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☆ Why an economic soft landing may prove elusive
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

His latest book, “You Always Hurt the One You Love: Central Banks and the Murder of Capitalism”, won’t make him any friends in monetary policymaking circles. The Fed responded by reducing interest rates to zero and employing various tools to lower bond yields. These economic imbalances prevented central banks from returning interest rates to normal levels. Unless, that is, liberalising economic reforms are enacted that boost productivity and allow interest rates to rise. Bernard Conolly’s book, “You Always Hurt the One You Love: Central Banks and the Murder of Capitalism” was published in hardback in September.

Persons: Bernard Connolly, Connolly, won’t, they’ve, Michael Woodford, ”, Alan Greenspan, staved, Lehman, Edward Chancellor’s “, Bernard Conolly’s, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, European Monetary Union, European Commission, Banks, U.S . Federal, stoke, Lehman Brothers, Fed, Reuters Graphics, Treasury, Securities, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, British, Europe, American, “, ”, disequilibrium, intertemporal, Central

☆ China’s timid bank buying sends rescue signals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The call was partly answered on Wednesday evening by Central Huijin Investment, though not quite in the way it was hoped. The state fund boosted its controlling stakes in the Big Four lenders by just a few basis points. It spent a 477 million yuan ($65 million) on Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS), (1398.HK), China Construction Bank (601939.SS), (0939.HK) and Bank of China (601988.SS), (3988.HK), and Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SS), (1288.HK). It’s a tiny amount but Central Huijin said it plans to keep adding over to the next six months to its holdings already worth 2.5 trillion yuan. The state fund is the biggest shareholder in Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

Persons: Huijin, Central Huijin, Xi Jinping’s, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Central Huijin Investment, Big, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, HK, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, outflows, of International Finance, Huijin Investment, Agricultural Bank of, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Beijing, Central, Hong Kong, China’s, Bank, Agricultural Bank of China

☆ Qantas overhaul gets stuck on tarmac
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Qantas Airways QF100 flight, which marks the airline's 100th birthday, departs from Sydney Airport to fly over Sydney Harbour in Australia, November 16, 2020. Gregg Porteous/Destination NSW/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) customers are already used to interminable waits due to postponed or cancelled flights and lost luggage. Now the $5.4 billion airline has shunted its much-needed governance overhaul into an unnecessary holding pattern. On Wednesday Qantas said Richard Goyder is stepping down after five years as chair along with two other directors who have been on the board for a decade. And Goyder intends to remain in the cockpit until just before the company’s annual meeting in over a year’s time.

Persons: Gregg Porteous, –, Richard Goyder, Alan Joyce, Jaqueline Hey, Maxine Brenner, Goyder, Antony Currie, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Qantas Airways QF100, Sydney Airport, Sydney Harbour, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Qantas Airways, Wednesday Qantas, Qantas, X, Alstom, Thomson Locations: Australia, Brussels

☆ AI may force IT spending into economic decoupling
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Global CEOs are under pressure from investors to adopt generative artificial intelligence into their businesses. Outsourcers like $200 billion Accenture are sounding the alarm. Accenture sold $300 million in generative AI deals in the year to August, less than 1% of its $72 billion in total new bookings. Blackstone-backed Mphasis, a smaller firm, says one-third of its total contract value of $707 million for the quarter to the end of June was from “pure AI deals”. The full spectrum of how businesses can use generative AI is still emerging but there are obvious applications: customer support agents and coders are seeing productivity increases of 14% and 55% respectively.

Persons: ChatGPT, Julie Sweet, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Global, Accenture, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Consulting, Gartner, Blackstone, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, U.S, India

☆ Next EU chief will need cash more than trade wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

What she sidestepped was how to find more cash and convince member states to pay up. Von der Leyen, or her successor, will have to figure out how to pay for enlargement. Von der Leyen tapped into trade frustrations with her pledge to investigate and possibly punish Chinese subsidies for car and battery makers. During her first term, von der Leyen succeeded in connecting the EU with bond investors via the 800 billion euro NextGenerationEU borrowing programme. A second term will require even more finesse to convince EU member states to raise money not just from markets, but from themselves.

