February, 2017

• 6 February

  Singapore is wrestling with corporate life support

  

    The going-concern issue is becoming a problem in Singapore. Ezra Holdings Ltd., an oil-services company, was the latest to indicate it faces debt hurdles that require a restructuring. Under Singapore law, as in the US, that could mean a stay on interest payments until creditors and shareholders agree on a balance sheet that allows the company to keep operating ...

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• 6 February

  How to defeat Le Pen

  

    Marine Le Pen could be France’s next president. Sure, her lead in some polls exaggerates her strength before the field narrows to two candidates — but voters’ discontent with normal politics isn’t subsiding. Failing to take the anti-immigrant, populist insurgent seriously would be a huge mistake. For France’s sake, and Europe’s, Le Pen must be defeated. Her party’s blend ...

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• 6 February

  Overturning ‘travel ban ruling’ will deepen confusion

    Trump administration is pulling out all the stops in its efforts to get the US President’s ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries and on all refugees reinstated. On Sunday, a federal appeals court denied the Justice Department’s request for an immediate reinstatement of Trump’s ban. The detention of dozens and the return of others to their departure points ...

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• 6 February

  Don’t discount a center-left comeback in Europe

  

    The right-wing, nationalist resurgence in Europe is now a cliche. It is, however, not inconceivable that a successful backlash is developing in some countries before the nationalists had a chance to take over. It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but in the European Union’s two biggest economies — Germany and France (the UK should no longer count) — ...

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• 6 February

  BoE is right to ignore inflation

  

    The UK economy is in a holding pattern after the June referendum decision to quit the European Union. Growth hasn’t collapsed, consumers are still spending, and the Bank of England (BoE) kept its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday. And while Governor Mark Carney says future moves could be in ‘either direction,’ it’s pretty clear that inflation would have to ...

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• 6 February

  Pay attention to ‘invisible infrastructure’

    In his early days in office, true to his campaign promises, President Donald Trump is promoting a $1 trillion plan to upgrade the nation’s aging physical infrastructure. To maximize job creation, investment and benefits to all Americans, he should also focus on our “invisible infrastructure” — the unseen airwaves that enable wireless connections. Mobile communication has been a powerful ...

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• 6 February

  National Bank sets 5-year goal for ‘top 3’ slot in Canadian market

  

    Bloomberg National Bank of Canada has set a goal of being a ‘Top 3’ Canadian investment bank within five years, setting up a showdown with bigger rivals as the Montreal-based lender seeks to win more business from the nation’s largest companies. “We think we can compete,” Yanick Blanchard, head of corporate and investment banking at National Bank Financial, said ...

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• 6 February

  ABN Amro to slash 60% of senior management as bank shrinks

  

    Bloomberg ABN Amro NV plans cut 60 of its 100 senior management jobs and reduce the number of top executives by more than half in a revamp that reflects the bank’s shrinking size. A new management board will include the heads of retail, commercial, corporate and institutional, and private banking, the Amsterdam-based lender said in a statement on Monday. ...

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• 6 February

  Global banks extend rally while dollar fluctuates

  

    Bloomberg Bank stocks continued a rally sparked by the Trump administration’s plan to roll back financial regulations, while the dollar fluctuated as investors weighed the prospects for a Federal Reserve rate increase in March. Equities from India to Japan climbed after the S&P 500 Index closed within a point of its all-time high. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. jumped ...

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• 6 February

  BNP Paribas outpaces its European peers

  

    Bloomberg With some of Europe’s largest banks still struggling to boost profitability and raise dividends, BNP Paribas SA is doing both. That helps explain why investors have driven the shares to the highest in almost a decade. The Paris-based lender will probably report on Tuesday that fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to 1.63 billion euros ($1.75 billion), according ...

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