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

balance: The resulting balance of -7 percentage points marks a reversal from 12 in the previous quarter is the first contraction in demand since September 2013, according to The Guardian. The decline is expected to continue, with 20% of firms predicting a further drop in business volumes over the coming quarter, versus 12% forecasting a rise, a balance of -9. The latest CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey showed the financial services sector had a difficult end to 2018, with just 24% of firms reporting a rise in business volumes in the three months to December, compared with 32% having experienced a decline. That is the weakest outlook since December 2009. A combination of macroeconomic and Brexit uncertainty, regulatory compliance and global market volatility are taking a toll on the UK's financial services sector, the CBI's chief economist, Rain Newton-Smith, said. The report said the pessimistic outlook was in line with subdued prospects for the wider UK economy given weak wage growth and the impact that Brexit uncertainty has had on investment. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

bulawayo: They came on the first day of a three-day general strike called by unions amid an intensifying economic crisis, according to The Guardian. There were clashes in the capital, Harare, and in Bulawayo, a city in the south, as police attempted to disperse groups of youths who had lit fires in streets, erected barricades and, in some cases, looted shops. The clashes were the worst outbreak of disorder in the southern African country since the aftermath of elections last year, when six civilians were shot dead by police. Other protesters blocked highways and tried to force companies that had remained open to comply with the shutdown. In the poor neighbourhood of Mabvuku, four civilians were reportedly shot and injured by police. In Chitungwiza, a satellite town of the capital where anti-government feeling runs high, a police station was reportedly besieged and automatic gunfire was heard. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

: The first quarter of 2019 is expected to be particularly weak in Canada due to an 8.7 per cent reduction in oilsands output that kicked in at the start of January, according to The Toronto Star. Ben Nelms / Bloomberg File Photo In the United States and Germany, the tentative signs of easing growth momentum that were flagged in last month's assessment have been confirmed, the Paris-based research organization said in a statement. The monthly composite leading indicators report Monday affirmed slowing growth across the 36-nation OECD with more declines on the horizon for Canada, the U.K., the Eurozone including Germany, France and Italy and in the United States where some cooling is expected later this year. Most forecasters have been anticipating a global slowdown, with the first quarter of 2019 being seen as particularly weak in Canada due to an 8.7 per cent reduction in oilsands output that kicked in at the start of January. Article Continued Below The OECD data, designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity up to nine months ahead, continues to flag stable growth in Japan, with easing momentum seen for Brazil and Russia. We do, however, continue to think growth will rebound from that weak showing as oil production ramps up and the rest of the economy continues to grow roughly at potential, said Scotiabank deputy chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault in an email. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

haidar: Ensaf Haidar, wife of the jailed Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi, shows a portrait of her husband as he is awarded the Sakharov Prize, in Strasbourg, France, according to The Toronto Star. Haidar isn't worried Ottawa's decision to take in teen refugee Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun will hurt her husband's case, even though there is speculation that the incident could further strain Canada-Saudi relations. Ensaf Haidar said the Canadian government did the right thing in granting refugee status to the 18-year-old woman who drew global attention after fleeing her allegedly abusive family. Christian Lutz / AP I'm happy for her, Haidar said in a phone interview. That's what a democratic country is. I'm very proud of Canada, too. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

news hour: And then we have a shutdown and so they can't go to work, and so then they have the vacation but they don't have to use their vacation days, Hassett told PBS during an appearance on News Hour, according to CNN. On Saturday, the ongoing partial government shutdown broke the record to become the longest government shutdown in US history -- with no end in sight. Huge share of government workers were going to take vacation days, say between Christmas and New Year's. The shutdown has impacted roughly a quarter of the federal government and hundreds of thousands of federal workers. And then they come back and then they get their back pay, then they're, in some sense they're better off, Hassett said. An estimated 800,000 federal workers have been affected by the lapse in funding -- either by having to work without pay while it lasts or by being furloughed. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

