Monday, 17 June 2019

Monday Morning Briefing: How Japan turned against its 'bazooka'-wielding central bank chief

Top News

An intense debate is under way in the Bank of Japan over why Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s assumptions about how he could fundamentally change the trajectory of the economy were proved wrong. A Reuters report sheds light on the backroom jousting in the bank and the global implications of how the debate plays out.

Freed Hong Kong democracy activist joins mass calls for leader to quit. Activist Joshua Wong, who has become the face of Hong Kong’s push for full democracy, walked free from prison and vowed to join a mass protest movement demanding that the city’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, steps down. Here is a look at a second weekend of mass protests, as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says sorry.

At least 30 North Korean escapees have been rounded up in a string of raids across China since mid-April, according to family members and activist groups. It is not clear whether this is part of a larger crackdown by China, but activists say the raids have disrupted parts of the informal network of brokers, charities, and middlemen who have been dubbed the North Korean “Underground Railroad”.

Paris Air Show

Safety concerns, trade wars and growing security tensions in the Gulf are dampening spirits at the world’s largest planemakers as they arrive at this week’s Paris Airshow with little to celebrate despite bulging order books. The aerospace industry’s marquee event is a chance to take the pulse of the $150-billion-a-year commercial aircraft industry. For more coverage and the latest news from Paris.

Airbus launched a long-range version of its A321 jet at the Paris Airshow, aiming to carve out new routes for airlines with smaller planes and steal a march on rival Boeing’s plans for a possible new mid-market jet. The European planemaker will announce close to 200 orders for the new model - the A321XLR - over the week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Boeing executives took turns to apologize for the loss of life in two 737 MAX crashes and pledged to apply lessons of the crisis to future planes as the world’s largest aerospace company struck a chastened tone at the opening of the Paris Airshow.

Business

Deutsche Bank is planning to overhaul its trading operations by creating a so-called bad bank to hold tens of billions of euros of non-core assets, a source close to the matter said.

Huawei’s founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said the impact of a U.S. ban on the Chinese company was more severe than expected and warned that revenue would dip to around $100 billion this year and the next. Huawei’s American chip suppliers, including Qualcomm and Intel, are quietly pressing the U.S. government to ease its ban on sales to the Chinese tech giant, even as Huawei itself avoids typical government lobbying, people familiar with the situation said.

Exclusive: A long-running criminal probe into diamond sales by Italian banks has uncovered what prosecutors say is further evidence of corruption by officials at UniCredit, Italy’s largest lender, and smaller rival Banco BPM. Reuters viewed the documents, which also included excerpts of wire taps and witness statements. The allegations relate to suspected crimes and do not necessarily mean that prosecutors will charge the companies and their employees when their investigation, which has been running since 2016, is concluded.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, facing fresh demands by President Donald Trump to cut interest rates, is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged at a policy meeting this week but possibly lay the groundwork for a rate cut later this year. New economic projections that will accompany the U.S. central bank’s policy statement on Wednesday will provide the most direct insight yet into how deeply policymakers have been influenced by the U.S.-China trade war, Trump’s insistence on lower interest rates, and recent weaker economic data.

World

In historic shift, Vatican to consider married priests for Amazon region

A Vatican document said the Church should consider ordaining older married men as priests in remote areas of the Amazon, a historic shift which some say could pave the way for their use in other areas where clergy are scarce.

3 min read

Johnson gets boost in race for UK PM's job as former rival backs him

Boris Johnson got a boost in his bid to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May when one of his former rivals backed him and said he was almost certain to win the contest.

4 min read

Triple suicide attack kills at least 30 in northeast Nigeria

At least 30 people have been killed in a triple suicide attack in northeast Nigeria, state emergency services officials said. Three suicide bombers detonated explosives in the village of Konduga, 25km (15 miles) from Maiduguri, the state capital of Borno state, on Sunday night, village head Bulama Kalli said.

1 Min Read

Indian doctors stage nationwide strike over 'inhuman' working conditions

Hundreds of thousands of doctors across India went on strike demanding better working conditions, the country’s top medical body said, as the outrage over lax security conditions at hospitals escalated.

3 min read

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