Bloomberg India’s shorter-maturity bonds are set to outperform as traders boost the odds the central bank may cut interest rates again as soon as its April meeting. That’s one of the reasons asset managers such as DHFL Pramerica Asset Managers Pvt. and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. favor the front-end of the yield curve. At the same time, escalating concern ...
Read More »Australia in tree-planting binge to help meet climate targets
Bloomberg Australia aims to plant a billion trees by 2050 as part of a new forestry plan the government says will help the country meet its Paris Agreement climate targets. A sod-turning spree on that scale would contribute to the removal of 18 million tons of greenhouse gas per year by 2030 in a country currently producing in excess of ...
Read More »Singapore economy grows at slower pace
Bloomberg Singapore’s economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than previously estimated, a sign that US-China trade tensions and weaker global demand are starting to bite. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased an annualized 1.4 percent from the prior quarter, lower than the government’s earlier projection of 1.6 percent and the median forecast of 1.5% in a Bloomberg ...
Read More »Thousands fired from $30bn Bangladesh garment sector
Bloomberg Garment worker Rabeya started protesting on the streets of Dhaka in early January to pressure her employer — one of Bangladesh’s major suppliers to European clothing giant H&M — to pay a new minimum wage for its workers. On February 9, she said two company officials from Moon Readywears Ltd. told her not to bother returning to her job ...
Read More »Trump-Kim summit could open pathway to safer world
The showy first summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last June was draped in flags and bunting, but the decoration covered what turned out to be a mostly empty box that lacked a shared agreement on denuclearisation. Given this disappointing record, what’s realistically possible when the two leaders meet again in two weeks in Vietnam? ...
Read More »Troubling times at Bank of Italy
Italy’s populist government has its eye on the country’s financial regulators. Rome has suffered a long series of banking scandals, so it’s only fair to ask for more accountability. But the way the ruling League and Five Star Movement are proceeding should worry anybody who cares about the independence of these institutions. The coalition has nominated Paolo Savona, European Affairs ...
Read More »Nissan now has more to worry about than Ghosn
Wade past the shadows of the Carlos Ghosn debacle and a picture emerges of a car business that was already in deep trouble. Nissan Motor Co.’s operating profit dropped around 14 percent in the first nine months, margins shrank, and net income tanked 45 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese carmaker said. The company also booked a 9.2 billion-yen ...
Read More »Choosing a new World Bank boss is a chance to rethink
President Trump has nominated David Malpass, a senior Treasury official and former Wall Street economist, to succeed Jim Yong Kim as next leader of the World Bank. Rather than rubber-stamp the US nomination, as the bank’s other member governments are generally inclined to do, they should ask whether Malpass is the best available candidate — and, even more important, start ...
Read More »Amazon’s retreat heralds new era of corporate welfare fights
Bloomberg Just as New Yorkers were absorbing Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to abandon a new office hub after tangling over $3 billion in tax breaks, General Electric Co. was beating a retreat in Boston, canceling plans to build an office tower and promising to return $87 million in government incentives. In Wisconsin, Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn was backing away from promises it ...
Read More »Apollo to acquire majority stake in Cox’s TV stations
Bloomberg Apollo Global Management LLC agreed to buy the majority stake in Cox Enterprises Inc.’s television broadcasters, transforming the private equity giant into a key player in local TV with 13 stations from Florida to Seattle. Cox will keep a minority stake and help operate the stations via a new business based in Atlanta, the companies said. The deal also ...
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