financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

australian competition: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will look at excessive charges for currency conversions and overseas credit cards use, according to Nine News Australia. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said millions of Australians were paying too much to the banks and shelling out 2 billion a year in foreign transaction fees. To improve your experience update it here News National Watchdog looks at foreign transaction fees11 49am Oct 2, holidays could become cheaper if a consumer watchdog inquiry into exorbitant foreign transaction fees is successful. We want to stop the rip-off, Mr Frydenberg said in Sydney. A customer of an Australian bank who travels overseas and spends 5000 on their credit card incurs about 140 in foreign exchange transaction fees. The ACCC will also look at charges for transferring money overseas and on prepaid travel cards. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

explan: Facebook Tweet Mail Listed companies with more than 250 employees will have to report how their chief executive's pay compares to the median worker's salary under a Labor government, according to Nine News Australia. Under the policy to be announced by shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh on Tuesday, firms would be required to report pay ratios and encouraged to provide a public explanation of their remuneration strategy. To improve your experience update it here News National Labor will force CEO pay ratios to be made public if elected1 17am Oct 2, 2018Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh and Labor Leader Bill Shorten. This policy addresses public concern that CEO salaries are growing at an unfair rate and leaving workers behind, Dr Leigh said. CEOs at the nation's 100 biggest ASX-listed companies took home an average 6.2 million of realised pay in 2017, according to Australian Council of Superannuation Investors figures released in July. By extending current market reporting requirements for public companies, it will help inform investors as they calculate risks and decide where to invest their money. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

week: Speaking before the fund's forthcoming annual meeting taking placenext week on the Indonesian island of Bali she said In July, we projected 3.9% global growth for 2018 and 2019, according to The Guardian. The outlook has since become less bright, as you will see from our updated forecast next week. Christine Lagarde used a speech in Washington on Monday to drop the broadest possible hint that the IMF would cut its global growth forecast when it unveils its latest health check on the world economy next week. How the IMF can manage the global economy better Read more Lagarde suggested the economic weather had started changing after the last annual meeting in Washington at the end of 2017, when much of the world was experiencing the strongest period for economic growth since the financial crisis. Growing use of trade barriers, such as higher taxes on foreign imports, has already lowered the level of imports and exports around the world, while there has been an impact on business investment and manufacturing output, she said. Although there are still bright spots from falling levels of unemployment and the proportion of the global population living in extreme poverty falling to a record low of less than 10%, she said some risks to the economy had begun to materialise. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

mr hayne: Analysts expect the availability of credit will tighten even further after banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC called out the banks for failing to fully assess a borrower's financial situation, according to Nine News Australia. Verification calls for more than taking the consumer at his or her word, Mr Hayne said in his interim report, dismissing bank arguments that verifying a consumer's outgoings is too hard. To improve your experience update it here News National Banks inquiry to affect borrowing capacity4 26pm Oct 1, will not be able to borrow as much money once banks move to fully verify their expenses, with some analysts tipping it will reduce maximum borrowing capacity by about 30 per cent. UBS banking analysts said Mr Hayne's statements show banks' attempts to validate borrower expenses by increasing the number of expense categories they collect during a loan application still does not constitute verification. UBS estimated current improvements and tightening of underwriting standards by the banks have already reduced maximum borrowing capacity for owner-occupiers by 7-10 per cent and by about 20 per cent for investors. We estimate that a move to full expense verification is likely to reduce maximum borrowing capacity by approximately 30 per cent, they said in a research note. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

sec lawsuit: The SEC lawsuit charging Elon Musk with misleading investors sparked a settlement resulting in Musk hiring a new chairperson and two new, independent board members, according to The Toronto Star. David Zalubowski / The Associated Press Musk is giving up the chairperson's role under a settlement announced Saturday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Whoever becomes the new chairperson of Tesla Motors will face the formidable task of reining in Elon Musk, the charismatic, visionary chief executive with an impulsive streak, while also helping Musk achieve his dream of turning Tesla into a profitable, mass-market producer of environmentally friendly electric cars. Besides a new chairperson, Tesla was also ordered to appoint two new, independent members to its board. The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit the SEC filed charging Musk with misleading investors in August with a tweet that said he had funding secured for taking the company private. A more assertive board could provide the kind of tighter oversight that many legal experts, and Tesla investors, say is overdue for a company of Tesla's market value. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

