Bloomberg Americans are putting more on their credit cards and taking out fewer mortgages, as they need to increasingly borrow to cover the higher cost of everyday essentials and respond to rising interest rates. A record 537 million credit card accounts were opened in first quarter, a jump of 31 million over the past year, according to the Federal …

  Bloomberg Uruguay’s central bank increased its benchmark interest rate to 9.25% and signalled borrowing costs will keep rising as monetary policy turns contractive to fight inflation. Policy makers raised the key rate by three quarters of a percentage point, and forecast at least two more increases of half a percentage point at its next meetings. The move came on …

  Bloomberg Banco Santander SA has begun the search for a successor to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jose Antonio Alvarez, the bank veteran who stayed on in the top position after the botched appointment of ex-UBS Group AG banker Andrea Orcel. Santander Chairman Ana Botin and the board are seeking internal and external candidates after Alvarez — who has been in …

Bloomberg Chinese stocks closed lower after rallying in the previous session as traders assessed fresh support pledges from Vice Premier Liu He for the battered tech sector. The Hang Seng Tech Index pared earlier declines to end 0.3% lower in Hong Kong. The benchmark Hang Seng Index eked out gains, while China’s CSI 300 Index trimmed losses to 0.4%. Automakers …

  Bloomberg Stocks in Europe struggled to build on a three-day rally as traders assessed hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the latest data on inflation and economic activity. The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged lower, with ABN Amro slumping almost 10% after the Dutch lender reported first-quarter results burdened by rising costs. The energy sector outperformed …

Geneva / WAM A worldwide improvement in students’ capacity for problem-solving to the average level of today’s top 10 scoring countries could add an additional $2.54 trillion to the global economy, World Economic Forum (WEF) said in its latest report. The compound effects of the pandemic, pre-existing inequalities, and the rapid technological change of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), mean …

  Bloomberg European natural gas futures rose, with traders focused on supplies from Russia and the continent’s imports of liquefied fuel. The European Union said that companies can keep importing Russian gas without breaching sanctions, easing concerns that shipments from the bloc’s biggest provider might be cut amid a payment dispute. But the market is grappling with the implications of …

  Bloomberg Expensive offshore exploration setbacks for international oil majors including Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp are throwing cold water on their plans to turn Brazil into a profit center. In the past three years, Shell has drilled three exploration wells without finding any commercial volumes, said Marcelo de Assis, the head of Latin American upstream research at consultant …

  Bloomberg Boeing Co’s biggest airline customer in China has removed more than 100 of the US manufacturer’s 737 Max jets from its fleet plans, citing uncertainty over deliveries. China Southern Airlines Co Chairman Ma Xu Lun said at an investor briefing that Boeing’s updated best-selling aircraft would be excluded from fleet deliveries through 2024. The carrier expects to take …

  Bloomberg The Weststar Group is considering an initial public offering of its helicopter services unit in Kuala Lumpur to raise at least $300 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The conglomerate, controlled by Malaysian businessman Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, has held initial talks with advisers on the listing of Weststar Aviation Services Sdn, which could happen …