As reported
here first a month ago: The $9 Trillion Short
That May Send the Dollar Even Higher (
BBG)
As an instant target for foes, Clinton may struggle to get
message heard (
Reuters)
Emerging Stocks Rally 11th Day as Aussie Weakens on China (
BBG)
Puerto Rico, Investors Enlist Ex-IMF Officials (
WSJ)
Dollar’s Rise Reshuffles Global Economy (
BBG)
Indonesia eyes regular navy exercises with U.S. in South China
Sea (
Reuters)
Banca Monte dei Paschi Breaches Exposure Limits to Nomura (
WSJ)
European Bond Buyers Find Negative Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Bad
(
BBG)
Saudi Arabia’s Plan to Extend the Age of Oil (
BBG)
Activist Puts Pressure on Qualcomm (
WSJ) -
translation: hedge fund demands company take on more debt
U.S. Widens Role in Saudi-led Campaign Against Houthi Rebels in
Yemen (
WSJ)
Experts blast U.S. for blocking supercomputer tech exports to
China (
Xinhua)
GE's Move Alters The Bond Market (
DJN)
Retailers Are Under Fire for Work Schedules (
WSJ)
Hard-Charging Uber Mixes In Softer Approach (
WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* The Puerto Rico government and the hedge funds that own its
bonds are turning to former International Monetary Fund officials
to help resolve a growing debt crisis that may require a
restructuring more akin to Greece than a troubled city like
Detroit. Puerto Rico has retained Anne Krueger, the IMF's former
first deputy managing director, as a consultant, said people
familiar with the matter.(
http://on.wsj.com/1I5K7fL)
* New York's attorney general is scrutinizing 13 big retailers
over their staffing practices and whether they require workers to
show up or stay home with little notice. The office of New York
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters warning Target
Corp, Gap Inc and 11 others that it believes the chains are using
on-call scheduling and that such practices may violate a New York
law. (
http://on.wsj.com/1yj6o9V)
* Qualcomm Inc is under pressure from activist investor Jana
Partners LLC to consider a breakup and other options to boost the
giant chip maker's sagging stock price. Jana is asking Qualcomm to
consider spinning off its chip unit from its patent-licensing
business, which accounts for most of the company's profit. (
http://on.wsj.com/1EsowPH)
* Sprint Corp is going to start hand-delivering new cellphones.
The offer initially will only be available to current customers in
the Kansas City area, near the company's headquarters, followed by
rollouts later this month in Miami and Chicago. (
http://on.wsj.com/1Hjev8d)
* Uber Technologies Inc is fighting a multi front war in the
capital of India, one of the company's most important and
fastest-growing overseas markets. The U.S. company is defying a ban
by Delhi state authorities and competing furiously with local
rivals for market share in the world's second-most populous
country. (
http://on.wsj.com/1amdUFw)
FT
Stakeholders in some of the biggest U.S. companies are set to
receive a record $1 trillion in buybacks and dividends in 2015 as
blue chip companies' concerns over the global economic outlook has
diverted cash away from fresh investment.
The continuing power struggle at German carmaker Volkswagen
escalated as a split emerged between the two controlling families
Porsche and Piech, as its chief executive Martin Winterkorn refused
to surrender his position.
Heineken and Diageo are bracing for their sales to go flat in
Indonesia as the government imposes a ban on sales of drinks with
less than 5 per cent alcohol volume - mainly beer - in convenience
and other small stores from Thursday.
Oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell is expected to maintain its
status as the UK-listed company with the top dividend yield as it
gives final touches to its 47 bln pound acquisition of BG Group,
according to financial data co. Markit.
NYT
* As prosecutors put the finishing touches on the 2008
indictment of Blackwater security contractors for a deadly shooting
in Iraq, the FBI agents leading the investigation became convinced
that political appointees in the Justice Department were
intentionally undermining the case, internal emails show. (
http://nyti.ms/1ynSd3z)
* Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner overseeing
antitrust issues, on Wednesday will make her first trip to
Washington to participate in two antitrust conferences. Vestager
could take the one step her immediate predecessor, Joaquin Almunia,
tried to avoid by filing a set of formal charges, called a
statement of objections, which could raise pressure on Google Inc
to settle in order to avoid a finding of wrongdoing and a
potentially huge fine.(
http://nyti.ms/1IF7Red)
* A Texas-born man suspected of being an operative for Al Qaeda
stood before a federal judge in Brooklyn this month. The denouement
in the hunt for the man, Mohanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, came after a
years long debate inside the government about whether to kill an
American citizen overseas without trial. (
http://nyti.ms/1DAH6EJ)
* Safety deficiencies at a treatment center staffed by Partners
in Health, a charity that pledged to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone
and Liberia, led to the closure of the center after two clinicians
were diagnosed with Ebola. (
http://nyti.ms/1DAHjYq)
* A University of California study finds that taxpayers are
providing not only support to the poor but also a huge subsidy for
employers of low-wage workers, from giants like McDonald's Corp and
Wal Mart Stores Inc to mom-and-pop businesses. (
http://nyti.ms/1DWr61U)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Finding itself in the public eye like never before, the
National Energy Board is looking to persuade Canadians that the
energy regulator is up to the job of protecting their safety and
the environment. Board chairman Peter Watson is in the middle of a
cross-country tour to meet with municipal officials, First Nations
leaders and first responders, and is promising to open the pipeline
safety issues to new levels of public scrutiny. (
http://bit.ly/1yjE2fF)
** Canada's second spectrum auction of the year is set to begin
on Tuesday, with Telus Corp expected to be the major winner of new
licenses among the country's three national wireless carriers. (
http://bit.ly/1GD1iYN)
** The Conservative government is expanding its code of conduct
for the credit and debit card industry to cover the growing gray
area of paying for items with a smartphone. (
http://bit.ly/1GZV43W)
NATIONAL POST
** The Canadian Armed Forces say one of their ships helped seize
more than 600 kilograms of cocaine off El Salvador. The Forces say
HMCS Whitehorse helped the U.S. Coast Guard intercept a vessel,
where they found 15 bales of cocaine floating in the water nearby.
