Bloomberg Swedish inflation slowed more than estimated in May, adding pressure on the central bank to expand its unprecedented stimulus measures at its meeting next month. Consumer prices rose an annual 0.6 percent in May, compared with 0.8 percent the prior month, Statistics Sweden said in a statement on Tuesday. The Riksbank and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated inflation ...
Read More »GAM Holding’s first-half profit falls by half on lower fees
Bloomberg GAM Holding AG said first-half profit will probably fall by half after performance fees at the Swiss asset manager dried up. Underlying profit before and after tax is expected to decline by about 50 percent from a year earlier, the Zurich-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Performance commissions will probably tumble to 1 million Swiss francs ...
Read More »IEA predicts lower oil surplus, sees market balance in 2017
Bloomberg The global oil market will be almost balanced next year as demand continues to rise faster than production, while the current oversupply is much smaller than previously thought, the International Energy Agency said. The surplus in the first half of this year is about 40 percent smaller than estimated a month ago, as consumption proves stronger than expected ...
Read More »Twitter jumps as Microsoft-LinkedIn deal could spur more
Bloomberg Twitter Inc. jumped after Microsoft Corp.’s $26.2 billion agreement to buy LinkedIn Corp. prompted speculation other technology companies may become acquisition targets. Twitter ended the day up 3.8 percent to $14.55 in New York after rising as much as 9.1 percent earlier. The social network’s stock had dropped 39 percent this year through Friday as investors questioned whether ...
Read More »Goldfajn pledges to hit Brazil inflation target, names board
Bloomberg Brazil’s new central bank president IlanGoldfajn pledged to hit the center of the inflation target, while nominating members to his board that include a banker from the private sector. “The objective is to fully meet the inflation target established by the National Monetary Council, looking at its center,” said Goldfajn, 50, during a ceremony to mark his taking ...
Read More »Spectra JV wins Texas-Mexico gas line contracts
Bloomberg Eagle Ford shale producers are getting a new outlet to ship their abundant natural gas to Mexico as the southern neighbor seeks supplies to increase power generation. A unit of Spectra Energy Corp. and a joint venture between Sempra Energy’s Ienova and TransCanada Corp. won contracts to link the Agua Dulce Hub on the Texas Gulf Coast to ...
Read More »Health insurance setup is Kobo founder’s next ‘big swing’
Bloomberg League Inc., a Canadian health-insurance startup, is raising $25 million in a funding round backed by Omers Ventures, Royal Bank of Canada and Manulife Financial Corp. Toronto-based League lets employees find and pay for services such as therapy, dental work and chiropractor visits through a mobile application. League isn’t an insurer but connects insurance pools, employees and a ...
Read More »Canada must tighten rules to mitigate housing risks: OECD
Bloomberg Canada should consider further housing-market restrictions to avoid a crash, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said, adding another voice to the recent chorus of those warning rapid price gains may be unsustainable. The country has the highest ratio of residential investment to gross domestic product among the 34 OECD nations, and household debt equal to 168 ...
Read More »Consumer confidence edges higher on hot Canadian realty mkt
Bloomberg Consumer confidence hit a fresh high this year as the number of Canadians expecting a decline in real-estate prices dropped, telephone polling shows. The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index rose to 57.9 from 57.8 a week earlier, reaching the highest level since November. The gain was driven by increased housing optimism: the difference between the share of those ...
Read More »Sydney starts new stamp duty on foreign homebuyers
Bloomberg Foreigners buying homes in Sydney will face a new property tax from next week when New South Wales becomes the second state in Australia to impose such a duty as soaring demand from China helps drive record prices. Australia’s most populous state plans to introduce a 4 percent stamp duty surcharge from June 21 and from next year ...
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