The Fed and PBOC are no longer poles apart

A pleasing synchronicity is edging back into the world economy, at least in terms of monetary policy. Let’s hope it’s not too late. Wasn’t the “synchronised global upswing” narrative – all the rage in 2017 – retired last year? That doesn’t mean courses can’t be recalibrated. The signal late last week of a pause in interest-rate hikes from the Federal ...

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Two ways May could just end the Brexit standoff

Britain’s parliament hasn’t yet voted on Theresa May’s Brexit deal or on whether it still has confidence in her government. The first will happen on January 15 and if, as expected, she loses, the Labour Party is threatening to hold a vote on the latter soon after. But two votes that members of parliament have held so far this week ...

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China car market goes bust, boost, boom. Repeat

China is planning to give the world’s largest auto market a shot in the arm. Don’t be so sure it’ll work. As the nation prepared to post its first annual decline in car sales in at least two decades, a senior official said the government would announce measures to encourage consumers to buy cars and other goods. The statement finally ...

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How Fed can engineer a soft landing in economy

Despite President Donald Trump criticisms that the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates too far, too fast, thereby penalizing the economy, the flatness of the bond market’s yield curve suggests policy rates are just about at a level that neither stimulates nor restrains growth. But in order for the Fed to engineer a soft landing from last year’s heady growth ...

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UK’s nuclear future fades as Hitachi exit follows Toshiba

Bloomberg Britain’s plan for a nuclear revival was thrown into disarray after the second Japanese company in as many months seemed to pull the plug on a new plant. The UK government has put atomic energy at the heart of its effort to attract 100 billion pounds ($130 billion) of investment to upgrade its aging reactors it needs to keep ...

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India oil demand growth rebounds from 4-year low

Bloomberg India’s oil demand growth in 2018 rebounded from the slowest pace in four years as the country recovered from the shock of a cash ban and the roll out of a national sales tax. The nation’s consumption of petroleum products rose 4.1 percent to about 210 million tonnes, the Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell said. Growth improved ...

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China plans subsidy-free solar, wind pilot projects

Bloomberg China will start building pilot wind and solar power projects that won’t receive national government payments as it pushes to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy and rein in subsidy bills. Shares of solar manufacturers surged in New York and Hong Kong. Power prices from these pilot projects will be the same or lower than from coal-fired plants, the ...

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Infosys raises sales forecast over ‘healthy pipeline’ of deals

Bloomberg Infosys Ltd, Asia’s second-largest software exporter by value, raised its sales forecast for the year ending March citing a “healthy pipeline” of orders. Bangalore, India-based Infosys predicts revenue will expand as much as 9 percent from an earlier target of 8 percent. Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh expects a revival in the company’s financial services business, and its ability ...

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Wanda sales drop on asset disposals

Bloomberg Dalian Wanda Group Co.’s sales declined for a third year as Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s conglomerate continues to divest assets under government scrutiny. Revenue fell 5.7 percent to 214.3 billion yuan ($31.7 billion) in 2018, the once-acquisitive group said in an emailed statement. The statement didn’t say if the company was profitable or loss-making last year. Total assets dropped ...

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Ghosn deputy Munoz resigns from Nissan

Bloomberg One of Nissan Motor Co’s most senior executives and a close confidant to its jailed chairman, Carlos Ghosn, has resigned from the company one week after taking a leave of absence. Jose Munoz, Nissan’s chief performance officer, resigned effective immediately, according to a post on his LinkedIn page and a company spokesman. Munoz, 53, had reported directly to Chief ...

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