security tariffs: The new agreement, if ratified by the governments of all three countries, includes provisions to open the Canadian dairy market to American producers, some protection against the U.S.'s national security tariffs on autos, and the maintenance of Chapter 19 dispute resolution protections to allow trade disputes to be mediated through an independent tribunal rather than U.S. courts, according to The Toronto Star. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council after an agreement was reached in the NAFTA negotiations in Ottawa on Sunday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland rattled off details of USMCA which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement to reporters on Monday. Justin Tang / The Canadian Press Alberta's Minister of Economic Development and Trade Deron Bilous said the agreement provides certainty for Alberta businesses and in the face of how the agreement could have turned out, Alberta came out in good standing. It also preserves Chapter 19's dispute resolution provisions, which is good news. Today's agreement does provide trade certainty, he said on Monday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

stuart simpson: We are going to be looking at all the levers that we have across revenues and cost cutting said Stuart Simpson, the chief financial officer at Royal Mail, when asked directly about stamp price rises in a hastily organised conference call, according to The Guardian. Simpson also suggested jobs could be axed We are also looking at management layers, head office structure and all discretionary spending. Investors sent shares in the post and parcels group down almost 18% as the company refused to rule out higher stamp prices to rebuild profits. We are doing a full portfolio review. The company blamed a combination of factors, including a bigger than expected slump in marketing mail as a result of GDPR, the new EU regulations that put tighter controls on the gathering and storage of personal information, which has hit the amount of unsolicited or junk mail sent out. Royal Mail bosses wake up late to failed delivery of cost savings Nils Pratley Read more Royal Mail slashed its profits guidance for this year to 500m- 550m, compared with 694m last year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

surprise announcement: GE It's on the verge of a staggering milestone a half-trillion dollars in market value wiped out since that all-time high 18 years ago, according to The Toronto Star. On Monday the company made the surprise announcement that it was replacing chief executive officer John Flannery, who has been unable to stem the slide in the company's shares after just more than a year in the job. Apple and Trump have gone on to greater things. General Electric Co. has announced it is replacing chief executive officer John Flannery, who has been unable to stem the slide in the company's shares after just more than a year in the job. While the stock surged Monday after the announcement of the change at the top, the shares and the company have a massive hole to dig out from. Richard Drew / AP The iconic American corporation is now worth just under 100 billion, its stock at around 11 at Friday's close, and investors are signalling they don't expect things to get better. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

tower blocks: At 23 storeys of royal red and crystal, it stands out amid the residential tower blocks, with a diamond-like ornament spanning 20 metres topping it off to make extra-sure no one misses it, according to The Guardian. To build a hotel like this in a residential area seems strange,' says Daniel Yan, top. The 13 opened at the end of August at a total cost of 1.6bn 1.2bn and features 200 multi-level villas ranging in size from 2,000 to 30,000 sq ft. Bottom left an apartment building and the 13 skyscraper; right part of the hotel's fleet of bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantoms The 13 does seem a bit over the top, says Yan. Across the road is a public housing site. To build a hotel like this in a residential area seems strange as it's quite far from the casino strip. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

willie nelson: Beto O'Rourke D over the weekend at an event in Austin in support of the congressman's Senate campaign, according to MSNBC. The crowd reportedly topped 50,000, making it the largest campaign event for any candidate at any level since 2016. Willie Nelson joined Rep. Though Chamber of Commerce polls tend to lean in Republicans' direction, the Chamber's latest poll in Florida's gubernatorial race found Andrew Gillum D leading Ron DeSantis R 48% to 42%. The same poll showed Sen. Rick Scott R 48% to 46%. In southern California, Rep. Bill Nelson D narrowly ahead of Gov. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

brexit: On the other side were the conservatives, suspicious of change, according to The Guardian. When it comes to Brexit, though, the natural order of things has been reversed. On one side were the lefties, unhappy with the status quo and agitating for something different. The right has come up with all sorts of visions most of them dystopian of Britain's future outside the European Union. It's a bit more complicated than that. The left, for the most part, has spent its time praying for the vote in June 2016 to be reversed. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

deal: The Star's Canadian sources were less definitive, saying they had made progress but that it was possible a deal would not be had by Sunday, according to The Toronto Star. In a sign of the seriousness of the latest push to reach a NAFTA deal, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland postponed her scheduled Saturday speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Bloomberg News reported that the two sides were on the cusp of a deal. Alex Brandon / The Associated Press The core issues are not settled, a Canadian government official said at 8 30 p.m. on Saturday, warning of efforts to create deal momentum in the media. Both sides are hoping to get this done, the official added. The official said the two sides were intending to give each other a next to final set of proposals to consider overnight. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