pitches: They weren't prepared for what happened next, according to Market Watch. Instead of the men getting more interest from the venture capitalists, it was the women. They sent out 80,000 investment pitches via email to 28,000 VCs and business angels across the country, half of them from fictional female entrepreneurs and half from fictional men, to see how many responded to each. Investment pitches from the likes of Mary, Meghan and Melanie' got back 8% more expressions of interest than those from the likes of Michael, Matthew or Mark,' the experiment found. We were definitely surprised by the gender results, says Will Gornall, a professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business and one of the lead authors of the study. Investment pitches from the likes of Mary, Meghan and Melanie received 8% more expressions of interest than those from the likes of Michael, Matthew or Mark. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

price momentum: Adding into the economic uncertainty is soft European data and escalating fears of an exit wreck, they said, referring to the U.K.'s withdrawal from the European Union, according to Market Watch. February gold GCG9, 0.13% rose 1.80, or about 0.1%, to settle at 1,291.30 an ounce, after closing on Friday with a 0.3% weekly advance. Clearly, concerns toward the global economy have been fomented Monday by the first monthly decline in Chinese exports in over two years, analysts at Zaner Precious Metals wrote in a daily note. Futures prices, which touched an intraday high of 1,296.60, again failed to settle at the psychologically significant level at 1,300, which could underscore upward bullish price momentum in bullion. Meanwhile, March silver SIH9, 0.16% added 3 cents, or 0.2%, to end at 15.686 an ounce, following a 0.8% weekly loss last week. Prices for the metal, based on the most-active contracts, tapped an intraday high of 1,300.40 on Jan. 4, but haven't managed to settle at or above 1,300 since June. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

u.s: Capital Confidential hears from a U.S. Embassy spy that when the American president arrived in London for his chaotic visit in July last year, he requested that he enter Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador's home in Regent's Park where he was staying with first lady Melania Trump, to the sound of the Village People's 1978 song Macho Man, according to Market Watch. It is understood the president's wish was granted. This week U.S. President Donald Trump's apparent affection for the Village People song Macho Man and an answer to the mystery of where the Lehman Brothers sign at Canary Wharf went ... Macho Donald Trump While Hillary Clinton is fond of the saying It takes a village, it seems her 2016 and current, per her Monday tweet adversary Trump takes the Village People. Even by the standards of Trump's reality-TV-style governance, this seems outlandish. Several of his pre-rally musical play lists, both before and after his election victory, featured Macho Man. Yet Trump is a well-known fan of the song, which is also a celebrated gay anthem. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

water conditions: Low water conditions and the heat may also have encouraged an algae bloom that starves the fish of oxygen and produces toxins, according to The Japan Times. We do expect to see more fish kills across parts of the far west and Northern Tablelands this week, said state minister Niall Blair. The banks of the Murray-Darling Rivers are thick with rotten fish, with officials putting the number of dead at hundreds of thousands and saying the toll is likely closer to 1 million. ; Further high temperatures forecast for this week could make the situation worse, the New South Wales government has warned. The deaths have become a national issue, sparking angry allegations about the cause and who is responsible. The sheer visual image of this is just terribly upsetting, he said. It's a devastating ecological event, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday, pointing to apocalyptic scenes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

unfiltered sen: Sen, according to The Japan Times. Elizabeth Warren guzzled a beer on the same online platform. Beto O'Rourke shared his dentist appointment on Instagram. And an unfiltered Sen. These American politicians may or may not be running for president in 2020, but they are united in their savvy social media use to raise their national profiles, appear more relatable to new voters and rake in millions of dollars in donations. ; The approach even when desperately oversharing personal lives online is a bold one, full of promise and some pitfalls. Cory Booker sends video selfies to young users on Snapchat. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

oil projects: Other lenders including HSBC, RBS and Lloyds outlined their own commitments last year, according to The Guardian. Despite meeting environmental activist groups including Greenpeace and Share Action while finalising the policy in recent weeks, Barclays stopped short of introducing a full ban on funding for oil projects linked to tar sands. Barclays is the last major UK bank to publish rules for how it will conduct business with companies involved in carbon-heavy industries such as oil and coal. The policy document says that any transaction where proceeds are used for exploration, extraction, processing or transport of tar sands oil including pipelines will face enhanced due diligence . The bank will also ask firms to prove they have considered the environmental and social impacts associated with their projects. The activist group occupied a Barclays branch in London, and thousands of customers threatened to switch banks unless Barclays promised not to invest in pipelines for tar sands oil. The UK bank was targeted by Greenpeace protests last month over its policy on tar sands oil projects, notably in Canada. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

