May, 2016

• 14 May

  Weakening UK data in shadow of Brexit puts pressure on Pound

  

    Bloomberg After a week of warnings about the perils of Britain exiting the European Union, economic data next week may offer traders little reason to be bullish on the pound, the developed world’s worst-performing currency of 2016. For the period covering the June 23 referendum on EU membership, options traders are the most bearish on sterling since at least ...

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• 14 May

  Moody’s raises Ireland’s rating with positive outlook

  

    Bloomberg Ireland’s credit rating was raised by Moody’s Investors Service, as the economy continues to outpace the euro region and its debt level drops. Moody’s raised the rating to A3 from Baa1 with a positive outlook, the company said on Saturday in a statement “Ireland’s key credit fundamentals have continued to improve at a faster pace than expected even ...

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• 14 May

  Poland avoids second-ever rating downgrade as Moody’s cut outlook

    Margate / AFP Poland avoided a second credit-rating reduction in its history as Moody’s Investors Service left its investment grade unchanged while cutting its outlook on the sovereign amid growing investor concern over government policies. Moody’s changed the outlook to negative after keeping it stable for a decade, meaning there’s now at least a one-in-three chance of a cut ...

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• 14 May

  Greek bonds show sign of hope before decision on bailout payment

    Bloomberg As Greece attempts to clear another hurdle on the road to passing the next bailout review, the bond market is already delivering a positive verdict. The country’s 10-year sovereign bonds had their best week since August, pushing the yield on the securities to the lowest this year. More austerity is in the cards as the government drafts legislation ...

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• 14 May

  Tainted VW doles out €3,950 as staff bonus

  

    Germany / AFP German auto giant Volkswagen announced it is giving its staff a €3,950 bonus for 2015, despite suffering huge losses due to an emissions-cheating scandal which sent shockwaves through the industry. The pre-tax premium — less than the €5,900 handed out for 2014 — comes after VW also revealed huge bonuses for top executives last month, sparking ...

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• 14 May

  Maduro issues emergency decrees as oppn ups ante

  

    Caracas, Venezuela / AFP Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a three-month state of emergency late Friday to face “threats from abroad,” as his emboldened opposition geared for a vote to oust him from office. In an address to the nation, Maduro said he had signed a new state of emergency decree “to neutralize and defeat foreign aggression,” which he ...

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• 14 May

  Hathaway’s Buffett to back group bidding for Yahoo internet assets

  

    Bloomberg Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett is backing a group bidding for Yahoo! Inc.’s Internet assets, people familiar with the matter said. The consortium, which includes Quicken Loans Inc. founder Dan Gilbert, is in the second round of bidding for Yahoo’s assets, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the bidding process is private. Buffett ...

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• 14 May

  Brazil Real joins global rout as FM skips plan details

  

    Bloomberg Brazil’s real joined a selloff in global currencies against the dollar as newly appointed Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles refrained from giving details on how to tackle the nation’s ballooning fiscal deficit. The real erased its gain for the week as the U.S. currency climbed after retail data re-ignited speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this year, ...

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• 14 May

  Argentina’s Kirchner charged with fraud, assets frozen

    Buenos Aires, Argentina / AFP Assets belonging to former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner were frozen after she was charged with damaging national finances by manipulating the Central Bank’s exchange operations during her last months in office. Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio said it was “evident that the then president gave instructions — which without a doubt were developed jointly — to ...

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• 14 May

  CentrAm business chiefs press leaders to ratify WTO accord

    Guatemala City, Guatemala / AFP Business chiefs from across Central America made a joint plea to the region’s political leaders to ratify a WTO agreement aimed at reducing poor infrastructure and other barriers to trade. “There is consensus in the Central American private sector that the governments of the region urgently need to take action so all Central American countries ...

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