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The Morning Ledger: Fed Grapples With Communication Challenge on Rates |
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a news conference in September. PHOTO: ALEXANDER DRAGO/REUTERS
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Good day. U.S. Federal Reserve officials will debate this week how to telegraph less certainty about the path of interest rates without signaling they are done raising them, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Wordplay: Fed officials have been debating how and when to remove language from their postmeeting policy statements that says the central bank expects “further gradual increases” in interest rates. President Trump argued Monday that it was “incredible” that Fed policy members were considering raising interest rates again, continuing his public campaign against tighter monetary policy.
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Economic outlook: The Fed expects U.S. economic growth to slow in the coming year, but the recent data remain solid. Employers are hiring at a pace strong enough to push down the already low unemployment rate. Retail sales and other measures of consumer spending have been strong. On the other hand, the rate-sensitive housing sector has slowed and manufacturing has sputtered.
Market response: U.S. government bond prices rose on Monday, reflecting expectations that Fed policy makers will scale back their forecasts for rate increases in 2019 and could also lower estimates for the pace of future growth.
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U.S. housing starts for November are due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by the WSJ expect housing starts to have slipped 0.7% to 1.22 million, while building permits are predicted to have slipped by 0.2% to 1.26 million.
ABM Industries Inc., Darden Restaurants Inc., FedEx Corp., Micron Technology Inc. and Navistar International Corp. are among the company's slated to report earnings today.
Yesterday's CFO Morning Ledger incorrectly stated ABM Industries would report on Dec. 17, 2018.
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BASF Plans More Price Increases to Offset Higher Raw Material Costs |
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BASF SE will continue raising prices in 2019 to offset the impact of higher raw materials costs, a challenging task for the world’s biggest chemical company as some of its customers might resist the move.
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The German chemical maker has raised prices across its product range this year, but the hikes haven’t been sufficient to offset the temporary run-up in oil-and-gas prices that is affecting its downstream business, Chief Financial Officer Hans-Ulrich Engel told CFO Journal’s Nina Trentmann.
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David Solomon, the new chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., was formerly the co-head of Goldman’s investment-banking division. PHOTO: JUSTIN CHIN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s push for Asian business and lax oversight of partners led the bank to dismiss warning signs in its dealings with a corrupt Malaysian investment fund, internal documents and interviews with people involved in the transactions show.
Carlos Ghosn’s drive to increase Nissan Motor Co.’s market share in the U.S. created tension with the company’s management, who felt his push came at the expense of investing in Japan.
CBS Corp. won't pay former Chief Executive Leslie Moonves any of his $120 million severance package in the wake of a sexual-misconduct scandal.
Johnson & Johnson faced continued concerns on Wall Street about the threat posed by lawsuits over the safety of the company’s signature baby powder.
Netflix Inc. has tapped former ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey as a vice president of original content, the latest evidence of the growing rivalry between the streaming-video giant and ABC parent Walt Disney Co.
Some investors in Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, questioned why the space exploration company had diverted resources and staffing to Mr. Musk’s tunnel-digging venture Boring Co.
Private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP is nearing a deal to buy StandardAero Aviation Holdings Inc. for about $5 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The U.S. government contends that U.S. wineries and global alcohol companies are seeking a tax advantage for imports over domestic production. PHOTO: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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The Trump administration on Monday finalized a regulation limiting the ability of U.S. wineries and global alcohol companies to reduce import taxes.
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T-Mobile US Inc. won approval from U.S. national-security officials for its planned takeover of Sprint Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, bringing the two rivals a step closer to closing their roughly $26 billion combination.
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UBS Group AG agreed to pay a combined $15 million fine over regulatory deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering program, U.S. regulators said Monday.
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The U.K.'s Big Four accountancy firms are facing a major shake-up under reforms proposed by the country's competition watchdog, the BBC reports.
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North Korea has accelerated a little-known program to use its abundant coal supply to produce synthetic gas, helping the isolated nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil and withstand sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear program.
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The USDA’s plan includes direct cash payments to producers of soybeans, hogs, sorghum, dairy products, cherries and other products. PHOTO: MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
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The U.S. government will make a second, multibillion dollar payment to U.S. farmers struggling against tariffs on American soybeans, pork and dairy products.
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Hedge funds raised record amounts of money for new launches in 2018, attracting $28 billion during the first half, but they are having a harder time turning that bounty into profits.
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A group of investors is demanding the Venezuelan government pay off both the interest and principal of a defaulted $1.5 billion bond that won’t mature until 2034, escalating the battle between bondholders and President Nicolás Maduro’s administration.
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Kroger Co., the Cincinnati grocer, said Chief Financial Officer Mike Schlotman will retire, effective Dec. 28, 2019. He will be succeeded by Gary Millerchip, currently CEO of Kroger Personal Finance.
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Mr. Schlotman has served as CFO since 2000, and will continue in as CFO until April 3, 2019. He will then remain with the company and continue to sit on the senior leadership team to ensure a smooth transition.
Mr. Millerchip joined Kroger as leader of its personal finance division in 2010 from Royal Bank of Scotland PLC. Compensation details were not available.
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