Singapore isn’t a place for monetary policy surprises. The central bank’s strike against inflation — only the third unscheduled move in two decades — sends a clear signal that expectations of higher prices for longer have gone mainstream. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) slightly raised the rate of appreciation of its main currency band, meaning it will let the ...
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China buys a little time for cash-strapped developers
China is putting market-oriented solutions for its troubled collection of property developers into practice — even in a market frozen by fear. Industry consolidation has always been Beijing’s preferred remedy for a liquidity crisis. In recent years, we witnessed a wave of regional bank mergers, with bureaucrats maneuvering behind the scenes to avoid stirring panic and bank runs. We ...
Read More »US-Europe unity is best weapon against Russia
After weeks of mostly fruitless diplomacy, Nato is bracing for war. Countering Russia’s buildup on Ukraine’s borders, the alliance is readying a force to deploy to eastern Europe that could include as many as 8,500 US troops. Denmark has dispatched fighter jets to Lithuania and a frigate to the Baltic Sea. Dutch F-35s are being moved to Bulgaria. Multiple ...
Read More »EasyJet swells capacity as UK travel rebound gathers pace
Bloomberg EasyJet Plc will pour capacity into the UK this summer as easing travel curbs boost demand and make the country a key battleground for airlines emerging from two years of Covid-19 disruption. Bookings in Britain are surging, according to the Luton, England-based carrier, which plans to lift seating to near normal levels by the summer, meeting the challenge ...
Read More »Air India seeks to end $1.2b US case citing new owner
Bloomberg Air India Ltd. is seeking to end a case filed by Devas Multimedia Pvt in a US court, arguing a recent change in ownership of the carrier prevents demands over recovery of arbitration awards. Devas demands $1.2 billion from the Indian government after winning three international arbitration awards over a scrapped telecommunications deal with a state-run firm. The ...
Read More »UK retail trading platforms witness renewed demand
Bloomberg A volatile start to the year for global stock markets is breathing new life into UK trading platforms, which had seen fading interest amid less stringent pandemic restrictions. CMC Markets Plc and IG Group Holdings Plc both said they’ve seen an increasing number of bets being placed on equity markets amid price swings that put the S&P 500 ...
Read More »Nestle to pay cocoa farmers cash incentives to fight child labor
Bloomberg Nestle SA will offer cocoa farmers and their families in the Ivory Coast cash incentives that aim to reduce child labor, as the chocolate industry faces growing scrutiny over the problem. The program, under which the KitKat maker plans to spend 1.3 billion francs ($1.4 billion) by 2030, will offer as much as 500 francs per year to ...
Read More »Hawaiian Air aims to ramp up flight service to Japan
Bloomberg Hawaiian Airlines is seeking to ramp up its limited flight service to Japan in the second quarter, an omicron variant-linked delay from the carrier’s earlier goal of returning to a fuller slate of flights by late March. Japan represents the largest foreign market for Hawaiian, which had about a quarter of its business outside the US before the ...
Read More »Citic weighs sale of stake in China’s EBeauty
Bloomberg Chinese buyout firm Citic Capital is weighing a sale of its controlling stake in EBeauty Holdings Cayman Ltd. after a planned initial public offering stalled amid market volatility, people familiar with the matter said. Citic is seeking a valuation of as much as $2 billion for the provider of e-commerce services to the cosmetics industry in China, said ...
Read More »Russia sees ‘rational elements’ in US proposal, says top envoy
Bloomberg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the American proposal to defuse tensions with Ukraine contained “rational elements,†even though some key points were ignored. The seemingly calmer tone came after U.S. President Joe Biden warned of a possible Russian attack next month during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. They also discussed ...
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