Bloomberg China will likely avoid a financial crisis and is on track to reach high income status by 2027, according to a new Morgan Stanley report on the nation’s longer-term prospects titled “Why we are bullish on China.” The sweeping outlook comes amid growing concern over China’s surging debt levels, slow pace of reforms and the impact of a ...
Read More »EBA: Urgent action needed to reduce nonperforming loans
Bloomberg A European Union bad bank would go a long way toward reducing the 1.2 trillion-euro ($1.3 trillion) mountain of soured loans on lenders’ books, but that relief may be a long time coming, according to the bloc’s bank regulator. Andrea Enria, chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), proposed setting up a bloc-wide asset-management company to take over ...
Read More »â€˜Bank risk makes Europe a return-free value trap’
Bloomberg Jim McCaughan, who oversees more than $390 billion at Principal Global Investors, cautioned against betting on European stocks, even after they trailed US equities for years. “I see this as a value trap,†McCaughan said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “I don’t see where the growth is coming from in Europe, and I see lots of risk. ...
Read More »JPMorgan and HSBC face fines in S African rand-rigging probe
Bloomberg South Africa’s antitrust investigators urged that a dozen banks be fined for colluding and manipulating trades in the rand, becoming potentially the latest in a string of penalties handed to lenders around the world for rigging currencies. The Competition Commission identified lenders including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC Holdings Plc, BNP Paribas SA, Credit Suisse Group AG, ...
Read More »Banks eyeing Dublin post Brexit face trader shortage
Bloomberg When Rob Boardman is scouring Dublin to hire for his firm’s electronic broking and dark-pool business, it can take up to a year to find the right candidate. “It’s a question of quantity of talent, not quality,” said Boardman, Investment Technology Group Inc.’s European chief executive officer, who has been recruiting in the city since 2010. “It can ...
Read More »Toxic tide destroyed this town
Bento Rodrigues / DPA The earth is a reddish colour, practically orange, and on deserted streets the soil, a kind of dry clay, is turning into a very fine dust. “The scene of the crime” – these are the words used by a former resident of Bento Rodrigues to describe the tiny community in south-eastern Brazil, which is now ...
Read More »Bridging the ‘word gap’
WASHINGTON / AP Even infants can have conversations with mom or dad. Their turn just tends to involve a smile or some gibberish instead of words. That’s a key lesson from programs that are coaching parents to talk more with their babies — and recording their attempts. At issue is how to bridge the infamous “word gap,” the fact ...
Read More »Japan’s LNG buyers wrestle more flexible deals from suppliers
Reuters Japan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers are upending the traditional practices of the market, using their leverage as the world’s biggest buyers of the fuel to wrestle concessions for more flexible terms. Japan’s electric utilities have won provisions that will allow them to divert contracted LNG cargoes if they restart their nuclear reactors, most of which have been ...
Read More »Libya crude output rises on better big oil work conditions
Bloomberg Libya’s crude production exceeded 700,000 barrels a day and is due to keep rising as working conditions in the conflict-ridden country improve for international companies like Eni SpA and Total SA, an official from the state oil company said. The North African country’s crude production is due to reach 1.2 million barrels a day by August and 1.7 ...
Read More »Saudi Binladin gets fresh payments from government
Reuters Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) has received substantial payments from the Saudi Arabian government to settle debts since the start of this year, a boost to the struggling construction conglomerate and to the kingdom’s economy, banking sources said. SBG has received 2.4 billion riyals ($640 million) so far this year for its work on state projects including the King ...
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