6 August 2018
Question: What are the top three languages on the globe?
Finance world warns ending reliance on discredited Libor is harder than Brexit – Pg. 1
– …Libor remains at the heart of global finance, underpinning payments on at least $420tn of derivatives, corporate loans and mortgages
– One of the main concerns is that Libor might cease to exist before a full transition is complete
China’s young consumers drive sharp rise in borrowing – Pg. 3
– Combined with a rapid growth in mortgage household debt, consumer loans pushed household borrowing to Rmb33tn by the end of 2017, equivalent of 40% of GDP. The ratio has more than doubled since 2011
– The surge in consumer credit has so far helped Beijing to achieve its aim of making consumption the main driver of economic growth
– Consumer loan growth has been accelerated by the emergence of hundreds of online peer-to-peer lenders who collect money from retail investors and dispense small loans to consumers without collateral
– With average mortgage maturity about 16 years, a more realistic worry, …is that mortgage repayment will crimp consumption. Households use nearly 17% of monthly income to repay debt…up from 11% in 2013. For low-income households, it is 47%
BlackRock and Pimco accused of speeding US foreclosures – Pg. 13
– Pimco and BlackRock have been accused of accelerating foreclosure action against struggling US subprime borrowers in the aftermath of the financial crisis
– Pimco and BlackRock, with combined assets under management of about $8tn, are big investors in US mortgage-backed securities
Ratner deal signals fall of NY real estate families – Pg. 14
– Many of the legendary families of New York real estate were giving ground to companies like Brookfield, Blackstone and The Related Companies, backed by pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds looking for higher yields than could be found in the bond markets
Answer: (1) Chinese (1.3bn first-language speakers); (2) Spanish (440.0m first-language speakers); (3) English (372.0m first-language speakers)