May, 2016

• 28 May

  SBI jumps despite $4.7bn bad-loans

    New Delhi / AFP State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, jumped the most in more than two months after reporting a bad-loan watch list that’s smaller than its closest rivals. Shares of the lender surged 6.4 percent to 195.90 rupees in Mumbai trading, paring this year’s losses to 13 percent. About 313bn rupees ($4.7bn) of State Bank’s ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Chinese developer takes on Disney, opens theme park

  

    Beijing / AP China’s largest private property developer, the Wanda Group, opened an entertainment complex on Saturday that it’s positioning as a distinctly homegrown rival to Disney and its $5.5 billion Shanghai theme park opening next month. Wanda executives unveiled their $3 billion “Wanda City” in the southeastern provincial capital of Nanchang to thundering music reminiscent of the “Pirates of ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  French govt keeps up tough line as petrol shortages ease

  

    Paris / AFP The French government maintained a hard line on Saturday ahead of a fresh wave of protest over a bitterly-disputed labour law that has seen demonstrators blockading oil refineries and strikes paralysing the transport network. The escalating unrest, which has gathered pace over the last week sparking petrol shortages that forced the government to dip into strategic ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  German reserve for dirty coal plants hurts carbon demand

  Bloomberg Germany’s plan to place lignite-burning power plants into a reserve from later this year may cut demand in Europe’s carbon market, according to a former government official. The €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) coal reserve may reduce demand for carbon allowances because it would lower total emissions and trim the need for utilities buying permits in advance, Franzjosef Schafhausen, a ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Spain cops nab 7 suspects of large Francis Bacon art heist

  MADRID / AP Spanish police say they have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in stealing five paintings by the Irish-born painter Francis Bacon worth €25 million ($27.8 million). The artworks’ owner reported the robbery of the paintings and other valuables to the police in July, and none of the painting has yet been recovered. Investigators in February received information ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Resurgent German bund bulls seek support from ECB divergence

  

    Bloomberg A selloff in German government bonds has proved short-lived, with benchmark 10-year securities set for their first monthly gain since February, even as the Federal Reserve has adopted a more hawkish tone on the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Data next week will go a long way to showing why the divergence trade is far from finished. While ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Pound gains before EU vote as ‘Remain’ lead takes hold

  

    Bloomberg The pound is gathering supporters. One month ago, the U.K. currency was seen ending June at $1.42, according to the median of analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That forecast has now risen to $1.45, the highest in almost four months, even as the crucial June 23 vote that will decide the fate of Britain’s membership in the ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Tourism boom fires Iberian economies, but leaves some cold

  

    BARCELONA / AP With sunny days getting longer and lazier, sparkling beaches warming up and terrorism fears driving customers away from other Mediterranean destinations, Spain and Portugal are reaping an economic bonanza from tourism. While most in the cash-strapped nations are welcoming the influx, some locals have been exasperated by the crowds of tourists. In the first two months of ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Yellen leans towards near-term rate rise without detailing timing

  

    Bloomberg   Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen threw her support behind a growing consensus at the central bank in favor of another interest rate increase soon, while steering clear of specifying the timing of such a move. “It’s appropriate — and I’ve said this in the past — for the Fed to gradually and cautiously increase our overnight interest ...

  Read More »
• 28 May

  Don’t count out June hike after Fed Chair remarks: Bond traders

  

    Bloomberg Treasuries traders who delayed holiday getaway plans on Friday took away a clear message from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen — a mid-year interest-rate hike may be on the way. Yellen’s remark that the Fed will raise rates “probably in the coming months” drove benchmark two-year note yields higher for a third consecutive week. The comments at an ...

  Read More »