sanders: Sanders noted that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen, according to CNN. Joseph Dunford will meet with his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday to continue consultations on Syria. The President expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey's security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement about the call. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a spokesperson for Dunford told CNN. Later Monday, Trump confirmed the phone call in a tweet. Dunford is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart this week on the sidelines of the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defense Session, which will be held Jan. 15-16 at the NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, Col. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

options: OneSignal ; One Signal.push function scope '/' ; var one Signal options ; one Signal options; true; true; ; Join Wall Street's Brightest Minds. ; Receive research in your inbox from top analysts, before the market opens, according to MSNBC. Click here to learn how. ; ; ; function document Init OneSignal var one Signal elements var function event event.prevent Default ; ; for var i 0; i i false ; if document.ready State 'complete' document Init OneSignal ; else function event document Init OneSignal ; ; body.custom-background background-image background-position center top; background-size cover; background-repeat no-repeat; background-attachment fixed; footer background-color ffffff; color 425b71; text-align center; footer .widget-area padding 0 0 0px; margin 0 0px; border-bottom 0px solid ececec; ul.dropdown .current page item a, ul.dropdown .current-cat a, ul.dropdown .current-menu-parent a, ul.dropdown .current page item a, ul.dropdown .current-cat a, ul.dropdown .current-menu-item a color 154A7F; .hr border-top 0px solid EEE; .widget h3.title, sidebar .tabberlive, articles .head title, h3.archive title, ul.dropdown li ul text-align center; border-top 0px; columns margin 0px 0 0px; .post h1.title text-align center; logo margin 0 0 0px; padding-top 10px; padding-bottom 10px; Hi New USOur Team Contact Golub Group Stake in Apple AAPL Decreased by 785,025 as Valuation Declined; Cisco Sys CSCO Holder Summit Securities Group Increased Holding by 1.66 Million as Market Value Declined Posted by James Jordan on January 14, 2019 at 5 23 pm Golub Group Llc decreased its stake in Apple Inc AAPL by 1.7% based on its latest 2018Q3 regulatory filing with the SEC. Golub Group Llc sold 3,489 shares as the company's stock declined 22.32% with the market. OneSignal window. The institutional investor held 202,345 shares of the computer manufacturing company at the end of 2018Q3, valued at 45.68 million, down from 205,834 at the end of the previous reported quarter. The stock decreased 1.67% or 2.54 during the last trading session, reaching 149.75. Golub Group Llc who had been investing in Apple Inc for a number of months, seems to be less bullish one the 708.29B market cap company. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

teixeira: Joao Teixeira de Faria, also known as John of God, was arrested in Brazil in December after hundreds of people came forward with allegations of rape and threats of violence, according to Nine News Australia. Many claimed they were underage at the time of the alleged abuse. To improve your experience update it here News World Notorious celebrity faith healer John of God 'sold babies' to Australians By Mark Saunokonoko11 39am Jan 14, 2019Facebook Tweet Mail The Brazilian celebrity faith healer accused of sexually abusing hundreds of women is now facing allegations he sold babies to foreigners, including Australians, for up to 70,000 each. Now, John of God has been hit with stunning new claims that he operated a baby-selling and human trafficking ring from his spiritual compound in Abadiania, 130km south-west of Brasilia. AAP Prosecutors have reportedly been given information that an unknown number of adoptive parents from five countries, including Australia and the US, bought Brazilian babies for a price between 27,000 and 70,000, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Spiritual healer Joao Teixeira de Faria, better known as John of God. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

