HSBC, Europe’s largest bank with $2.5 billion in assets, is cutting 35,000 jobs and dumping $100 billion in riskier investments by the end of 2022. The bank is shrinking its lending in Europe by 35 percent and in the U.S. by 45 percent, while redirecting those assets to higher-growth areas mainly in Asia, where it is also relocating some operations...
CORONAVIRUS CRASHES AIRLINE REVENUES
Airlines around the world have cancelled thousands of flights to or through China, and some Asian carriers report be near to failure from the loss of revenue. In recent years, China has become the world’s second largest airline market, behind the U.S. Many airlines added routes and staff and bought more planes to service that market. Now air travel in...
OECD WARNS ABOUT CORPORATE DEBT
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the global group of 36 major nations, has issued a warning about the swift increase of corporate debt around the world and the dangers it poses if interest rates rise or a recession takes hold. By the end of 2019, outstanding corporate bonds held by companies outside the financial industry totaled $13.5 trillion...
DOMINO’S KNOWS: FORGET THE “HEALTHY FOOD” HYPE
Last week, Domino’s Pizza reported $129.3 million in profits in 2019’s fourth quarter on revenue of $1.15 billion. Sales were up 3.4 percent during the period, topping expectations of 2.3 percent. The chain’s share price rose 26 percent after the figures were released. Domino’s is one of the few fast-food chains to refuse to work with delivery services such as...
BROKERAGE BIGS GET BIGGER
Franklin Resources, the parent company of the Franklin Templeton mutual funds family, has bought Baltimore-based investment company Legg Mason for $4.5 billion. Franklin offered $23 in cash for each outstanding Legg Mason share, a 23-percent premium over the trading price on 14 February. Franklin also will take on Legg Mason’s $2 billion in debt. After the sale was announced, Legg...
NOT YOUR FATHER’S CAR BUSINESS
Auto sales to people ages 35 and younger fell 4.5 percent in 2019, according to J.D. Power. In contrast, sales to those 56 and older grew 1 percent. The difference illustrates two market shifts. First, carmakers are making fewer small sedans and hatchbacks and are producing more SUVs and trucks, which are selling strongly while gas prices are low. Sales...
U.S. GAS INDUSTRY GETTING “FRACKED”
Fracturing, or “fracking,” rocks deep in the Earth to release and harvest natural gas has made the U.S. an energy exporter, kept fuel prices low by pushing out more supply than there is demand, while hitting the domestic coal industry hard. But the fracked wells’ renowned bounteous productivity has left many gas producers facing bankruptcy. Fracked wells are expensive to...
ARGENTINA: FLAT BROKE
It “is not economically nor politically feasible” for Argentina to fully repay its more than $100 billion foreign debt, according to the International Monetary Fund. Creditors will need to make a “meaningful contribution” to help end the country’s financial turmoil, the IMF added. Private creditors will be expected to write off some portion of what’s owed them. Governments and international...
WALMART’S WEAKER SALES MAY SIGNAL ECONOMIC TROUBLE
Walmart, the U.S.’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, reported sales rose 1.9 percent in November, December, and January, compared with 4.2 percent during the same period a year earlier and 3.2 percent in 2019’s third quarter. Operating income dropped 3.7 percent in last year’s final three months. Holiday sales of clothing, toys, and video games were slow, the retailer said. The chain’s...
SHOPPERS SITTING ON THEIR WALLETS
U.S. consumer spending rose 0.3 percent from December to January. The increase came in sales by auto dealers, gas stations, restaurants, and home and garden supply stores. Outside of those categories, sales were flat from month to month. Analysts had expected an increase. Retail sales figures for last October and November have been revised downward, leading analysts to believe that...