Bloomberg The path to a Bank of England (BOE) interest-rate cut as soon as this month became clearer on Wednesday after inflation unexpectedly slowed to a three-year low. The pound fell and traders increased bets that policy makers would reduce rates on January 30, as the shock reading reinforced speculation fuelled by dovish comments from BOE Governor Mark Carney and ...
Read More »Fed announces plans for repo operations through to mid-Feb
Bloomberg The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced plans to conduct repurchase agreement operations through until at least February13, although the size of term operations will be trimmed to $30 billion from the start of next month. The central bank did not elaborate on plans beyond that. The move extends a programme that has been in place since it ...
Read More »China adds $58 billion into banking system
Bloomberg China added liquidity to the financial system on Wednesday, helping to offset a cash squeeze ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. It kept interest rates on the loans unchanged. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) added 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) through the medium-term lending facility at 3.25%, according to a statement from the central bank. It also ...
Read More »Officials at ECB see euro-area economy stabilising this year
Bloomberg The euro-area economy is starting to regain its footing, two European Central Bank officials said, suggesting monetary policy will stay on hold for now. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told bankers in Paris that recessions in the US or Europe can practically be excluded this year. Speaking earlier in Frankfurt, Executive Board member Yves Mersch said ...
Read More »Australian dollar’s trade war pain may worsen after deal
Bloomberg In the two years since the US-China trade war erupted, Australia’s dollar has weakened around 10%. It may drop even further when the dispute is resolved. The Aussie could slide more than 5% to 65 US cents this year, according to QIC Ltd and Capital Economics. If Beijing buys more American goods at the expense of Australian products as ...
Read More »Citigroup’s head of Emea junk trading quits bank
Bloomberg Paras Shah, Citigroup Inc’s head of high-yield credit trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and one of its highest-profile traders, has left the bank, according to people familiar with the matter. The 31-year-old departed this month, according to some of the people who aren’t authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be named. Shah worked at ...
Read More »The business cycle of the US ain’t dead yet
“It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future†—Statement often attributed to Yankees baseball star Yogi Berra We are at that time of year when economic columnists (and all manner of other commentators, too) are expected to make wise and insightful judgments about the next 12 months. You should be wary of these predictions, which are highly ritualistic and ...
Read More »Internet must hide data, not share it
As a web developer, I remembered when I read Alistair Barr’s account of his attempt to delete his user data, under the auspices of California’s new Consumer Privacy Act. The process is so cumbersome — it takes more than two hours and requires uploading selfies and a photo ID — that it ends up having the opposite of the intended ...
Read More »UK carmaker Aston Martin isn’t a patch on Ferrari
Barely a year has passed since Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc listed shares in London and persuaded investors it deserved a premium valuation similar to that of Ferrari NV. The luxury carmaker’s preliminary yearly results were a reminder that its management badly misjudged both the strength of the brand and the resilience of its balance sheet. In reality Aston ...
Read More »The not-so-irreversible Renault-Nissan allliance
Renault SA pledged back in February to make its 20-year-old Alliance with Nissan Motor Co. “irreversible,†after the shocking arrest of the French carmaker’s boss Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial misconduct exposed deep rifts on both sides. That goal now looks further away than ever, with Ghosn’s dramatic escape to Lebanon and his repeated denials of the charges reopening ...
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