trudeau: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets Minister of Rural Economic Development Bernadette Jordan at a swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Jan. 14, 2019, according to The Toronto Star. Trudeau is clearly hoping Jordan's appointment will blunt the Conservative edge in rural Canada, Chantal H bert writes. It was not designed to rock the Liberal pre-election boat. Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS In that spirit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau passed on his last opportunity to play musical chairs with the government's ministerial hot seats. Observers parsing the tea leaves will also look in vain for manoeuvres designed to shore up the government's defences on the increasingly volatile Alberta front. From finance to foreign affairs and including the environment, natural resources and immigration, he has elected to leave the portfolios that are expected to be particularly politically sensitive between now and the October election in the same hands. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cannabis cultivators: Cannabis plants are photographed during the grand opening event for the Cann Trust Niagara Greenhouse Facility in Fenwick, Ont., on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, according to The Toronto Star. Cannabis cultivators in Pelham, Ont, are getting complaints from local residents due to complaints about odour and light pollution. On hot humid days, it's worse because they have to vent more often ... You wouldn't be able to open your windows, he said. Tijana Martin / THE CANADIAN PRESS The town of Pelham, Ont., where Ireland lives an hour away from Toronto, near Niagara Region wine country has become a hotbed for legal commercial pot growers who have snapped up greenhouses and converted them from flowers and vegetables to the more lucrative crop. And while the community is receptive to the jobs the companies bring, mounting complaints about odour and light pollution at night have prompted residents such as Ireland to form a group aimed at keeping the industry in check. There are now six licensed marijuana production operations in the community of 17,500 people, and one cannabis company that has expressed interest, according to Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

kidnappers: Kopko's family agreed to pay the Bitcoin equivalent of 950,800 in ransom after his kidnappers made several calls threatening to kill him, according to the statement, according to CNN. But after a payment was made, the kidnappers stopped communicating with Kopko's family and he is still missing. William Sean Creighton Kopko, the owner of 5Dimes, an online gambling platform, was kidnapped on September 24 in Costa Rica, according to a statement issued by the Spanish Civil Guard on Saturday. Suspects traveled to Cuba Read More After the kidnapping members of the gang fled to Cuba, the Civil Guard statement said. The suspects who traveled to Spain were arrested after they rented a house in the city of Zaragoza, according to the news release. On November 9, Costa Rica informed the Civil Guard that three suspects had left Cuba and entered Spain through the Madrid-Barajas airport. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

email: Alex Wong/Getty Images2020Welcome to 2020, Juli n Castro! Here's How To Win by Losing, according to MSNBC. Running for president could make your career or it could end it. Email Sign UpBy signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. Be careful out there. That is not a huge knock on Castro. By BILL SCHERJanuary 13, 2019Continue to article content Facebook Twitter Email Comment Print Continue to article content Juli n Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has to know that is he almost certainly not going to be the Democratic Party presidential nominee. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

finance ministry: These two functions are not accorded equal weight and never have been, according to The Guardian. The Treasury has always been primarily a finance ministry that views its main task as ensuring the nation's budget arithmetic adds up. It is actually a super-ministry combining functions separated in many other countries management of the economy and control of the public finances. Down the ages, the Treasury has argued there is nothing incompatible about its two objectives. If the City is relaxed about the public finances it charges lower interest rates on the money it lends to the state. Running a tight ship helps growth, it is said, because it leads to the financial markets having more confidence in the government. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

peril: This is desirable because, compared to tomatoes, chillies are difficult to farm and capsaicinoids have other useful applications besides their flavour in pepper spray for example, according to The Guardian. Bananas Facebook Twitter Pinterest The beloved banana is in peril. Although tomatoes contain the genes for capsaicinoids the chemicals that give chillies their heat they are dormant Crispr could be used to make them active. Photograph Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters Genetically edited bananas could be resistant to a disease known as fusarium wilt that has been attacking plantations across the globe. Strawberries Facebook Twitter Pinterest Soon to be sweeter still Photograph Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters Sweeter and even peach-flavoured strawberries are being worked on by US scientists using Crispr techniques. Researchers at the Norwich-based startup Tropic Biosciences are using gene-editing techniques to develop a new, more resilient version of the fruit after securing 7.5m from investors. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

