...

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• 13 February

  Travel ban threatens US-Iraq fight against IS

  Trump’s executive orders have rattled United States and many capitals around the world. The Republican billionaire seems to have fallen for campaign-style rhetoric, which was meant to gain votes. But he continues to shoot from the hip undermining the US values and diplomatic gains with many countries so far. And Iraq is one of such cases. It is the prerogative ...

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• 13 February

  Tidal power can make UK a green energy leader

  

    The UK government is mulling whether to support a 1.3 billion pound proposal to build a tidal lagoon in South Wales. It should stop dithering and subsidize the project to help meet the country’s green energy goals, produce cheaper power, and establish Britain as the world leader in technology that harnesses the power of the tides to generate electricity. ...

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• 13 February

  Italy’s strongest bank is harming itself

  

    Intesa Sanpaolo SpA is one of the few Italian banks that could accurately claim to be strong, profitable and shareholder-friendly. It’s curious, therefore, that CEO Carlo Messina seems intent on jeopardizing that record with a strategically questionable and poorly-communicated tilt at Assicurazioni Generali SpA, the country’s largest insurer. Even if a bid fails to materialize, he will have to ...

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• 13 February

  The treacherous path for firms after #DeleteUber

  

    The Uber boycott sparked by the company’s refusal to join an anti-Trump strike poses a question many US businesses will have to answer: Do they openly stand with those of their customers who abhor the president’s policies or does it make more business sense for them to stay neutral? The #DeleteUber movement appears to be something of a disaster ...

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• 13 February

  PBOC resumes reverse repo sales after six-day halt

  

    Bloomberg China’s central bank restarted the use of an instrument that adds cash to the financial system, helping ease liquidity concerns before $153 billion of funds come due this week. The monetary authority sold a total 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) of reverse-repurchase agreements, the first auction after a six-day pause, a statement posted on its website showed. While ...

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• 13 February

  RBS to plan more than $1 billion of expense reductions

  

    Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is preparing to cut more than 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion) of annual operating costs by eliminating jobs and closing branches as it seeks to bolster profitability, said a person with knowledge of the plans. While the Edinburgh-based lender probably won’t reveal a headline figure for role reductions, senior executives have determined ...

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• 13 February

  Deutsche Bank under scrutiny in Russia over tax practices

  

    Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG, which last month settled charges that it helped investors launder money through its business in Moscow, remains under scrutiny in Russia over its tax practices. “As part of an ongoing routine audit, Deutsche Bank is working with Russian tax authorities on matters relating to standard business operations that follow normal industry practice,” the Frankfurt-based lender ...

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• 13 February

  Tycoon eyes StanChart’s Indonesia bank stake in March to top

  

    Bloomberg Indonesian business tycoon Tahir is keen to gain control of PT Bank Permata, a larger rival to his PT Bank Mayapada International, as he seeks to put his lender in the ranks of the nation’s biggest banks. Tahir’s Mayapada Group wants to buy the 90 percent of Permata that is owned by Standard Chartered Plc and PT Astra ...

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• 13 February

  China tech tycoons see sinking healthcare dreams

  

    Bloomberg In 2014, billionaire Jack Ma, founder of online retail giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., declared his ambition to make China’s hospitals better, drugs cheaper and people healthier. Others in China’s tech universe were becoming equally bullish on health care, and that year alone, investment in the internet health sector surged about sevenfold to $1.4 billion. Since then, billionaire ...

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