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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 JULY 2016 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way Market Commentary: Markets rally continues Global fi nancial markets rallied to- day following a combination of the sole candidacy to succeed David Cameron as British Prime Minis- ter, which reduced political uncer- tainty and the electoral success for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo. The Japanese electoral success is set to award markets with another ten trillion yen (approx. €88 bil- lion) in a new stimulus package. This means a third consecutive rise extending gains also after a stronger than expected US jobs report and with investors also rely- ing on the possibility of more mon- etary easing by the central banks. Mining, industrial and technology shares were among the strongest gainers. Despite a strong US jobs report figure, investors are still reluctant on whether the Federal Reserve will raise the interest rate, keeping in mind that Brexit will still have its effects. In fact, the Bank of England is set to initiate stimulus with a rate cut, and/or increase quantitative easing to counter effect the Brexit uncertainty. On the Currency side, the US Dollar rose against a basket of major currencies and jumped around 1.9% against the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the GBP, which had earlier been down against the US Dollar, increased around 0.3% against the greenback, on the news that the only rival to Minister Theresa May withdrew from the Prime Minister race. Today the EUR was flat against the US Dollar trading at around 1.1048. Prices of crude oil futures were shaky with a lower demand in Asia being the primary price mover, along with the higher output from Canada and Iran. Iran announced it regained 80% of the market share it had held before the sanctions in 2012. Meanwhile, the expanded production in Canada is threatening to clog pipelines and pulling down the country's crude price to around $30 a barrel. Aerospace … The British Airline, Virgin Atlantic announced, it will purchase 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The deal is worth $4.4 billion. The sale means a lot to Airbus as its A350 sales were slowing down. This news increased Airbus group shares by around 2.4%. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, the British multinational agreed to take over Industria de Turbo Propulsores, specialised in the production of aeronautical engines and components. The deal worth €720 million is for the 53.1% stake in the Spanish company owned by Sener Grupo de Ingeniería SA, while the British enterprise already owns the rest. This investment will add the company's aerospace capability with facilities, services and products. Rolls Royce saw its share price fall by 1.5% to 723.99 pence. A decade-long deal worth £3 billion ended when the UK government purchased nine new marine patrol planes from Boeing. This deal also covers the training, maintenance, and support. In its annual current market outlook, Boeing's demand is expected to rise 4.1% reaching 39,620 by 2036 and is worth some $5.9 trillion. The company will create about two thousand new UK jobs by expanding its maintenance and support operations for both military and commercial customers in Europe. To this news, Boeing shares appreciated by around 1.60% and trading in the region of $132. This article was issued by Rodrick Duca, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, views and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website. Ombudsman raises red fl ag over Barroso's Goldman Sachs job Matthew Vella The European Ombudsman has called on the European Commis- sion to strengthen rules allowing former Commissioners to drift straight into the private sector af- ter leaving offi ce, to take up jobs related to their portfolios. The most recent appointment was that of former Commission president José Manuel Barroso, who took up a post at Goldman Sachs to advise on the effects of the United Kingdom's departure from the EU. Referencing this recent appointment after the 'cooling- off' period stipulated in the Code of Conduct for Commissioners, EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly asked whether the rules are sufficient to protect the public interest. "Former Commissioners technically need to notify the Commission only if they plan to engage in an occupation within 18 months after their term of office so that potential conflicts of interests can be assessed. "But technical adherence to rules drawn up and implemented by the Commission itself may or may not fully conform to Treaty Article 245, which deals with the need for Commissioners to behave with integrity, including after leaving office. The Article makes no reference to a timescale in this regard," O'Reilly said. "Any suggestion that the spirit of the law is being ignored risks undermining public trust in the EU. It also undermines the positive steps the Commission has taken so far on ethical issues and does a great disservice to every conscientious and hard working EU official. The 'right to work' has to be balanced with the public's right to an ethical administration and particularly when it comes to those holding, or having held, very senior positions." Article 245 of the Treaty of the EU requires Commissioners to "behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits." "Just as citizens expect the highest standards when it comes to the conduct of public officials, they need clarity on what precisely this means in practice," O'Reilly said. The Ombudsman has called on the Commission to revise the Code of Conduct so that it reflects the Treaty rules on how former Commissioners should behave and proposed sanctions for breaches of the Code. The Ombudsman said the Barroso Commission had failed adequately to deal with a former Commissioner's breach of the Code of Conduct and had not properly investigated the compatibility of the Commissioner's contract with the EU treaty, despite concerns raised by the advisory committee that deals with these matters. Scicluna calls for fair application of EU state aid rules Finance minister Edward Scicluna has called for a fair and balanced ap- proach to the application of EU rules governing public fi nances, in order to ensure that they work in the interest of citizens. Scicluna was speaking to the press on the sidelines of a meeting of euro area finance ministers (Eurogroup) in Brussels, held on Monday. "There is a very thin line between unravelling the rules, [thus] making them ineffective, and being draconian [and e n c o u r a g i n g ] e u r o - scepticism," the minister said, pointing out that a balanced approach does not imply that the rules are ignored altogether. "Definitely there must be a middle way, but we [also] cannot just bend the rules for the sake of bending them." Scicluna also said that there is enough flexibility built into the rules to ensure that responsible fiscal policies do not rely exclusively, for their compliance, on draconian sanctions which could cause more harm than good to national economic reform programmes, at the cost of the livelihood of citizens. The same applies to state aid rules, which should be applied fairly. The Eurogroup meeting, which focused its discussions on the budgetary situations in Portugal and Spain, as well as the euro area's general fiscal stance, was followed yesterday by a meeting of all EU finance ministers, known as the ECOFIN Council. The meeting discussed an anti- money laundering proposal which will make it more difficult to finance terrorist activities through illicit means. Other issues which were discussed included the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, the fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance, and a proposal for a European D e p o s i t o r I n s u r a n c e Scheme. This scheme is expected to strengthen the guarantee given to citizens that they would not lose their savings should their banks collapse. Scicluna also held several other meetings, including those regarding preparations for Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first semester of 2017. These included a meeting with the European Parliament's Budgets and Economic and Monetary Affairs Committees, and a meeting with the current Slovak Presidency, the UK, which is, to date, scheduled to hold the Presidency following Malta, together with the European Commission and the European Parliament. From right: Edward Scicluna together with Italian and Dutch counterparts Pier Carlo Padoan and Jeroen Dijsselbloem Former EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso