Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) is urging lenders to do a better job of gauging the risks they face from a potential spike in defaults as the pandemic increasingly hits companies and consumers. The worsening economy has slowed banks’ efforts to reduce existing bad debts and “there is also an embedded level of distress in loan books that is ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s stock rally is so dependent on mainland capital that the mere suggestion the record inflows will slow has the potential to stir panic in the city’s $7.1 trillion market. Such was the case, when the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) withdrew incremental liquidity and an adviser warned obliquely of asset bubbles. The result was the biggest drop ...

Bloomberg If history is a guide, the recent rough ride for Indian stocks will continue after Monday’s budget. The S&P BSE Sensex index has climbed in the month after budget day on only two of the past seven years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, while falling or staying rangebound on other occasions. Risks are compounded in 2021 ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) increased margin requirements to 100% for wealth-management and self-directed brokerage clients to trade certain stocks, as firms impose limits amid wild price swings sparked by investors on social media. The margin requirements apply to Merrill Lynch wealth-management clients and individual traders using the Merrill Edge platform, according to Bank of America. Margins for stock ...

Dubai / WAM The UAE has approved amendments to the Executive Regulation of the Federal Law concerning Nationality and Passports allowing investors, professionals, special talents and their families to acquire Emirati nationality and passport under certain conditions. The step aims at appreciating the talents and competencies present in the UAE and attracting more bright minds to the Emirati community in ...

Bloomberg The World Bank has committed $12 billion to African countries to support vaccination programs across a continent that hasn’t been able to keep pace with developed nations’ rollouts. The World Bank money will be in the form of grants or on “highly concessional terms,” said David Malpass, president of the World Bank, in a statement following a virtual meeting ...

Dubai / WAM Dubai’s trade with Israel in the last five months (Sep 2020 -Jan 2021) reached a value of AED1 billion and a volume of 6.217k tonnes, according to Dubai Customs statistics. Of this, imports were valued at AED325 million (718 tonnes), exports at AED607million (5.4k tonnes), and transit trade at AED98.7million (52.4 tonnes). Sultan bin Sulayem believes opening ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE has established itself as one of the best medical tourism destinations in the world over the past years, thanks to international confidence in its health sector, which has succeeded in attracting medical institutions of global prestige. The country ranked first among GCC countries in best medical tourism destination globally according to the US-based Medical ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), represented by the Branches Management and the Member Services Department, held a coordination meeting with representatives of Tas’heel Businessmen Services Centres “Tas’heel” in the eastern and central regions. The audience was aimed at enhancing cooperation, developing the services provided for the private sector, as well as identifying the challenges, ...

Bloomberg American oil executives began a pushback against some of President Joe Biden’s climate policies by making the case that fossil fuels from US shale have a lower carbon footprint than imports. Since taking office this month, the Biden administration has made swift moves to pause sales of oil and gas leases on federal land, cancel the Keystone XL pipeline ...