Bloomberg The expansion of financial services in an economy can reduce income inequality — but beyond a certain point it tends to have the opposite effect, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Better access to banking and credit can help close income gaps by allowing people to save and invest more, the Washington-based fund said in a staff discussion ...

Bloomberg Add a shocking slump in retail sales to the list of reasons why the Bank of England may cut interest rates in less than two weeks. Instead of showing evidence of a much-anticipated post-election bounce, the release exposed how British shoppers, the mainstay of growth the past few years, reined in spending during the crucial Christmas season. The pound ...

Bloomberg The cost of Ghana’s financial sector clean-up risks escalating to 20 billion cedis ($3.5 billion) as the government weighs increasing the guaranteed payback for some depositors, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said. The West African nation has approved funding of about 16.4 billion cedis since 2017 to help recapitalise the industry and safeguard depositors’ funds after the central bank revoked ...

Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid signalled Britain is planning to shift its economy further away from the European Union’s, firing an early salvo in what’s set to be a fractious year to hammer out their future relationship. “There will not be alignment, we will not be a ruletaker, we will not be in the single market and ...

Bloomberg US job openings fell in November to the lowest level in almost two years, indicating more employers see headcounts sufficient enough to meet demand. The number of positions waiting to be filled decreased by 561,000 to 6.8 million, the lowest since February 2018, according to the Labour Department’s Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. Openings have steadily ...

Bloomberg European Union (EU) privacy watchdogs are gearing up to police digital assistants after revelations that Amazon.com Inc workers listened in on people’s conversations with their Alexa digital assistants. Bloomberg first reported in April that Amazon had a team of thousands of workers around the world listening to Alexa audio requests with the goal of improving the software. Similar issues ...

Bloomberg Spotify Technology SA has considered an acquisition of the Ringer website and podcast network, according to people familiar with the situation, part of a broader push into sports content. Spotify has held talks about a deal, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. But it’s not clear whether the transaction will happen ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc was sued by four potential competitors who accuse it of anticompetitive behavior and who asked a judge to order Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to give up control of the social media behemoth. The companies also said if Facebook isn’t forced to sell its WhatsApp and Instagram assets, it’ll integrate them into the social network, “consolidating its ...

Bloomberg “Read the transcript!” That’s the rallying cry of President Donald Trump and supporters who say he did nothing wrong in the Ukraine impeachment saga. Democrats countered that the White House readout of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president offers strong evidence of his guilt. The key line they point to is this: “I would like you to do us a ...

Bloomberg North Korea’s Ri Yong Ho has been replaced as foreign minister after about four years as the country’s top diplomat, NK News reported, citing people familiar with the matter in Pyongyang. The name of his replacement has not been made public, although NK News said it may be announced on or before an event for resident diplomats, scheduled for ...