Bangkok 2049: What do the next three decades hold for this neon metropolis? December 11, 2019 It looked like volleyball from afar. Up close, I realised the players were only using their feet. And the ball was hollow; a spherical rattan of bamboo. Sepak Takraw (or “Muzzle”) was being played with brio by a group of local boys on Phutharet Square, a Thai time capsule in Old City Bangkok. They invited [...]
Steel makers face another tough year ahead, says Moody’s December 10, 2019 European steel makers have been dealt a gloomy forecast for next year, as Moody’s ratings agency predicted slowing demand and deteriorating profitability for the industry. Key sectors using European-made steel such as the automotive industry are likely to need less of the material next year amid a wider market slowdown, it said. Read more: New [...]
Car sales fall for 17th straight month in China, as global market suffers December 10, 2019 Chinese car sales fell for a 17th consecutive month in November, as electric and hybrid car demand contracted yet again. Total automotive sales from the world’s biggest market fell 3.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Read more: Car production falls again amid [...]
FTSE 100 falls with European investors nervous over trade tensions December 10, 2019 The FTSE 100 has shed one per cent on a bad day for European shares ahead of a major tariff deadline that could exacerbate trade tensions between the US and China. Germany’s Dax index fell 1.46 per cent, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.89 per cent, and the pan-European Eurostoxx 600 fell 1.07 per cent. Read [...]
Swine flu helps push Chinese inflation to eight-year high December 10, 2019 Chinese consumer inflation climbed to close to an eight-year high in November, driven by a doubling of pork prices as African Swine Fever ravaged the country’s pig farms, official data showed today. Nonetheless, factory-gate prices fell for the fifth month in a row, highlighting the malaise in the country’s manufacturing sector brought about by the [...]
Sorrell’s S4 Capital appoints two new directors as it turns focus to Asia December 10, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s digital ad firm S4 Capital has appointed two new directors to its board as it turns its focus to Asia. S4 today announced that Naoko Okumoto and Margaret Ma Connolly will join as non-executive directors with immediate effect. Read more: Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital boosts revenue and profit The appointments mean that [...]
Jaguar Land Rover sales fall despite hopes for Chinese recovery December 9, 2019 Jaguar Land Rover sales fell last month, despite the car maker seeing “green shoots” of a recovery in the all-important struggling Chinese market. The manufacturer, which is owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, saw retail sales drop 3.4 per cent year-on-year in November. Read more: British car industry troubles run far deeper than Brexit But in [...]
Opec production cuts compliance could push oil price to $70 December 9, 2019 The combination of strong compliance of Opec and its allies with production cuts and a US-China trade deal could push the price of Brent crude to $70 by the second quarter of 2020. According to a note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, last week’s agreement to curb production by an additional 500,000 barrels a [...]
Margrethe Vestager says EU will review competition rules in light of increasing digitalisation December 9, 2019 The EU will review its rules on how it defines markets to react to increasing digitalisation, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said today. Vestager said it was time to review the EU’s market definition notice which has been in place since 1997. “Changes like globalisation and digitisation mean that many markets work rather differently from [...]
Asian markets subdued ahead of key US-China tariff deadline December 9, 2019 Asian stocks edged up on Monday following surprisingly strong US jobs data, but gains were subdued amid concerns over the ongoing US-China trade war. Concerns over Chinese economic slowdown due to the prolonged trade battle hit Asian equities as investors awaited news of whether the US will go ahead with plans to raise tariffs on [...]