Persons: Ursula von der, European Union won’t, der, von der Leyen’s, Greens –, der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Thierry Breton, Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, Von der, Carlo Bastasin, Von der Leyen, von der Leyen, sceptics, Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel’s, Jens Stoltenberg’s, Francesco Guerrera, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, European Union, Bank, EU, European Commission, Socialists, Greens, NATO, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Brookings, handouts, Organisation for Economic Co, Transport, Environment, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, Moldova, Western, Brussels, Germany, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Turkey, Georgia, Spain, Poland, United States, China, Ireland, Netherlands, EU, EU’s, Hungary

☆ Israel highlights fragility of new trade corridors
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Afiq Fitri Alias | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A new and deadly chapter of the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict is a reality check for an ambitious trade route. IMEC’s chief backers waxed lyrical about the potential of the trade route involving railways, ports and green energy. Demand is there: India's total trade with Saudi Arabia more than doubled in two years, hitting around $53 billion in financial year 2023. In the near-term, the Suez Canal will remain the primary route for goods travelling to Europe from India, while Turkey can press its own rival trade route. The Biden administration is continuing to push for normalisation talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the New York Times reported on Oct. 8.

Persons: Joe Biden, Ursula von der Leyen, Narendra Modi, India’s, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Washington, European, Indian, New, Saudi Crown, Israeli, New York Times, Thomson Locations: Israel, India, Middle, Europe, New Delhi, Saudi Arabia, Haifa, Gaza, China, People’s Republic, Suez, Turkey, United States, European Union, France, Germany, Delhi, Arabian, Asia

☆ The EU is stuck with its one-trick refugee policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Barring an influx of younger people from Africa and Asia, the EU will become increasingly old, weak and irrelevant. Instead, the EU is focussing on stopping irregular migrants crossing the Mediterranean. To be fair, each EU country has procedures for dealing with migrants who arrive through legal routes. That’s a long way short of the height of the Syrian crisis in 2015, when about 1.8 million refugees crossed EU borders. The hope is that the Mediterranean countries will then process asylum seekers when they arrive - and the EU’s internal borders will stay open.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Marine Le, Italy don’t, Martinez, Peter Thal Larsen, Katrina Hamlin, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Eurostat, EU, Reuters Graphics, Italian, Centre, European, Bank, Thomson Locations: Africa, Asia, EU, Spain, Europe, Turkey, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Lampedusa, Tunis, West Balkan, United Kingdom, That’s, Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Saharan Africa, Latin America

☆ Israel flashes geopolitical warning at shaky time
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Kingdom’s rulers have historically supported Palestinian rights and opposed Israel, while waging proxy wars against Iran. Indeed, one motivation of the Hamas attacks may have been to provoke an Israeli response that derails those negotiations. At a time when the global economy needs inflationary geopolitical risks to simmer down, more are flashing red. In response, Israeli air strikes hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and homes of Hamas officials in Gaza, killing more than 400 people, Reuters reported. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Israel had the right to defend itself and issued a warning to Iran and other countries hostile to Israel not to exploit the attacks.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Biden, toughening, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Brent, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Hamas, Iran, Saudi Crown, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, United States, China, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Jerusalem, Tehran, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Saudi, Germany, Italy, Britain

HONG KONG, Oct 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It’s getting harder for China Inc to go global, and tougher for global financial advisors to take on the rapidly shrinking pool of related mandates. Belgium’s intelligence service VSSE said on Thursday that it is trying to “detect and fight against possible spying and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities including Alibaba”. Fellow courier SF Holding is also preparing a Hong Kong listing to raise as much as $3 billion to support, among other things, ambitious expansion beyond Asia. Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgium government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trade hub, run by its logistics arm Cainiao Smart Logistics Network. The Chinese e-commerce giant last month filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Persons: VSSE, Cainiao, won’t, Alibaba, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, China Inc, HK, Belgian, Justice, Citigroup, JPMorgan, Hong, European, Liege Airport, Smart Logistics Network, Alibaba’s, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Hong Kong, Liege, Belgian, Asia, Belgium, United States, European, Alibaba’s New York

☆ Vietnam’s Tesla justifies stock price reversal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A VinFast VF 8 model is seen during a car delivery ceremony at the VinFast car factory in Haiphong province, Vietnam, September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Thinh Nguyen Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Oct 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vietnam’s richest man may have to get used to spending some time in the slow lane. In August, Pham Nhat Vuong closed an unconvincing merger with a blank-cheque company that bestowed a $23 billion market value on his Tesla (TSLA.O) wannabe VinFast . There are no details of sales in the United States, a key target market where it has been burdened by poor reviews. Without some impressive progress outside of Vietnam, though, the EV company’s stock is going nowhere fast.