european reform: The economic impact of the Brexit vote has been the subject of intense debate, with supporters and opponents of leaving the EU seizing on positive and negative data to reinforce their case, according to Nine News Australia. The Centre for European Reform, a research group that focuses on the European Union, said the British economy is about 2.5 per cent smaller than it would have been if the public have voted to remain in the bloc in June 2016. To improve your experience update it here News World Brexit costs UK A902m a week study9 29pm Sep 30, decision to leave the European Union has cost the government STG500 million A902 million a week, wiping out for the moment any future savings from stopping payments to the bloc, according to a study. Its findings were based on the impact on the economy until the end of June 2018. The Centre for European Reform, which describes itself as pro-European but not uncritical said it created a model of how Britain's economy could have performed had the campaign to remain in the EU won the referendum in 2016. Public finances have been dented by STG26 billion a year, the equivalent of STG500 million a week and a figure that is growing, the group said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

german: Hence the German situation in Hambacher the lignite has value because it can be sold to be burned, the 12,000-year-old forest has none unless the trees are cut down for economic use, according to The Guardian. And, in an infinite world, there are always more 12,000-year-old forests. This has the unintended consequence of rewarding destruction. This form of thinking might have been a useful simplification when human population and activities were at the levels of the Enlightenment, when much of the philosophy that still drives the economy was developed. But a resource that would have supplied an Enlightenment-sized population for 500 years would last today's just 35 years. Indeed, for any one individual the world is still a remarkably big place and it is difficult to imagine it running out of anything. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

nba game: He missed a bunch of shots but made a couple of others, according to The Toronto Star. And one thing rang true about Kawhi Leonard at the Rogers Arena here Saturday night He has not forgotten the nuances of playing in an NBA game. He made a nice pass a minute or two later that led to the pass that led to an open corner three-pointer. Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, battling with Trail Blazers forward Zach Collins, had 12 points in the Raptors' exhibition opener. The numbers weren't astonishing 12 points, a rebound, three assists, and a couple fouls in 19 first-half minutes but the encouraging signs were everywhere. JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Getting on a court at full speed for the first time since Jan. 13 or at least what full speed is for the first exhibition game of the season Leonard eased a few minds with his Toronto Raptors debut. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

results: Confused You're not the only one, according to The Guardian. But will the positive vibes be extended later this week when the chain announces its interim results Investors and commentators will be keeping a close eye on how the company is progressing in its ambitious recovery plans when the results are released on Wednesday. Next week the supermarket chain will celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Tesco Finest range by splashing out on a three-day exhibition you can eat . Guests are invited to step into the effervescent world inside a bottle of Tesco Finest vintage grand cru champagne and catch edible bubbles in one of six multisensory experiences at the event in Shoreditch, London, curated by two food alchemists. Chief executive Dave Lewis aims to earn between 3.5p and 4p of operating profit for every 1 that a customer spends by 2020. I think it will be a good update and I think Tesco will be on the front foot, said Clive Black from Shore Capital. Some industry observers are cautiously expecting positive news from the UK's largest supermarket, though this year is seen as a stepping stone for the company. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

woman: The body, believed to be a woman aged in her 70s, was located by police just after 2pm on Sunday near Queen's Wharf Reserve in Parramatta, according to Nine News Australia. The woman is yet to be identified, according to police, who are preparing a report for the coroner. To improve your experience update it here News National Woman's body found in Sydney river10 34pm Sep 30, 2018Facebook Tweet MailA woman's body has been found in Sydney's Parramatta River. The death is not being treated as suspicious. AAP 2018Continue reading New South WalescrimeCONTACT USSend your photos, videos and stories to 9News contact 9news.au Auto news The 2019 editions of the German luxury SUVs, BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE, is imminent - caradvice.au Top Stories'Please, stop ... Please, let me go'44 minutes ago The greatest pictures of legendary war photographer Max Nash60 minutes Stormy Daniels takes down Donald Trump in tell-all Australian interviewan hour agoA CURRENT AFFAIRElvis-dancing uni student bailed on terror charge friendly, fun' man42 minutes ago (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

