Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is betting big on banks. The billionaire’s company piled more than $13 billion into those stocks in the quarter, making Berkshire a major shareholder in four of the five largest US banks, according to a regulatory filing. Berkshire disclosed a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co and increased bets on Bank of America …

Bloomberg Australia’s central bank No. 2 official Guy Debelle says risky borrowing is more likely to be an accelerator to an economic downturn rather than its source, in an address discussing the impact of lending curbs. “If a negative shock were to hit the Australian economy, particularly one that caused a sizeable rise in unemployment, then the risk on the …

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate for a sixth time this year to help rein in a widening trade deficit and bolster the currency. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate was raised by 25 basis points to 6 percent, surprising most economists who had predicted no change. That takes the cumulative rate hikes since May to 175 …

Bloomberg The interests of India’s government and the nation’s biggest conglomerate are converging over a teetering airline. Narendra Modi’s administration has approached Tata Group’s salt-to-software empire to help rescue Jet Airways India Ltd., people familiar with the matter said. To aid the process, the government is talking to Tata about a potential haircut to state-run banks on Jet’s loans and …

Bloomberg Asia’s biggest carrier is abandoning the SkyTeam airline alliance. China Southern Airlines Co. will exit the partnership in 2019, nearly two years after selling a minority stake to American Airlines Inc., which is a member of the rival Oneworld group. The Guangzhou-based carrier, the continent’s largest as measured by passengers carried, said in a statement that it will seek …

Bloomberg Mogu Inc., a Chinese startup selling fashion and cosmetics online, is targeting a reduced valuation of $2 billion in its US initial public offering amid a market rout that has hit demand for tech stocks, people familiar with the matter said. More volatility could hit its ability to achieve the goal and Mogu is evaluating conditions, the people said, …

Bloomberg UK retailers made a faltering start to the fourth quarter as sales unexpectedly fell for a second month in October. The volume of goods sold in stores and online declined 0.5 percent from September, the Office for National Statistics said. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for a 0.2 percent gain. Decline was largest in seven months …

Bloomberg American Airlines raised a stink over the US government’s refusal to give its logo copyright protection — and that may get results. The US Copyright Office has repeatedly deemed the airline’s flight symbol to be lacking in creativity, finally prompting the company to sue the head of the agency a month ago. A spokesman for the carrier said that …

Emirates Business The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, has initiated world’s first cross-border testing of fintech digital sandbox connectivity with Asean Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) between Abu Dhabi and Singapore. This is a continuation of ADGM’s first announcement in September to launch its fintech digital sandbox. To …

DUBAI / WAM National Central Cooling Company, Tabreed, on Wednesday, released its financial results for the first nine months of 2018, reporting a 10% increase in net profit to AED319.3 million for the year up to September 30, compared with the same period in 2017. Tabreed’s latest financial results follow its announcement last month that it successfully issued a $500 …