Persons: Thinh Nguyen, Pham Nhat Vuong, Sandoz, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, EV, X, Alstom, Brookfield, Temasek, Thomson Locations: Haiphong province, Vietnam, Rights SINGAPORE, United States

☆ The Queen’s question returns with a vengeance
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Felix Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The world’s leading central banks had spent the previous two decades focusing on low inflation, neglecting risks to financial stability. Central bankers counter correctly that predictive accuracy is not the same as explanatory power. Yet it is far from clear how today’s independent central banks should respond to these overtly political struggles. In 2021, when the Phillips Curve was asleep at the wheel, the growth in the money supply was flashing red. The unfortunate truth is that there are many answers to the Queen’s question this time round – but no single magic solution.

Persons: Elizabeth, Prince Andrew , Duke, York, Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh, Tom Nicholson, Queen Elizabeth, Ben Bernanke, don’t, Phillips, Isabella Weber, Guido Lorenzoni, Andrew Bailey, monetarism, Milton Friedman, Anna Schwartz, Winston Churchill, Bernanke, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum 私, 「 Organizations: Westminster Abbey, REUTERS, Reuters, Bank of England, U.S . Federal, Phillips, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Chicago, MIT, United, 「 Reuters Locations: Westminster, London, Britain, British, Central, Ukraine, Paris, United States

The Shenzhen-based company has not explained exactly how seven-nanometer chips ended up in the new Mate 60 Pro smartphone series. Analysts estimate deliveries of the Mate 60 Pro could top 5 million this year. Follow @KatrinaHamlin on XCONTEXT NEWSHuawei started preselling its Mate 60 Pro+ smartphone alongside a new foldable phone in September. The Chinese company started selling its high-end smartphones Mate 60 and Mate 60 Pro at the end of August. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro contained a 7-nanometer processor that was made in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, according to analysts at TechInsights.

Persons: TSMC, TechInsights, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, TechInsights, Kirin, Manufacturing International Corp, HK, Washington, SK Hynix, Huawei, TSMC, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, SK, South, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Shenzhen, Beijing

☆ Less ethical US foreign policy requires new logic
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions with China are now driving U.S. foreign policy, and ethical considerations have taken a back seat. Even so, groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are concerned. But the United States considers all to have poor records when judged against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While it may make sense for the United States to choose the lesser evil, it is now unclear what role human rights play in American foreign policy. Although he didn’t connect this idea to human rights, that seems to be part of the thinking.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Evan Vucci, Biden, Antony Blinken, ”, Modi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Blinken, It’s, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Indian, U.S, Bharat, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Amnesty, Human Rights, U.S ., Saudi Crown, Universal, United, United States, Reuters Graphics, Seven, Washington, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, China, Asia, Beijing, Moscow, U.S, Hanoi, United States, Riyadh, Russia, United, East, Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq

☆ China's property price caps have two sharp edges
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Sept 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese developers are in trouble. When the mood was bullish, price caps in major cities were far below what people were willing to pay. Scrapping the price caps would be a cleaner fix and officials are weighing up such a move, Reuters reported this month. CONTEXT NEWSChina's Guangzhou city has cancelled price caps on new residential projects, Caixin reported on Sept. 12. Price caps of various kinds were introduced in many Chinese cities from 2016 following the central government’s call for a stable residential market.

Persons: Zhao Youming, Tingshu Wang, Caixin, Price, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Gaotie Wellness, REUTERS, Reuters, HK, Bureau of Statistics, Thomson Locations: Tongchuan, Shaanxi, China, HONG KONG, Guangzhou