musk: The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement just two days after filing a case seeking to oust Musk as CEO. The probe was started after Musk tweeted August 7 that he could take the company private for US 240 a share and that funding for such a deal had been secured, according to Nine News Australia. Elon Musk steps down as Tesla chairman, but remains CEO AAP In truth, Musk knew that the potential transaction was uncertain and subject to numerous contingencies, wrote the SEC, which had filed fraud charges earlier this week. To improve your experience update it here News World Elon Musk steps aside as Tesla agrees to 40m fine8 19am Sep 30, 2018Facebook Tweet MailUS carmaker Tesla has agreed to pay a US40 million A55.37m fine and have founder Elon Musk step down as chairman for misleading tweets about stock prices. It noted that the tweets caused significant market disruption. Under the deal, the new chairman of the board will be required to better supervise communications by Musk, who can remain as chief executive of the company famous for a range of highly coveted electric cars. According to the SEC statement, neither Musk nor Tesla admit any wrongdoing. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

company: The settlement allows Musk to remain CEO of the electric car company but requires him to relinquish his role as chairman for at least three years, according to Nine News Australia. Tesla must hire an independent chairman to oversee the company. To improve your experience update it here News World Tesla, Musk settle US govt suit for US40m9 40am Sep 30, and its CEO Elon Musk have agreed to pay a US40 million A55.37m fine and make a series of concessions to settle a government lawsuit alleging Musk duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement on Saturday, just two days after filing a case seeking to oust Musk as CEO. Musk, a billionaire, and Tesla, a company that ended June with US2.2 billion in cash, each are paying US20 million to resolve the case. Investors fretted about the company's ability to cope without Musk, a charismatic entrepreneur whose penchant for coming up with revolutionary ideas as drawn comparisons to one of Silicon Valley's most revered visionaries, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The deal could remove one cloud that hangs over Tesla. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

company: That was only an appetizer, according to The Toronto Star. Three months later, Opendoor has more than doubled its cash pile. The financing valued the 4-year-old company at more than 2 billion. On Thursday, the company said that Soft Bank's Vision Fund had invested 400 million in it. The haul is part of a race by investors to pour money into technology for real estate, or what Silicon Valley now calls proptech. The valuation for Opendoor remains the same. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

gown: It's a Ver-sayce. and some 18 years since J. Lo wowed in a barely-there green Versace gown at the Grammys a moment that fact! actually led to the invention of Google Image, because of the monumental online interest in those early days of the aughts . Allegra Versace and her mother Donatella Versace attend Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2012, one of the rare public appearances she has made, according to The Toronto Star. Stuart Wilson / GETTY IMAGES The glamour behind the Versace brand is matched only by family drama, with the elusive Allegra Versace at the heart of it. It's been 23 years since Versace veered into camp infamy courtesy of Elizabeth Berkley, as Nomi, in the cult trash film Showgirls Nice dress, her boyfriend says to her, in a now-famous scene, to which she blinks back, Thanks. VALERIO MEZZANOTTI / NYT This week, another milestone lay in the cards for the emphatically Italian brand.A wedding of sorts. It's another wild juncture in the family-owned brand's soapy and gothic story from its fanning of the supermodels phenomenon during the 1990s, to the broad-daylight 1997 slaying of its founder in Miami, as essayed most recently in the Ryan Murphy serial drama, The Assassination of Gianni Versace American Crime Story. To have and to hold the stunning fashion-world news that American Michael Kors is buying Versace for approximately 2.12 billion U.S., a value said to be worth 2.5 times the brand's current revenue, and also reported to be a primarily cash deal. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

trade: And after a horror 12 months which saw Bitcoin plunge by more than 60 percent most investors who were bold enough to invest are now wondering if they will ever reap any reward from their investments, according to Nine News Australia. While nothing in economics is certain, those who trade and invest are fairly confident it will happen but not straight away. To improve your experience update it here News National Bitcoin Price Is blockchain cryptocurrency still the future By Debra Killalea News Editor7 29pm Sep 29, highly volatile, can be extremely risky, and is something most have heard of but don't know much about. Bitcoin is highly volatile so don't expect to get rick quick. Mr Schebesta admits the high risk and volatility is a large reason why some people shy away from buying crypto, but said it's not the biggest reason. Getty According to Fred Schebesta, Co-Founder of Finder-backed cryptocurrency financial services company Hive Ex, crypto is basically digital gold and like the real thing, is more of a long-term investment. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