salt caverns: Storengy, a subsidiary of French energy giant Engie, said it will complete the final five of 20 salt caverns at Stublach in Cheshire this year, according to The Guardian. That will take its market share from around a quarter now to nearly 30%, far larger than other big players in gas storage, such as SSE. The 500m project started in 2007 and has prompted drilling into salt layers 500m deep, adding water to turn it into brine and then painstakingly extracting that over several years to create caverns to hold gas. A little-known firm employing just 50 people has risen to become the UK's biggest player in gas storage. Play Video 0 56 Snowy scenes across UK as 'beast from east' hits video The region has a long history of salt mining, with the voids used for other purposes including records from the National Archive. Catherine Gras, the company's managing director, said I think we need to have gas storage because it is really important for the gas and electricity markets. The first 10 of Storengy's caverns were finished and operational from 2016, and it has since added five more, with a final five due for completion by December. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

crunch point: The retail sector is facing particular scrutiny from short sellers, who in effect wager significant sums on certain shares falling in value, according to The Guardian. Uncertainty among consumers, with the Brexit process reaching a crunch point, comes at a time when retailers are already struggling to adjust to the move from physical shops to online. Odey Asset Management, part-owned by Crispin Odey, and Marshall Wace, part-owned by Sir Paul Marshall, have declared short positions against consumer-exposed companies, including retailers, estate agents and banks, equivalent to 149m and 572m respectively as rising political uncertainty threatens the economy. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Crispin Odey, a strong backer of Brexit. He also holds a position against struggling department store Debenhams that is worth 5.3m. Photograph Andy Sewell for the Guardian The hedge fund run by Odey, one of the most outspoken of the Brexit-backing hedge fund managers, holds a short position in Intu the owner of shopping malls including the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester that represented 33m worth of shares in the company at the end of last week. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

pension funds: The investors include some of the world's biggest pension funds, insurers and asset managers and marks the largest such intervention to date, according to The Guardian. They say fossil fuel subsidies must end and substantial taxes on carbon be introduced. Without these, the world faces a financial crash several times worse than the 2008 crisis, they said. Brutal news' global carbon emissions jump to all-time high in 2018Read more Ministers arrive at the UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, on Monday for its crucial second week, when the negotiations on turning the vision of the Paris agreement into reality reach a critical point, with finance for fighting global warming a key area of dispute. This is a recipe for disaster as the impacts of climate change can be sudden, severe and catastrophic. The long-term nature of the challenge has, in our view, met a zombie-like response by many, said Chris Newton, of IFM Investors which manages 80bn and is one of the 415 groups that has signed the Global Investor Statement. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

pension: Signatories to the letters, coordinated by the Share Action campaign group, include the Strathclyde Pension Fund, which is run by Glasgow city council, Hermes Investment Management and Nest, the state-backed workplace pension scheme, according to The Guardian. The investors have also targeted construction firms, which are particularly vulnerable to precarious work and low pay Share Action said. The chief executives of the utilities firms Severn Trent and United Utilities, homeware retailer Dunelm Group and telecoms firm Vodafone have received letters saying that paying the living wage to all staff and key contractors is the hallmark of a responsible business. Along with Balfour Beatty, the chief executives of Bellway, Bovis Homes and Crest Nicholson have received the letters. More must pay it Paul Butler Read more Only 37 of the firms in the FTSE 100 are living wage-accredited employers, while the number of Britons earning less than the living wage has risen to around 6 million people, according to the Living Wage Foundation, which sets the voluntary pay benchmark. The living wage is a powerful weapon against poverty. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

term: Patel's term was due to expire in September 2019, according to CNN. On account of personal reasons, I have decided to step down from my current position, Patel said in a statement. Governor Urjit Patel announced Monday that he was stepping down from his post, effective immediately. It has been my privilege and honor to serve in the Reserve Bank of India. Modi had reportedly been leaning on the RBI to relax lending criteria and use excess funds to boost economic growth before national elections next year. The surprise resignation comes just weeks after senior RBI officials warned the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against threatening the central bank's autonomy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

comcast corp: Timucuan Asset Management Inc who had been investing in Comcast Corp New Cl A for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the 170.20B market cap company, according to MSNBC. The stock decreased 1.24% or 0.47 during the last trading session, reaching 37.41. The hedge fund held 3.39M shares of the television services company at the end of 2018Q2, valued at 111.33 million, up from 3.35M at the end of the previous reported quarter. About 20.54 million shares traded. It has underperformed by 20.40% the S&P500. Comcast Corporation CMCSA has declined 4.78% since December 9, 2017 and is downtrending. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.