Bloomberg Senior People’s Bank of China (PBOC) officials reassured foreign companies that the currency won’t continue to weaken significantly, a day after the yuan fell below 7 per dollar for the first time since 2008. The central bank held a meeting with a number of foreign exporters in Beijing, at which officials also said that companies’ ability to buy and ...
Read More »HSBC’s Swiss unit to cough up $329mn to settle Belgian tax probe
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private banking unit agreed to pay about 294 million euros ($329 million) to settle a Belgian criminal probe into allegations it helped wealthy clients dodge hundreds of millions of euros in taxes. The preliminary agreement in Belgium’s largest criminal settlement still needs to be approved by a judge at a hearing that should take place ...
Read More »Bank of Thailand reduces interest rate to spur growth
Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday for the first time in more than four years to boost the economy, and said it sees more room to ease as global risks surge. The Monetary Policy Committee voted five to two to cut its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 1.5%, the central bank ...
Read More »India delivers rare interest rate cut to boost economy
Bloomberg India’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by an unconventional 35 basis points, its fourth reduction this year to support a slowing economy. The repurchase rate was reduced to 5.4%, the lowest since 2010, surprising most of the 40 economists surveyed by Bloomberg who had predicted a quarter-point cut. AasthaGudwani, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch ...
Read More »Brazil central bank warns of slow pick-up in growth
Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank signaled an acceleration in economic growth will be slow even as a benign inflation outlook clears the way for more benchmark interest rate cuts and the government readies new stimulus. Gross domestic product (GDP) was likely stable or slightly positive in the second quarter and growth will probably show “some acceleration†going forward, policy makers wrote ...
Read More »Citi reduces S&P 500 profit forecast on trade effects
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. has grown concerned the US-China trade war will persist long enough to dent any potential profit rebound for corporate America. Tobias Levkovich, the firm’s chief US equity strategist, cut his earnings forecast for S&P 500 companies this year by $3.80 to $166.20 a share. Global stocks have tumbled this month amid concern that the US-China trade spat ...
Read More »Emerging Asia’s $5trn reserves tested in currency war
Bloomberg It used to be that a buildup in foreign reserves was seen as a bulwark against currency shocks and swift turns in investor sentiment. Those days seem far away — and that defense less robust — as the trade conflict between the US and China evolves into a full-blown currency war that’s threatening emerging markets globally. Reserves of central ...
Read More »Barneys files for bankruptcy struggling with rivals, rent
Bloomberg Barneys New York Inc filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and laid out plans to shutter most of its stores after getting squeezed by rising rents and fewer visitors to its luxury fashion stores. The Chapter 11 filing in New York allows the department-store chain to stay open while it seeks to sell a slimmed-down business and to negotiate ...
Read More »Boeing conducts China workshops to bring Max back
Bloomberg Boeing Co is holding workshops with Chinese airlines about the grounded 737 Max plane as it tries to bring the troubled jet back to operation. Boeing invited pilots and engineers from China Southern Airlines Co to a gathering in Guangzhou, according to an emailed statement from Boeing. More such workshops will be held with Air China, China Eastern Airlines, ...
Read More »American Air to spend $90m on LA stadium sponsorship
Bloomberg American Airlines will pay $90 million over 10 years to sponsor the new home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers, becoming the first official partner for billionaire Stan Kroenke’s new Los Angeles Stadium. American Airlines agreed to sponsor the 2.5-acre space that serves as main entrance to the $5 billion Inglewood, California, stadium, which doesn’t have a naming-rights partner ...
Read More »