african nation: A tourist takes photos of a male silverback mountain gorilla in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda, according to The Toronto Star. Conservation is big business in the East African nation where tourism is the top foreign exchange earner. Earlier this year the WWF conservation group said the mountain gorilla subspecies was making a comeback, with numbers above 600 from an estimated 480 in 2010 in the Virunga Massif, a mountainous area encompassing parts of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo. Ben Curtis / The Associated Press In Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, tourists routinely trek to see gorillas in their natural habitat. In May 2017 the government doubled the price of a permit to visit the gorillas from 750 to 1,500, making the fee the highest in the region. Conservation is big business in the East African nation, where tourism is the top foreign exchange earner. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

bond investors: Source Bloomberg react-empty 248 More From Bloomberg Real Yield22 26'Bloomberg Real Yield' Full Show Thiel Says the Fed Has Found Its 'Happy Place'06 46Italy's Populist Budget Draws Concern From EU, Bond Investors22 26'Bloomberg Real Yield' Full Show 09/21/2018 All episodes and clips Bloomberg Markets Bloomberg Markets is focused on bringing you the most important global business and breaking markets news and information as it happens, according to Bloomberg. More episodes and clips01 45 56'Bloomberg Markets The Close' Full Show 9/28/2018 01 53How LVMH's New Designer Might Shift the Luxury Landscape01 28How Alexiam's Connor Is Trading GW Turbulence Not Impacting U.S. Bonds, Eaton Vance's Gaffney Says Quick Take Explaining the world with Bloomberg News More episodes and clips02 43It's Getting Harder to Spot a Deep Fake Video03 15Why Japan's Women Problem Is So Hard to Fix02 35Quantum Computing Is One Step Closer to Reality02 08China Could Soon Become the Detroit of Electric Cars The David Rubenstein Show The David Rubenstein Show Peer-to-Peer Conversations explores successful leadership through the personal and professional choices of the most influential people in business. Diana Amoa, fixed income portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, Scott Thiel, deputy CIO of global fundamental fixed income at Black Rock, and Colin Robertson, head of fixed income at Northern Trust Asset Management, talk with Bloomberg's Jonathan Ferro about emerging markets, high-yield bonds and Treasury yields turning negative for European and Japanese buyers. More episodes and clips48 11The David Rubenstein Show Jeff Bezos24 03The David Rubenstein Show Dr. Jim Yong Kim24 05The David Rubenstein Show Oscar Munoz24 02The David Rubenstein Show Dennis Muilenburg See all shows (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

bond portfolios: Italy's new government proposed a 2019 budget with a deficit three times bigger than the previous administration's target, sparking a sell-off in shares in Italian banks, whose big sovereign bond portfolios make them sensitive to political risk, according to Nine News Australia. Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds ticked lower and weighed on the shares of US lenders, with Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Bank of America trading down between 0.30 per cent and 0.50 per cent before the bell. To improve your experience update it here News World Futures dip as Italy's deficit woes weigh9 55pm Sep 28, 2018Facebook Tweet MailUS stock index futures dipped on Friday, the last trading day of the third quarter, on worries over Italy's proposed budget, with investors keeping a close eye on a potential trade deal between the United States and Mexico. The Italian deficit situation is leaning on stocks futures causing the yield curve to narrow and putting upward pressure on the greenback, Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, wrote in a note. President Donald Trump, who wants major changes to the NAFTA, has already wrapped up a deal with Mexico and is due to publish the text on Friday. Also weighing was a pullback in the so-called FAANG group of stocks - Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google-Parent Alphabet - which led a rally on Wall Street on Thursday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

control: Johnson quit the government in July, citing his opposition to the prime minister's plan for close regulatory and economic ties with the European Union after Britain's departure, according to Nine News Australia. He told the BBC in an interview on Friday that May's proposal doesn't take back control, it relinquishes control . May's plan forfeits control because it means accepting EU rules, Johnson said. To improve your experience update it here News World Boris Johnson won't rule out PM challenge3 36am Sep 29, British foreign secretary Boris Johnson says Prime Minister Theresa May's blueprint for Brexit would be a political and economic disaster and he refused to rule out trying to replace her. He advocates a looser Canada-style agreement that would leave Britain freer to strike new international trade deals. Britain's governing Conservatives are deeply divided over how to proceed. With six months to go until Britain leaves the EU on March 29, negotiations on the terms of the divorce are at a standstill. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.