July, 2016

• 26 July

  French state to pump 3 bn euros into EDF

  

    Paris / AFP France will pump 3 billion euros into state-controlled electricity company EDF, shareholders decided Tuesday, two days before it is expected to give the final green light to the controversial construction of two nuclear reactors in Britain. At an extraordinary meeting, shareholders approved a 4-billion increase in share capital, of which the French state, which owns 85 ...

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• 26 July

  Britain’s RBS could charge business clients for deposits

    London / AFP British bank RBS has warned businesses they might be charged for depositing money if interest rates are lowered, a week before the Bank of England (BoE) meets to decide whether to ease its policy. “Global interest rates remain at very low levels and in some markets are currently negative. Dependent on future market conditions, this could ...

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• 26 July

  Paramount makes EU deal to end geo-blocking of films

    AFP The European Commission on Tuesday accepted a proposal by iconic Hollywood studio Paramount to end geographic blocking of its films in licence deals with TV channels. The deal is a small step towards the EU’s dream of building a digital single market, in which the European Union’s 500 million people will no longer be blocked from subscribing to ...

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• 26 July

  Brazil swaps rise on bets inflation fight to delay rate cuts

    Bloomberg Brazil’s swap rates rose to the highest level in two months after the central bank said it sees no room to cut borrowing costs that are near a decade high as inflation hasn’t been moderating fast enough. Swap rates on the contract maturing January 2018 rose 0.06 percentage point to 12.88 percent at 10:35 a.m. in Sao Paulo. ...

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• 26 July

  Americans worry about ‘super-human’ technologies

    Miami / AFP Futuristic technologies that promise to improve people’s strength and smarts by editing genes, implanting brain chips or super-charging blood have raised more concern than enthusiasm among Americans, a poll showed on Tuesday. The survey by the Pew Research Center included more than 4,700 US adults, and is considered a nationally representative sample. When asked about gene-editing, ...

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• 26 July

  Commerzbank slumps as operative risk sinks capital

  

    Bloomberg Commerzbank AG dropped the most in a month after Germany’s second-largest bank disclosed an unexpected drop in a key measure of financial strength in the second quarter, hurt by higher operational risks such as legal expenses. The common equity Tier 1 ratio declined to 11.5 percent at the end of June, based on preliminary figures, from 12 percent ...

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• 26 July

  Barclays boss says ‘life isn’t fair’ before firing

  

    BLOOMBERG Barclays Plc trader fired amid the foreign-exchange market manipulation scandal told a London court that a senior bank executive said “life isn’t fair” before firing him. Justin Bull, the bank’s former chief operating officer, mocked Chris Ashton during his April 2015 disciplinary hearing, Ashton said in a witness statement made public Tuesday. During the hearing, Ashton said it ...

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• 26 July

  Currency traders wary of shorting yen on risk BOJ to disappoint

    Bloomberg Some of the world’s biggest currency traders are betting that the yen can withstand almost anything Haruhiko Kuroda comes up with on Friday. Insight Investment Management Ltd., a unit of Bank of New York Mellon Corp., is “close to flat” on the yen. JPMorgan Chase & Co. says the currency could surge toward 102 per dollar on Friday, ...

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• 26 July

  HSBC bullish on India as a third of world’s bond yields negative

  

    BLOOMBERG HSBC Global Asset Management is sticking with its bet on Indian sovereign bonds as Asia’s highest yields help drive the strongest foreign demand for rupee debt since October. A pickup in monsoon rains has eased inflation concern and the Reserve Bank of India’s cash injections have improved liquidity, adding to the case for favoring the nation’s debt, according ...

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• 26 July

  Brazil banks’ lower provisions seen masking credit-quality woes

  

    Bloomberg Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Brazil’s other major banks are expected to post their first quarter-over-quarter decline in bad-loan provisions in at least a year when they report results in coming days. The good news will probably be short-lived. “The provision decrease doesn’t mean a credit-quality improvement,” Andre Riva, an analyst at GBM Grupo Bursatil ...

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