Bloomberg When Christine Lagarde conducts a rethink of the European Central Bank’s policies and tools during her impending presidency, her new Austrian colleague will be keen to contribute. “I look forward to the strategic review,” Robert Holzmann, the governor of the Austrian central bank who began his role this month, said in an interview in Helsinki. “I’m a fan of ...

Bloomberg Japan’s long-suffering savers have put up with virtually zero interest for years, but at least their bank accounts have remained free. That may change as speculation for further monetary stimulus mounts. Lenders could begin imposing maintenance fees for retail deposit account holders if the Bank of Japan deepens negative interest rates from minus 0.1 percent, according to JPMorgan Chase ...

Bloomberg Another shadow financier in India has defaulted on a debt repayment, signaling the nation’s yearlong credit crisis is far from abating. Altico Capital India Ltd, a non-banking finance company that focusses on lending to the real-estate sector, didn’t pay 199.7 million rupees ($2.8 million) of interest on borrowings from Dubai-based Mashreqbank PSC, Altico said in an exchange filing. The ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s government is drafting a new law that aims at securing it a free stake in all new oil and gas ventures, revising the terms of a proposal shelved four years ago. Under the legislation, which the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy outlined to lawmakers in Cape Town, the state would secure 10% ownership of energy projects ...

Bloomberg Another rate cut from the Federal Reserve is all but certain. Its impact on the stock market, however, is the topic of frantic debate. In the bear camp are Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley, whose strategists warned against relying too much on lower rates to boost stocks. In separate research, they reached the same conclusion after studying ...

Bloomberg The pound’s best run against the euro since 2016 will be tested next week as leaders from Britain and the European Union seek to make progress in breaking the Brexit deadlock. Sterling has climbed for five weeks against the common currency, rallying on the slightest hints of Brexit compromise. With British Prime Minister Boris Johnson now scheduled to meet ...

Bloomberg As Embraer SA prepares to complete the first assembly of its revised regional jet, the plane will enter the market with a disadvantage: It’s too heavy to be flown under the terms of US pilot contracts. But the Brazilian manufacturer still expects to find eager buyers for its new E175-E2 elsewhere in the Americas, Southeast Asia and Europe. “My ...

Bloomberg Japan Airlines Co could be a contender to buy a stake in Malaysia Airlines Bhd, the Edge weekly newspaper reported. There have been high-level talks for Japan Airlines to pursue an interest in the Malaysian national carrier amid close ties between the two governments, the Edge said, citing two unidentified people familiar with the matter. Japan Airlines President Yuji ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc-owned Whole Foods Market is changing medical benefit eligibility requirements next year that could leave as many as 1,900 part-time workers without coverage. Employees will have to work at least 30 hours a week to qualify for a healthcare plan beginning January 1, up from the current eligibility requirement of 20 hours, the company said in an emailed ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s air traffic declined last month as protests took a toll on the city. Hong Kong International Airport handled 6 million passengers in August, down 12.4 percent from a year earlier, according to figures published by the Airport Authority. It said the decline was mainly due to lower visitor numbers. There was also a “significant” fall in passenger ...