☆ Ambani’s retail backers dispel only a little doubt
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Asia’s richest man is raising fresh funds to trim debt and expand the shopping unit of his flagship Reliance Industries (RELI.NS). Ambit Capital, a broking firm, for example ascribes Reliance Retail a $57 billion valuation in a sum of the parts analysis, almost half Bernstein’s estimated $111 billion. Any financial haze around Reliance Retail will naturally clear whenever it publishes a detailed listing prospectus. U.S. private equity giant KKR will invest 20.7 billion rupees ($250 million) into Reliance Retail Ventures, the company’s parent Reliance Industries said on Sept. 11. Reliance Retail is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, Thakore, Singapore’s GIC, Bernstein, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Reliance Industries, KKR, Abraham, Qatar Investment, U.S, Reliance Retail, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Reliance, HK, India’s Reliance Industries, Reliance Retail Ventures, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia

☆ Samsonite’s baggage is heavy with geopolitics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Of the restless group, luggage maker Samsonite International (1910.HK) has the least financial reason to mull a move. The $5 billion U.S. and Luxembourg-based company was one of the first Western companies to list in Hong Kong. Sales from Asia - Samsonite’s most profitable region – accounted for almost 40% of the total in the first half of 2023. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsFrom a liquidity point of view too, Samsonite has had a better experience in Hong Kong than other international arrivals. That’s better than other international consumer brands that boast similar levels of prestige.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Tim Parker, Samsonite, Kyle Gendreau, CK Hutchison, It’s, Calvin Klein, Prada, ” Gendreau, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Woodbury, REUTERS, Reuters, Global, Samsonite, HK, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Prada, Swire Pacific, CK, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Central Valley , New York, U.S, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, mull, Luxembourg, Asia, New York, Washington, Beijing, China

☆ China is bitter medicine for Europe’s EV pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China can offer a bitter medicine for Europe’s bold electric vehicle pivot. That has prompted carmakers to develop premium e-cars for richer punters, rather than mass market vehicles. More competition from Chinese carmakers should help bring down prices of electric vehicles in Europe. It will force Western players to keep cutting costs to avoid losing too much market share, boosting overall e-car adoption. Sales of EVs picked up in August, with Jefferies analysts estimating a total market share across Europe of 23%.

Persons: Oliver Zipse, Olaf Scholz, carmakers, Morgan Stanley, Encouragingly, BYD, ”, EVs, Lisa Jucca, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Volkswagen, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association, HK, Norway, BMW, Reuters Graphics, Jato Dynamics, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, BYD, Renault, UBS reckons, Financial, Electric, European Union, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: China, Europe, Italy, Europe’s, Germany, Norway, Latvia, Bulgaria, Britain, Polo . China, Western, EU

☆ Time to target fossil fuel demand, not supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Campaigners are, of course, right that the world needs to cut its use of fossil fuels. But focussing on curbing supply is not as effective as pushing for measures that cut demand - such as carbon taxes, faster permissioning of renewable energy and green subsidies. International climate negotiators are also wrangling over whether to “phase down” fossil fuels. Demand for fossil fuels will fall if they are more expensive - and economies will have a strong incentive to switch to renewable energy. Regulation is another method for driving down demand for fossil fuels.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Narendra Modi, Cyril Ramaphosa, Joe Biden, Evan Vucci, wouldn’t, George Hay, Thomas Shum Organizations: World, Indian, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, OPEC, European Union, EU, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Nations, Canada, United States, OPEC, China, U.S, United Kingdom, EU

☆ India’s fintech partygoers nurse a needed hangover
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MUMBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India’s financial technology industry is suffering from overindulgence. And it was on full display at a sombre Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai last week. The South Asian country is the world’s third-largest fintech market by number of unicorns. Poster child Byju’s is squabbling with lenders as investors walk away and financial reports get delayed. Follow @ShritamaBose on XCONTEXT NEWSThe Global Fintech Fest organised by the National Payments Corporation of India and industry association Payments Council of India was held between Sept. 5 and 7 in Mumbai.

Persons: securitisation, ’, hesitatingly, Vishwas Patel, they’re, fintechs, Mukesh Ambani’s, Antony Currie, Katrina Hamlin, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Founders, Boston Consulting Group, Venture, Reserve Bank, One97 Communications, FSN, Commerce Ventures, Innoven Triple Blue Capital, XV Partners, Financial, National Payments Corporation of India, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Mumbai, India, fintech, Sequoia Capital’s India, Southeast Asia, Rwanda, Japan, Germany, Peru

☆ China’s cautious property giants may be rewarded
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yu Liang, president of China Vanke Co Ltd, China's top property developer, attends a news conference announcing the company's annual results in Hong Kong March 6, 2014. China Vanke Co Ltd on Thursday posted a 20.5 percent rise in net profit for 2013, in line with estimates, driven by record contracted sales last year. Yu Liang told investors last week that the property market in the world’s second-largest economy was “oversold”. The chair of $22 billion China Vanke (000002.SZ) is worth listening to. On the same day, the company reported a 19% decline in net profit to 9.9 billion yuan ($1.35 billion) for the six months to the end of June.