(
http://bit.ly/1I686vw)
** A Toronto immigration consultant has been charged with 88
counts for allegedly forging employment letters to obtain visas for
religious workers, the Canada Border Services Agency said on
Friday. (
http://bit.ly/1ciUZgy)
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
- A poll of several Chinese financial institutions told the
newspaper the country's GDP could average around 7 percent in the
first quarter of the year.
- Trust firms which plan to list on China's stock markets must
have made a profit for the last three consecutive years, according
to the country's securities regulator. The combined net profit over
the three-year period must be no less than 1 billion yuan ($161
million).
CHINA BUSINESS NEWS
- China's disciplinary watchdog said it was investigating the
chairman of China Mobile Ltd's business in northern Shanxi
province.
CHINA DAILY
- China has suspended top environmental officials in China's
northwestern Gansu province after a local firm was found to have
dumped 83,000 tons of waste into the region's Tengger desert.
SHANGHAI DAILY
- Shanghai authorities will extend a scheme to rein in booming
prices of properties near to popular schools, education officials
said on Sunday. Families will need to live longer in the property
before they can get their kids into local schools.
Britain
The Times
TRAVELODGE'S OWNERS TO CHECK OUT FOR 1 BILLION POUNDS
Travelodge is lined up for a sale that could value the budget
hotel chain at more than 1 billion pounds ($1.46 billion) only
three years after its rescue from the brink of collapse. Its owners
- Goldman Sachs, Avenue Capital and GoldenTree Asset Management -
are understood to be preparing to appoint advisers to weigh up
strategic options, including a flotation, on the back of soaring
profits and a surge of interest in the hotel sector.(
http://thetim.es/1OqmbaK)
MARK CARNEY 'NOT ABUSING NON-DOM STATUS'
The Bank of England has defended the non-dom status of Mark
Carney, insisting that the governor has not structured his affairs
to get around tax.(
http://thetim.es/1OqnV3U)
The Guardian
BRITISH HOLIDAYMAKERS LOSE MILLIONS IN INTERNET SCAMS, SAYS
REPORT
Fraudsters conned British holidaymakers out of 2.2 million
pounds ($3.22 million) last year through a series of Internet-based
scams, a report shows today.(
http://bit.ly/1Oqoc70)
UK FIRMS' HIRING INTENTIONS 'SKY HIGH' BUT CONCERNS PERSIST OVER
PRODUCTIVITY
Employers' hiring intentions are at a "sky high" level and
stronger than in the pre-recession boom, but concerns remain about
the UK's failure to grow productivity, according to a new report by
accountants and business advisers BDO.(
http://bit.ly/1OqooDf)
The Telegraph
ED MILIBAND'S DIRECT APPEAL TO SCEPTICAL VOTERS: 'TRUST ME ON
THE ECONOMY'
Ed Miliband will today ask sceptical voters to trust him on the
economy by putting a pledge to cut the deficit year on year on the
first page of Labour's general election manifesto.(
http://bit.ly/1Oqpajs)
Sky News
BUYOUT FIRM FLOWERS EYES BID FOR GENWORTH ARM
Genworth Financial, a troubled U.S. insurance company, is in
talks with one of the financial services industry's most prolific
investors, JC Flowers, about the sale of a business that includes a
range of products sold to UK customers.(
http://bit.ly/1z8E4lv)
CONSERVATIVES PROMISE TO CUT INHERITANCE TAX
The Conservatives have said they will take family homes out of
inheritance tax by introducing a new allowance which effectively
increases the threshold for tax to 1 million pounds.(
http://bit.ly/1OqoE5f)
The Independent
OPEN-MINDED SHOPPERS WILLING TO TRY NEW PRODUCTS LEADING TO A
BOOM IN ETHICAL SPENDING, SAYS REPORT
Shoppers who are happy to be the first to try out new products
are driving a boom in ethical spending, from electric cars to DIY
energy generation, according to Ethical Consumer magazine's annual
report.(
http://ind.pn/1OqoQRT)
GENERAL ELECTION 2015: 7.5 BLN POUNDS GAME CHANGER AS LABOUR
PLEDGES TO CRACK DOWN ON TAX AVOIDANCE
A Labour government will raise 7.5 billion pounds a year by
introducing a crackdown on tax avoidance, Ed Miliband says, as he
pledges his premiership will herald an era-defining end to the "old
assumptions" of allowing the rich to escape paying taxes.(
http://ind.pn/1OqoZov)
