Bloomberg Demand for steel in India could grow at the slowest pace in three years as an economic slowdown in the global industry’s bright spot deepens. Steel consumption in India is likely to increase by less than 6% this fiscal year, according to ICRA Ltd., the local arm of Moody’s Investors Service. That would make it the slowest pace since ...
Read More »India’s $24bn bonus from RBI gives it options on budget
Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) record 1.76 trillion-rupee ($24.4 billion) payout to the government will give authorities more fiscal options, including possibly reducing its borrowing or boosting spending to spur economic growth. The RBI’s board approved the transfer on August 26, which includes a dividend of 1.23 trillion rupees and 526.4bn rupees from its surplus capital. The dividend ...
Read More »Germany’s shrinking economy on edge of recession, DIW says
Bloomberg German output will probably shrink by 0.2% in the third quarter, putting Europe’s largest economy into recession, according to the DIW economic institute. A DIW gauge of activity fell to 89 points in August, the lowest since late 2012, pointing to another contraction after GDP declined 0.1% in the April-to-June period, the institute said. “Manufacturing is in a crisis ...
Read More »Amgen buys Celgene’s Otezla in $13.4bn deal
Bloomberg Amgen Inc. will pay $13.4 billion for a blockbuster psoriasis drug from Celgene Corp., which is shedding the asset in order to win antitrust regulators’ sign-off for its $74 billion merger with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The all-cash deal will give Amgen a growing product at a time when the blockbuster biotechnology drugs it made its name on are beginning ...
Read More »Argentina bond spreads widen to most in 14 yrs
Bloomberg Argentina bond spreads widened to the most in 14 years after opposition leader Alberto Fernandez ripped the debt-laden country’s accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The spread over Treasuries widened 182 basis points to 2,003 basis points, the most since June 2005, after Fernandez said much of the IMF loan had been wasted on financing capital flight out ...
Read More »â€˜EU should ease corporate collaboration fears’
Bloomberg Europe’s antitrust authorities could ease companies’ concerns about the potential fallout from working together by giving them unofficial guidance, according to one of Germany’s top competition experts. Firms in the region are putting off shared projects due to concerns over retroactive regulatory push-back, according to Achim Wambach, a member of a commission created by the German government to review ...
Read More »Norway’s biggest funds warn firms to halt Amazon damage
Bloomberg Norway’s biggest investors, with combined asset under management of about $170 billion, are telling companies to make sure they don’t contribute to environmental damage in Brazil’s Amazon as fires roar through the rainforest. Storebrand ASA and pension fund, KLP, are now reaching out to companies and intensifying their research to map out who’s responsible for any potential damage. Storebrand ...
Read More »US-China feud is ruining Christmas for toymakers
Bloomberg Chinese factories are normally at their busiest during the third quarter, cranking out production of everything from Barbie dolls to miniature trucks in time to ship them over the ocean to the US ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season. This year’s different. Even with President Donald Trump delaying tariffs on $160 billion of toys to smartphones to spare ...
Read More »Queen approves UK’s Johnson plan to suspend parliament
Bloomberg Queen Elizabeth II approved Boris Johnson’s request to suspend parliament for almost five weeks ahead of Brexit. The prime minister’s move sets up a showdown with lawmakers who want to block him from taking the UK out of the European Union without a deal. The pound fell. Privy Council said Queen approved Johnson’s request to prorogue — suspend — ...
Read More »India top court to review change in Kashmir status
Bloomberg India’s Supreme Court has agreed to examine the constitutional validity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap Kashmir’s autonomy but refused to immediately lift an unprecedented state-wide lockdown on communications and movement. The court’s three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said a constitution bench comprising five judges will review the legality of abrogating Article ...
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