We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
British Airways parent International Airlines Group confirmed the purchase of Irish carrier Aer Lingus on Tuesday, saying offers for 96 per cent of its share capital had been accepted.
PHOTO: AFP
[LONDON] British Airways parent International Airlines Group confirmed the purchase of Irish carrier Aer Lingus on Tuesday, saying offers for 96 per cent of its share capital had been accepted.
IAG, which also owns Spain's Iberia, confirmed its offer had been accepted by Irish carrier Ryanair, which had owned 29.8 per cent of the former Irish flag-carrier.
"Ryanair's acceptance was a condition of the offer which is now wholly unconditional as all the conditions have been satisfied," IAG said in a statement.
Now with 95.77 per cent of Aer Lingus' share capital, the group urged remaining shareholders to accept the offer by September 1.
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"We'd like to welcome Aer Lingus into IAG," said the group's chief executive Willie Walsh.
"It will remain an iconic Irish brand with its base and management team in Ireland but will now grow as part of a strong, profitable airline group." IAG offered guarantees to the Irish government in order to secure the deal, including maintaining the Aer Lingus brand and existing routes, and creating new jobs.
The deal was backed by the European Commission last month, subject to conditions aimed to address concerns over competition.
Fitch raises Greece rating after new bailout deal struck
Fitch Ratings raised its credit grade for Greece by one notch to CCC Tuesday, saying the new bailout deal reached with EU institutions lowered the chance of a new default.
PHOTO: AFP
[WASHINGTON] Fitch Ratings raised its credit grade for Greece by one notch to CCC Tuesday, saying the new bailout deal reached with EU institutions lowered the chance of a new default.
The August 14 deal setting the framework for a third rescue programme "has reduced the risk of Greece defaulting on its private sector debt obligations," Fitch said.
At CCC, the new rating for Greece remains deep in junk-bond territory, reflecting the tenuousness of the 86 billion euro (S$133.2 billion) rescue deal and the need for official debt relief to render Athens's finances sustainable over the medium term.
"The risks to the programme's success remain high," Fitch said in a statement.
The rating agency assumed that the deal would be finalized in time for Greece to make a 3.2 billion euro bond repayment on August 20.
But it noted that "it will take some time for trust to be restored between Greece and its creditors, which increases the risk of delayed programme reviews."
"Meanwhile, the political situation in Greece remains unpredictable." Fitch also noted that the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the new programme, seen as essential by the European Union creditors, is "uncertain" and tied to "significant" debt relief.
The dollar was largely steady against most major rivals on Tuesday except for the pound, which firmed after British inflation data supported expectations of a Bank of England interest rate hike.
PHOTO: AFP
[NEW YORK] The dollar was largely steady against most major rivals on Tuesday except for the pound, which firmed after British inflation data supported expectations of a Bank of England interest rate hike.
"The trading this week is much more technically based than fundamentally based" for the euro and the dollar, said Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management.
Not only was the market absent a number of traders during the summer holiday peak, but there were few US and European indicators to give direction, except for a rise in US housing starts in July and the British inflation report.
"Tomorrow obviously is going to the big day of the week with the FOMC minutes and perhaps we'll get some movement after that," Mr Schlossberg said.
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The Federal Open Market Committee has kept the benchmark federal funds rate near zero since late 2008 to support the economy's recovery from the severe 2008-2009 recession. The minutes of the FOMC's July meeting were scheduled for release Wednesday at 1800 GMT.
The minutes could give insight into the timing of the interest rate increase planned for this year, perhaps as early as September.
The pound, meanwhile, advanced after official data showed that Britain's annual inflation rate rose to 0.1 per cent in July from zero in June.
"Markets rewarded the pound with a pop to its highest in nearly seven weeks after a surprise uptick in UK inflation bolstered views that Britain was among a sparse global community contemplating higher interest rates," said Joe Manimbo of Western Union Business Solutions.
So much has been said about Asia's economic growth story that we forget just how precarious it actually is, say top executives in the region.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Singapore
SO MUCH has been said about Asia's economic growth story that we forget just how precarious it actually is, say top executives in the region.
Many challenges - including a fragile middle class, tendencies towards protectionism, and the severe lack of infrastructure - still stand in the way of the Asian century becoming a reality.
At the inaugural Asia Pacific CEO Congress that kicked off on Tuesday, executives from leading multinational corporations painted a realistic if not sobering picture for the region.
"Despite all the optimism in Asia, we are really at a crossroads," said Unilever president for Asean and Australasia Peter ter Kulve, speaking at the "Unfolding of the Asian century" panel session.
"Over the last two years, consumers have been falling out of the middle class in large parts of Asia, creating economic and social tension," he observed, citing the slowdown in China's economy and the recent collapse in commodities prices as possible reasons.
The fallout could be cyclical, but it probably isn't only cyclical, he said. "This makes it important from the policy point of view, as well as the business point of view to embark on structural improvements to the system, because you get stuck otherwise."
Mr ter Kulve also highlighted the inclination towards protectionism as a potential roadblock in Asia's growth path.
While the Asean Economic Community (AEC) trading bloc has brought on progress, instincts are still very protectionistic in many countries, he said. These countries don't have the skills to build up the capacity to compete in the global market as a result, he added.
In a nod to the diversity of economies in the region, chairman and founder, Brad Peters, of cloud-based business intelligence firm Birst urged for greater economic integration. "There are really positive complementaries if you think about what an Asian division of labour would look like, because there are manufacturing economies still, agricultural economies, and knowledge economies."
The more integration you strive towards, the more positive the division of labour across different economies in the region, he said.
Managing partner of geo-strategic firm Hybrid Reality, Parag Khanna, commented that even more can be done in the area of infrastructure, especially for Asia's second tier cities.
Citing the example of Jakarta, he noted the "wobbliness" of the growth model in a number of Asia's emerging markets, where countries of more than 150 million people depend on one or two cities for 30 to 50 per cent of national gross domestic product (GDP).
"Too much of the economic growth story in emerging markets in Asia depends on the economic fortunes of one or two cities . . . and that's extraordinarily lopsided and dangerous," he said.
Bill Gates has increased his overall investment in Canadian National Railway Co. to 13.83 percent.
The world’s richest man and Microsoft founder purchased 1,077,175 shares in Canada’s largest railway between July 31 and Aug. 6 through his Kirkland, Washington investment company Cascade Investment LLC. Separately, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which he also controls, owns 2.14 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, for a combined value of roughly $8.8-billion.
Individual CN shareholders are capped at 15 percent ownership. Gates has been building his position in the railway since 2006.
