Bloomberg Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) set a goal nine years ago to become a Top 10 investment bank in the US — but cracking Wall Street’s upper echelons for advising on takeovers had proved elusive. Until now. RBC Capital Markets has risen to the No. 10 ranking for advising on announced US mergers and acquisitions this year, its highest ...
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US bank cuts branch staff in digital push
Bloomberg US Bancorp is eliminating thousands of branch workers as it adjusts to changing customer preferences, according to a person briefed on the decision. The cuts will be in the low thousands, the person said, asking not to be identified because the number isn’t public. In a memo seen by Bloomberg, Chief Executive Officer Andy Cecere said US Bancorp “made ...
Read More »Axis Bank posts surprise loss as tax expense surges
Bloomberg Axis Bank Ltd posted an unexpected quarterly loss due to a one-time income tax adjustment. It reported a loss of 1.12 billion rupees ($16 million) in the three months ended on September 30, down from a profit of 7.9 billion rupees a year earlier and compared with a 9.05 billion rupees average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The ...
Read More »Visa, Mastercard making mobile shopping easier
Bloomberg Smartphones have made taking a photo and checking fantasy football scores a breeze, but inputting credit card details on that small screen can still be frustrating enough that many shoppers just give up, costing retailers billions. Now, the world’s biggest card networks — a group that includes Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover Financial Services — have joined forces ...
Read More »Lagarde or not, women still face bias in economics
Bloomberg Hostility and discrimination await women daring to encroach upon the male-dominated world of economics and central banking, according to papers presented at a European Central Bank conference. The research shows that the much-celebrated rise of Christine Lagarde — a lawyer and politician, not an economist or central banker — to become the ECB’s first-ever female president is atypical for ...
Read More »Three words, 11 million jobs: Draghi’s legacy for euro area
Bloomberg Three words — whatever it takes — defined Mario Draghi’s time as European Central Bank president, but he’s prouder of another number: 11 million jobs. Hardly a public appearance goes by without Draghi mentioning employment growth in the euro zone as a justification for the extraordinary monetary stimulus he’s pushed through since 2011. The focus on jobs might be ...
Read More »Kosovo’s likely new PM has greater test
Bloomberg When NATO jets bombed Serb forces 20 years ago to push them out of Kosovo, Albin Kurti was packed onto a red bus with other political prisoners to be used as a human shield. He was beaten in custody, convicted of terrorism by a Serb court and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Fearing he’d never leave jail alive, ...
Read More »Croatia all set to join EU’s visa-free Schengen zone
Bloomberg Six years after Croatia joined the European Union, the Balkan nation is getting a green light from the European Commission to join the bloc’s passport-free Schengen area. The decision was expected to be made public on Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the judgment is private. The European ...
Read More »Latam ‘oasis’ shaken by worst unrest since dictatorship
Bloomberg Just weeks before the worst civil unrest since Chile returned to democracy 29 years ago, President Sebastian Pinera described the country as “a true oasis†amid Latin American turmoil. The billionaire investor-turned-politician isn’t alone in his glowing assessment of a country that regularly tops regional prosperity metrics. However, the deadly upheaval of the past four days shows the chasm ...
Read More »Trudeau overcomes scandals to win second term as Canada’s PM
Bloomberg Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won a second term in national elections, displaying once again a remarkable ability to overcome scandal and controversy to remain in power. Trudeau’s Liberal Party won or was leading in 156 of Canada’s 338 electoral districts, as of 1:33 am Ottawa time, losing his majority in parliament and the popular vote, but gaining enough ...
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