Persons: Yu Liang, Bobby Yip, ”, Vanke, homebuyers, Xi Jinping, Xi, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: China Vanke Co, REUTERS, Reuters, China, Mainland, HK, Securities Times, Shenzhen Metro Group, Thomson Locations: China, Hong Kong, HONG KONG, Shenzhen, Evergrande’s

☆ Investors’ China aversion is bad for everyone
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

FIERCE RESTRAINTAs a country on the cusp of high-income status, China ought to be a magnet for overseas investors. Companies in the MSCI China Index trade at 10 times their expected earnings for the next twelve months, half the level of the S&P 500 Index. However, assets following these mandates remain insignificant compared to the $1.3 trillion benchmarked to MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index. However, they have played a bigger role in the past decade funding Chinese companies through Hong Kong and U.S. listings. Chinese equities have a combined market value of $15 trillion, greater than Japanese, French, Indian and British stocks combined.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Goldman Sachs, Gavekal Dragonomics, Gavekal, Tesla, John Welling, Dow, Xi, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Federal, People’s Bank of, Treasury, HK, Companies, Apple, Microsoft, BlackRock, China, WHO, International, U.S, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Dow Jones, Global, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, People’s Republic, People’s Bank of China, United States, Hong Kong, U.S, Gulf, Asia, North America, Shanghai, Shenzhen

☆ Europe faces dirtier inflation fight than US
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The euro zone’s export-led economy is weak, consumers and businesses are borrowing less, and higher borrowing costs mean there’s further pain to come. The contrasting fortunes of Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, and Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, can be summed up in two numbers. The equivalent figures for the euro zone were 5.3% and 0.6%, respectively. Euro zone inflation has halved from the 10.6% peak it reached in October 2022. Europe faces a longer and dirtier fight to tame rising prices.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, That’s, Lagarde, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Reuters, U.S . Federal, P, International Monetary Fund, ECB, Economics, Labour, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, United States, U.S, China

☆ Shelved L’Occitane buyout is no win for Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman walks past a L'Occitane advertisement in Hong Kong April 19, 2010. Cosmetics retailer L'Occitane International S.A. plans to raise up to $708 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, a source close to the deal said on Sunday night. Reinold Geiger has given up on his tentative plan to buy out the minority of shares he doesn’t already own of L’Occitane (0973.HK), a move that would have delisted the European skincare group from Hong Kong in the Asian hub’s largest take-private. The Austrian billionaire didn’t explain why he shelved the idea, which was probably a prelude to a relisting in Europe – mostly likely France. The appeal of such a move is unlikely to have diminished as global investors turn cold on both Hong Kong and China stocks, possibly for the long term.

Persons: Reinold Geiger, doesn’t, didn’t, Geiger, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: L'Occitane International S.A, Reuters, HK, Prada, Bloomberg, X, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, MUMBAI, Austrian, Europe, France, China, Una

☆ Lithium miners’ $4.3 bln dance is a two-way hedge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Albemarle's Chile country manager Ignacio Mehech shows an illustration of brines purification process to obtain lithium carbonate at their lithium plant placed on the Atacama salt flat, Chile, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Sept 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - On the surface, offering a near-100% premium for an as yet unproductive lithium miner may seem over the top. Dig down a bit, though, and U.S.-based Albemarle’s (ALB.N)A$6.6 billion($4.3 billion) sweetened all-cash offer on Monday for Australian rival Liontown Resources (LTR.AX) has financial merit, as well as offering each side a handy hedge. A plan by Chile’s government to nationalise lithium resources adds more reason for the deal. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Ignacio Mehech, Ivan Alvarado, Albemarle, Kathleen, Antony Currie, Pernod Ricard, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Liontown Resources, Alpha, X, Thomson Locations: Chile, U.S, Western Australia, EBITDA, Albemarle

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