August, 2016

• 6 August

  Standard Chartered shares jump despite fall in profit

  

    Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc surged in London trading as first-half loan impairment charges fell by a third, signaling further progress in Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters’s plan to turn around the bank a year into his tenure. The shares were briefly halted after jumping as much as 11 percent, after provisions for bad loans declined to $1.1 billion in ...

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• 6 August

  BOE’s plan for corporate bonds draws backlash

    Bloomberg The Bank of England’s corporate-bond purchase program, announced on Thursday, has been met by skepticism from some credit market analysts, who say precedents across the Channel don’t bode well for the program’s ability to stimulate issuance. While credit market observers reckon the BOE’s corporate-bond program will engineer a modest reduction in borrowing costs across the sterling bond market ...

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• 6 August

  Japan’s new stimulus is an old thing

  

    Japanese growth is still sluggish. Consumers aren’t consuming much, and businesses aren’t investing. The government doesn’t have many options to remedy this, and the Bank of Japan, which has sent both long-term and short-term interest rates into negative territory, has basically no more room to maneuver. The dreaded Zero Lower Bound is starting to bite. The BOJ is buying ...

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• 6 August

  Why there’s no Olympic truce in Brazil

  

    Mac Margolis Every four years, political leaders have tried to set aside feuds and celebrate the world’s best athletes as they compete for medals and glory — a tradition that harkens back to the first Olympic Games held in Greece some 3,000 years ago. Apparently, the Brazilians didn’t get the message. One day before the opening ceremonies for the ...

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• 6 August

  Mercedes to challenge BMW, Tesla the tech way

  

    Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz is planning its own distinct line of electric vehicles, challenging BMW and Tesla Motors Inc. in a bet that alternative-fuel cars have the potential to become profitable. Mercedes will add two electric sport utility vehicles and two sedans, according to two people familiar with the plan, who asked not to be named because the details haven’t been ...

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• 6 August

  MTN to consider raising dividend if biz picks up

  

    Bloomberg MTN Group Ltd. will consider raising its full-year dividend above forecasts if business conditions improve after the settlement of a record fine in Nigeria led to the first-ever half- year loss at Africa’s biggest mobile-phone carrier. The company will consider a higher full-year payout than the forecast 7 rand-a-share “if operating conditions improve materially,” the Johannesburg-based carrier said ...

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• 6 August

  Deliveroo raises $275mn to up food-delivery wars

  

    Bloomberg Deliveroo, a London-based maker of an app for ordering take out, announced it has raised $275 million to fuel growth and take on well-funded competitors. The deal values Deliveroo at more than $1 billion, according to a person familiar with term sheet who asked not to be named as the deal is private. The same figure is also ...

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• 6 August

  Apple can sell power as tech giants boost investments

  

    Bloomberg Apple Inc., which is spending $850 million on a 130-megawatt solar farm near San Francisco over 25 years, can begin selling power into wholesale markets in the latest foray by a technology company into the energy business. Apple’s subsidiary Apple Energy LLC may sell energy, capacity and other services needed to maintain reliable power, according to an order ...

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• 6 August

  Flight 370 course was on pilot’s simulator, confirms Malaysia

  

    KUALA LUMPUR / AP Malaysia acknowledged for the first time that one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed. Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from Capt. Zaharie ...

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• 6 August

  Air Berlin to make European premium push in bid to end losses

  Bloomberg Air Berlin Plc is introducing business-class seats in Europe in a push to position the airline in a more lucrative segment of the market following years of losses. The carrier will begin reserving the first row of German and European flights later this year for premium customers, who will enjoy priority check-in and boarding, fast-lane security and lounge access ...

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