Stories for January 8th 2019

Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 10:11 UTC
Financial sector leading firms plan to launch an equities exchange: “Members Exchange”

A group of nine leading retail broker-dealers, banks, financial services firms, and global market makers, have agreed to launch an equities exchange, MEMX, or Members Exchange. The new exchange will be owned entirely by its founding members and will seek to deliver benefits to retail and institutional investors by introducing greater competition to the marketplace. MEMX will file an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early 2019 for approval to operate as a national securities exchange.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:28 UTC
Brazilian government and Petrobras in dispute over billions of dollars

Brazil’s Economy Ministry denied that the government would pay US$ 14 billion to state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA to settle a dispute over an oil-producing zone off the Brazilian coast known as the transfer-of-rights area.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:25 UTC
US taxpayers will receive refunds, pledges Trump despite government shutdown

Millions of US taxpayers will still receive refunds despite an ongoing partial government shutdown, the White House has said. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has previously delayed tax refunds during a government shutdown.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:21 UTC
France plans hooligan-type legislation to crackdown “yellow vest” violent protests

France plans to introduce legislation to toughen sanctions on undeclared protests in response to violent “yellow-vest” demonstrations, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday in a hardening of the government’s stance on the unrest.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:15 UTC
Magellanic penguins: among the most faithful couples in animal kingdom

Mark Waghorn, writing for The London Economic, and based on a paper on Magellanic penguins published in the January edition of Current Biology, gives us access to some fascinating facts about this breed which is most common along the Atlantic Patagonia coast and the Falkland Islands.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:46 UTC
Sao Paulo Shimbun, Japanese community voice in Brazil, printed its last edition

The Sao Paulo Shimbun newspaper has printed its final edition, ending a 72-year run as a vital reference point and voice for Brazil’s several million Japanese community — the largest in the world outside of Japan.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:42 UTC
First Minister Sturgeon: Brexit has strengthened the case for Scottish independence

Brexit has “materially strengthened” the case for Scottish independence, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The First Minister said Scotland’s interests are being “completely ignored and sidelined” and that what has happened in the last two years has reinforced the case for it to leave the UK.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:37 UTC
World Bank President steps down; possible differences with Trump's policies

World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022, after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:20 UTC
MSC Cruises celebrates the float out of “Grandiosa”; she will be delivered next October

MSC Cruises has celebrated the float out of MSC Grandiosa at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France where the ship is being built. She has now been moved to a wet dock, where work on the ship will continue until her delivery in October 2019.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 07:32 UTC
Ryanair, UK's least liked short-haul airline for sixth year running

Ryanair has won the dubious honor of the UK's least-liked short-haul airline for the sixth year running. The results from a Which survey of airline passengers ranked Ryanair at the bottom of 19 carriers flying from the UK. A Ryanair spokesperson said the airline's success was not reflected in the survey.