29 August 2019
Question: According to MSN: Money, what percentage of married couples in Washington DC earn over $100k and what is there monthly disposable income?
Uproar as Johnson shuts down parliament to protect Brexit plan – Pg. 1
- Boris Johnson plunged Britain in to a constitutional uproar yesterday when he announced plans to shut down the UK parliament for five weeks, daring opponents of his Brexit strategy to vote down his government in a sharp escalation of tensions in Westminster
- The prime minister asked the Queen to prorogue parliament between the second week of September and October 14 – the longest suspension since 1945
- Mr Johnson has insisted that the UK will exit the EU on October 31, with or without a deal
- …Mr Johnson hopes that it will focus minds in Brussels on delivering a new Brexit deal without the Irish border backstop – an insurance policy to avoid a hard border with Ireland through a temporary customs union
DeBeers diamonds in a rough patch as oversupply and artificial gems hit sales – Pg. 1
- DeBeers, the world’s largest diamond miner by value, said yesterday that sales of rough diamonds plummeted 44% at its auction last week in Botswana, down to $280m compared with $503m in the same period a year ago
- Macroeconomic uncertainty and, in particular, the trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest diamond-consuming countries, has fueled nervousness among wholesalers and retailers
- Diamond buyers, who polish and cut diamonds for retailers, are struggling to make money this year because of lower prices and tighter credit, prompting them to delay purchases
- Shares in Signet, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, have fallen more than 60% this year
China considers corporate ‘social credit’ system – Pg. 12
- Foreign companies operating in China are unprepared for tougher sanctions under a corporate “social credit” system imposed by Beijing,…
- Sanctions that can be imposed by regulators depending on compliance include fines, targeted audits, restricted issuance of government approvals and exclusion from preferential policies and public procurement contracts,…
- The system aims primarily to improve the enforcement of existing regulations, and in many foreign companies could benefit as they often have better compliance in areas such as environmental pollution…
- The measure could give Beijing more leverage over companies perceived to have violated China’s stance on politically sensitive issues…
Norway oil fund eyes unlisted holdings – Pg. 14
- Norway’s $1tn oil fund should be able to take stakes in large unlisted companies, the investor’s manager has proposed, as it seeks greater exposure to private technology groups
- …recommended yesterday that it be allowed to hold up to 1% of its equity portfolio in unlisted companies, equivalent to about $7bn
- Norway’s central bank yesterday proposed getting rid of the requirement for “an intention” to float and instead allow the fund to own “large companies that are not yet listed”
- …the fund has record holdings in equities, with 69.3% of its assets in shares. It began in 1996 only investing in bonds
Outlook for S&P 500 profits dim as trade war bites – Pg. 17
- Companies in the S&P 500 index will increase profits 2.4% on a per-share basis this year, down from the 7.7% growth expected at the start of the year…
- The 5.3%-point drop in full-year earnings expectations marks the largest decline on a year-to-date basis since 2016
- Trade tension between the US and China escalated last week when Beijing said it was preparing to slap tariffs on $75bn of US imports and President Donald Trump responded with a plan to increase levies on Chinese goods and what he called an order for US companies to “immediately” find alternatives to China
- The lower profit outlook follows anaemic growth in US capital spending this year after a surge in 2018 when lower corporate taxes came into force
Answer: 66.7% and -$700/mo (Prof Note: That is a negative $700/mo, i.e. lose money per month)