Why Macau? There are two very different faces to this former Portuguese enclave a short boat ride from Hong Kong. There’s the Macau that has been transformed since its return to China in 1999 into the Las Vegas of the East by the construction of giant hotel casinos on a vast land-reclamation project. And there’s my kind of Macau, still a wonderfully exotic destination, where there are […]
After a busy week in the US, attention shifts to Europe with the second round of the French elections on Sunday. Here’s what to watch in the coming days. France Four separate polls give fervent EU supporter and political novice Emmanuel Macron a 24-point lead over Marine Le Pen, who has proposed pulling France out of the EU. Markets are also expecting a win for Mr Macron. […]
Barclays was under pressure on Friday after Goldman Sachs said the bank needed to prioritise rebuilding capital over shareholder returns. Regulatory hurdles have moved against cross-border banks such as Barclays, which will be hit disproportionately by regional ringfencing laws, said Goldman. Capital ringfences add to uncertainty around Barclays’ litigation costs, its pension deficit and the likely proceeds from the sale of its African bank, said the broker. […]
By Mathieu Rosemain and Andrew Callus | PARIS PARIS Centrist French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron extended his lead in the polls over his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Friday, the final day of a tumultuous election campaign that has turned the country’s politics upside down. The election is seen as the most important in France for decades with two diametrically opposed views of Europe and France’s […]
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, Italy is increasingly dependent on the ECB to hold down bond yields as foreign investors dump Italian bonds like mad. Eurointelligence bills this as “Further Evidence of Capital Flight in Italy“. In a column earlier this week, Federico Fubini notes that, according to the Bank of International Settlements, in 2016 international banks reduced their exposure to Italy by 15%, or over $100bn, […]
By Saikat Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks declined for a third consecutive day on Friday as fresh falls in commodities raised concerns about the health of the global economy, though the euro bucked the broad weakness on receding concerns about France’s presidential election. Chinese stocks led regional losers, falling to a three-month low as concerns about tighter financial regulations weighed on banking shares while […]
Spotify and a host of European internet businesses have called on Brussels to crack down on what they see as troubling practices by the likes of Apple and Google. Big internet platforms “can and do abuse their privileged position”, according to a letter signed by the chief executives of Spotify, music streaming rival Deezer and German start-up investor Rocket Internet among others. Although the letter to the […]
SHANGHAI China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet is set to take to the skies on its long-delayed maiden flight on Friday, a major step for Beijing as it looks to boost its profile in the global aviation market. The narrow-body aircraft, which will compete with Boeing’s (BA.N) 737 and the Airbus (AIR.PA) A320, is a key symbol of China’s ambitions to muscle into a global jet market estimated […]
Google has agreed to pay €306 million in back taxes to Italy and Ireland to end a criminal investigation into whether the company avoided paying the full amount on its revenues for more than a decade, Italian tax officials confirmed on Thursday. The agreement resolves multiple disputes including a criminal probe that saw Milan prosecutors accuse Google of generating revenues of €1 billion in Italy and Ireland […]
European XFEL, the biggest X-ray laser in the world, has generated its first X-ray laser light. The X-ray light has a wavelength of 0.8 nm — about 500 times shorter than that of visible light. At first lasing, the laser had a repetition rate of one pulse per second, which will later increase to 27,000 per second. (via WSJ)
MUSCAT // Travel agents in Muscat say holiday bookings for Dubai have risen by 80 per cent in the past 12 months, as Omanis hit by rising inflation opt for destinations closer to home. Dubai has taken over from Thailand as the top holiday destination for Omanis. “Omani travellers now prefer to go on holiday in Dubai … more than other destinations,” Veenith Laghari, a tour operator […]
GENEVA The United States will shoot itself in the foot if it quits the Paris climate accord because China, India and Europe will snap up the best power sector jobs in future, U.N. Environment chief Erik Solheim said on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce as early as next week whether he will take the United States out of the climate pact, having vowed […]
Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat | Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images MEPs want to speak to Joseph Muscat during run-up to national election. By Harry Cooper 5/4/17, 3:44 PM CET Updated 5/4/17, 3:54 PM CET Joseph Muscat, Malta’s embattled prime minister, has been summoned to address the European Parliament’s committee on the Panama Papers scandal on May 18, weeks before the country goes to the polls for a snap […]
One of the EU’s most senior officials has called for a ceasefire in the verbal hostilities over Brexit with Theresa May, warning that looming talks could become “impossible” if calm is not restored. The intervention by Donald Tusk, European Council president, marks a concerted effort to defuse escalating tension between Brussels and London after the UK prime minister accused EU officials of trying to sabotage her election […]
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s stalwart companion during six decades on the throne, is to step down from his public duties from the autumn, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday. The Duke of Edinburgh’s decision was taken with the support of the Queen, the statement said. London was earlier gripped by speculation of an imminent announcement after reports senior staff of the royal household had been called to the […]
As noted earlier, while European stocks and US equity markets have ignored the commodity crash in China, which in addition to iron ore plunging limit down, also saw rubber tumble 7% lower, and steel rebar, coke, coking coal plunge over 6% … … Axiom’s Gordon Johnson warns (as we did a month ago) that the worst is yet to come, and in fact, the “backdrop of […]
BEIJING The European Union wants China to help prevent migrants and refugees using Chinese-made inflatable boats to get into the bloc by stopping the boats reaching them, the European Commissioner for Migration said on Thursday. Dimitris Avramopoulos, speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting Chinese Minister for Public Security Guo Shengkun, said the rubber boats used by people smugglers were made in China. “The rubber boats used […]
HSBC has beaten analysts’ expectations for its first-quarter results as strong trading conditions, rising interest rates and a weaker dollar lifted earnings, bringing welcome relief from its heavy miss at the end of last year. Pre-tax profits, adjusted for one-offs and currency moves, reached $5.9bn, surpassing consensus forecasts of $5.3bn. Shares opened up 3.4 per cent in London trading, hitting 668.30p. Europe’s biggest bank by assets, which […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks retreated on Thursday, taking their cues from a subdued session on Wall Street, while the dollar retained gains made after the Federal Reserve delivered a hawkish policy statement. At the end of its two-day meeting, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate steady as expected, but downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth and emphasized the strength of the labor market, […]
Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here The Federal Reserve said it believed the recent slowdown in US growth was likely to prove temporary as it stayed on course for a further increase in short-term interest rates as soon as June. The US central bank kept its target range for the federal funds rate at 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent following its latest two-day meeting. In […]
ABU DHABI // The UAE on Wednesday hailed a meeting in Abu Dhabi between two rival Libyan leaders as a significant breakthrough in talks aimed at ending the conflict. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced optimism over the meeting between Fayez Al Sarraj, prime minister of Libya’s UN-backed government, and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the country’s most powerful military commander, the state news agency, Wam, reported. […]
Etihad Airways said on Tuesday it was disappointed that despite its significant investments in Alitalia, the Italian airline had entered extraordinary administration. Shareholders in Alitalia voted unanimously to place the company into “extraordinary administration” as efforts continue to find a buyer and stave off liquidation for the troubled airline. The move follows last week’s rejection by staff of a restructuring and refinancing plan based on hefty job […]
By Samia Errazzouki and Patrick Markey | RABAT/ALGIERS RABAT/ALGIERS A Moroccan phosphate ship has been held in a South African port by a complaint from Western Sahara Polisario movement that it transported cargo unlawfully from the disputed territory, a lawyer and Polisario said on Wednesday. The seizure of the vessel, carrying 50,000 tonnes of phosphate to New Zealand, may be a test for the Polisario’s use of […]
While we doubt anything material will emerge for various obvious reasons, the NY Post reports that the DOJ is probing Goldman Sachs for alleged Treasury auction rigging: the charge is that Goldman, one of the 23 US primary dealers, won almost all Treasury bond auctions from 2007 to about 2011 even after the Treasury department established safeguards to maintain competitiveness. The case is said to center on […]
