US says China not a ‘currency manipulator’ now

The Trump administration will no longer label China a currency manipulator. The move was announced ahead of the signing of the first phase of a new US-China trade deal on Wednesday. Washington had accused Beijing of weakening the renminbi to boost exports. China is now on a “monitoring list” which includes Germany, Ireland, Japan, Singapore and Switzerland. Sources: BBC, CNBC, Financial Times, Deutsche Welle and Marketwatch.  

US issues new foreign investment restrictions

Washington has exempted investors in three key allied countries--Australia, Canada and the UK--from some of its stricter rules on foreign investments. The US Treasury Department on Monday beefed up the review powers of Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to counter the influence of China and Russia. The rules apply to a number of sectors, including finance, infrastructure, property and technology. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times and Reuters.

US warns UK about using Huawei technology

Washington told London that using kit from the Chinese telecom outfit Huawei to build Britain’s 5G mobile network “would be madness”. Sources: BBC, Financial Times and The Guardian.

British economy shrank before general election

UK GDP declined by 0.3% in November. The news sent the pound down. Sources: CityAM, Financial Times, The Guardian, Independent, and Yahoo Finance UK.

Flybe in last ditch rescue talks

One of Europe’s largest regional airlines, Flybe, has asked the British government for help in order to avoid a collapse. Sources: BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian, Independent and Sky News.

Amazon & Walmart’s Flipkart face Indian competition inquiry

India’s antitrust regulator started an investigation into “preferred seller” practices at Amazon and Flipkart (owned by Walmart). Sources: CNN, Reuters and Techcrunch.

Travelex services coming back online

The currency exchange service Travelex said it restored some of its IT systems after facing a ransomware attack 2 weeks ago. Sources: Computer Weekly, The Guardian, The Telegraph and ZDnet.

Agenda

Tuesday 14 January, 5pm: Hip hop dance class in Mersch. Wednesday 15 January, 6pm: International School of Luxembourg alumni forum. Thursday 16 January: BNY Mellon earnings. Thursday 16 January, 1:30pm-5:30pm: Learn about improving Stem education for girls in Luxembourg. Thursday 16 January, 5pm: Delano journalists are guests on “The Jim Kent Show” on Radio 100,7. Saturday 18 January, 7pm: 9th Russian Charity Ball in Luxembourg.

Here are 6 investment fund stories you may have missed

Asset management: Bloomberg Businessweek wrote that the big three index fund managers--BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street--are “potentially the most powerful force over a huge swath of America Inc” with critics saying they are shirking their responsibilities and potentially stifling competition. Fund firms “say their sway over companies is vastly overstated.” Asset management: Blackrock, Vanguard and State street “control 81% of all ETF assets under management” per Seeking Alpha. Asset management: Vanguard declined to join Climate Action 100+, a group of fund managers pressuring energy firms to reduce CO2 emissions, per The Guardian. Asset management: Global fund managers were underweight on Apple last year and overweight on Microsoft, per Marketwatch. Private equity: After investing $500m last year, PE outfit Insight Partners is acquiring Swiss-based data protection provider Veeam for $5bn, per The Register. Private equity: Insight Partners also acquired Israeli IoT security provider Armis in a deal that values the company at $1.1bn, per No Camels. 

Royal ‘transition’ period

Queen Elizabeth announced a “period of transition” as the duke and duchess of Sussex “step back” from royal duties and split their time between Britain and Canada. The queen said in a statement that: “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family.” The queen also stated that she would have “preferred them to remain full-time working members of the royal family” and that “Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives.” Sources: BBC, The Guardian, NPR, Reuters and Sky News.

Academy Award nominations

“Joker” received the most Oscar nominations, 11, including Joaquin Phoenix in the best actor category. “The Irishman” and “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” picked up 10 nominations each. The ceremony takes place on 9 February. Sources: The Atlantic, CNBC, Independent, Oscars.org and Rotten Tomatoes.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald