Probe sought over Korea’s hedge fund

Bloomberg Lime Asset Management Co, the firm at the centre of a scandal that sparked unprecedented withdrawals from South Korean hedge funds, now faces an investigation into its investment in a troubled US fund. A senior official at the Financial Supervisory Service said South Korea’s top financial watchdog will ask prosecutors to probe Lime’s investment in funds run by International ...

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The China bonds investors hate to love are top pick for 2020

Bloomberg China’s local government financing vehicles are seen as the top investment among the nation’s corporate bonds next year as state backing limits the risk of default, a survey showed. Local governments’ financing vehicles, which now have 8.4 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) outstanding, have long had a shadow over them because many lack sustainable revenues to make debt payments, and ...

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Tesla just delivered its first China-built cars in Shanghai

Bloomberg Tesla Inc delivered its first China-built cars, a milestone for Elon Musk’s company as it accelerates a push in the world’s largest electric-vehicle market. The company handed over the first 15 Model 3 sedans assembled at Tesla’s new multibillion-dollar Shanghai plant — its first outside the US — to company employees at the facility on Monday. More workers will ...

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Duterte renews attacks on TV network

Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his attacks on a local television network he’s accused in the past of bias, and urged owners of ABS-CBN Corp to sell before its franchise expires in March. In a televised speech delivered in the local language at Davao City on Monday, Duterte suggested the media firm’s franchise renewal is uncertain. He had earlier ...

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Protests in India risk spooking investors away

Bloomberg Protests against a new citizenship law in India risk making investors wary of doing business in Asia’s third-largest economy. At least 25 people have been killed in nationwide demonstrations against the new rules enacted into law earlier this month. The law bars undocumented Muslims from three neighboring nations seeking Indian citizenship, while allowing people of other faiths to do ...

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‘HNA to win ‘war’ against debt problems next year’

Bloomberg HNA Group Co’s chairman predicted 2020 will be “the decisive year to win the war” against the Chinese conglomerate’s long-running liquidity challenges. HNA endured another year of difficulties with liquidity but it’s the group’s “political duty” to overcome the challenge, Chairman Chen Feng said on the company’s WeChat page. Still, the message didn’t specify how HNA would overcome its ...

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Asia Inc’s debt is rising, but that’s a good thing

Bloomberg The financial gearing of Asia Pacific’s largest companies has risen for a second year following a period of deleveraging, but market participants don’t see cause for alarm. The median total debt-to-total equity for non-financial companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index reached about 44% in the first nine months of 2019. That is slightly higher than the 41% seen ...

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How Americans can break our bitter political impasse

It was a cheering Christmas week to repeat the bromide, “love thy neighbour.” But the unfortunate truth about America these days is that many of us seem to hate our neighbours. We don’t understand how other people can oppose the values we cherish most. Their behaviour is infuriating and, it often seems, unforgivable. How do we escape this bitter impasse? ...

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When ultimate refuge turns risky

Until the financial crisis of 2008, government bonds were the traditional haven for investors. More than a decade on, their nature has fundamentally changed. In any future crisis, sovereign debt will be a propagator of risk rather than a refuge. Government debt has reached levels not seen outside of major wars. In advanced economies, it has risen to more than ...

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Netflix shakes up Hollywood as Disney, AT&T fight back

It was the decade that altered the very definition of “TV” — Noun: Netflix. Verb: to stream. The industry’s struggle to adapt to the new terminology sparked a merger mania that has rapidly condensed the market for entertainment content and pay-TV services into the hands of a powerful few. Here’s a look at what the rise of Netflix Inc., the ...

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