Bloomberg The Department of Justice announced charges on Monday against four members of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for the 2017 hack of Equifax Inc, according to US Attorney General William Barr. Barr said the charges stem from “breaking into the computer systems†of the credit-reporting company and stealing intellectual property and sensitive personal information at a unprecedented scale. At ...
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Giuliani giving Ukraine data to DOJ, says Barr
Bloomberg Attorney General William Barr acknowledged for the first time on Monday that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has been giving the Justice Department (DOJ) information he collected in Ukraine, bringing what was a stealth campaign into official government channels. Barr said, however, that information coming from Ukraine must be carefully vetted to ensure it is accurate and ...
Read More »China’s hurting banks brace for worst-case economic scenario
Bloomberg Just as it looked like Beijing was starting to get a handle on its regional banking crisis, a much more severe threat is engulfing the world’s largest banking system as a deadly new virus hits the country’s economy. The impact of the spreading coronavirus risks bringing to life the worst-case economic scenarios contained in China’s annual banking stress tests. ...
Read More »Discontent among HSBC staff ahead of business review
Bloomberg A survey of HSBC Holdings Plc’s 237,000 staff has highlighted falling morale as employees brace themselves for job cuts in a strategy review due later this month. At HSBC’s European arm, confidence in the direction of the bank dropped 21 points in the second half of 2019 compared to the first half, according to an internal document seen by ...
Read More »Italian banking mergers nowhere in sight
Bloomberg Consolidation in Italy’s banking industry will probably be postponed — again. Potential tie-ups were high on the agenda of the bankers who gathered in the northern town of Brescia for the Assiom Forex conference, but no one seemed ready to take the first step. The current regulatory framework and Italy’s poor economic prospects will probably delay deals that analysts ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank seeks 50% haircut on India firm’s debt
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG and SSG Capital Management have made a joint bid for an Indian power producer’s debt of 60 billion rupees ($842 million), according to a person familiar with the matter. The consortium has submitted a binding bid of about 31 billion rupees for the delinquent debt of Chennai-based Coastal Energen Pvt, the person said, asking not to ...
Read More »World’s lowest rate may soon be raised in Denmark
Bloomberg Denmark and Switzerland have long shared the world record in negative interest rates, at minus 0.75%. But that may be about to change. Economists at some of the biggest Nordic banks say Denmark, which pegs the krone to the euro, is likely to raise its key rate in the coming months. Not long ago, they thought a cut was ...
Read More »Irish property stocks lead slide after Sinn Fein surge
Bloomberg Irish stocks slid on Monday after polls put Sinn Fein in place for a possible role in government, fuelling declines in banks and property shares given that the party’s policies include a wealth tax and a freeze on residential rents. The benchmark ISEQ Index slid as much as 1.4%, with Bank of Ireland Group Plc and AIB Group Plc ...
Read More »Palm oil giant says blow to China, India sales is ‘temporary’
Bloomberg The double-whammy to palm oil demand from a trade spat with India and the coronavirus in China is likely to prove only temporary, according to FGV Holdings Bhd, one of the world’s largest producers. That’s because supplies are low this quarter, and food and fuel demand is set to stay robust over the long term, according to Chief Executive ...
Read More »China outbreak to spur higher prices as farm links disrupted
Bloomberg China’s consumer prices rose the fastest in more than eight years last month, with the outbreak of the coronavirus and subsequent shutdowns of transport links across the country making further gains in the coming months likely. Consumer prices rose 5.4%, with food prices jumping the most since 2008 in January. Even before the coronavirus, prices were likely to have ...
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