Erich Sixt, chairman and chief executive officer of the Pullach, Germany-based global car rental company that bears his family’s name, recently described electric cars as a “costly political error” given their still inferior range, long charging times and the huge investment necessary to expand the charging infrastructure. It may have been a self-serving statement, but he may also well be ...

Bloomberg US equities opened tentatively higher and European stocks rose as investors eased into a hectic week, during which three major central banks set interest rates, President Donald Trump meets North Korea’s leader and Brexit returns to the fore. The S&P 500 Index gained a bit at the start of trading, led by financials, while the dollar rose with Treasury ...

Bloomberg The 2018 selloff in cryptocurrencies deepened, wiping out $42 billion of market value over the weekend and extending this year’s slump in Bitcoin to more than 50 percent. Some observers pinned the latest retreat on an exchange hack in South Korea, while others pointed to lingering concern over a clampdown on trading platforms in China. Cryptocurrency venues have come ...

Bloomberg The message came from one of Bank of America Corp’s (BofA) most powerful board members across large video screens: “We’re not going to do anything crazy to the customer — and we’re not going to do anything crazy for the customer.” The declaration by Frank Bramble Sr. kicked off the firm’s shareholder meeting in April. It wasn’t just for ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer John Flint’s plan to pour as much as $17 billion into expanding its key Asian markets and improve technology failed to inspire investors. In his first wide-ranging plan since taking the helm four months ago, Flint said the bank would roughly invest two thirds of that amount by 2020 to build its presence ...

Bloomberg Pakistan’s central bank devalued the rupee for a third time since December amid a worsening economy and speculation the country will need support from the International Monetary Fund. The managed currency dropped as much as 5.1 percent to 121.5 per dollar in trade, according to bank foreign-exchange traders who asked not to be identified as they are not authorised ...

Bloomberg China’s banks have managed to sidestep the severest curbs on their shadow banking activity, suggesting the real pain of the deleveraging process lies ahead, according to a report by UBS Group AG. A squeeze on their interbank borrowing was mitigated through extensive use of a short-term funding instrument called negotiable certificates of deposit, the report by UBS analysts led ...

Bloomberg Switzerland dismissed a proposal to radically change the way banks lend money, a victory for the financial establishment including central bank chief Thomas Jordan. Vollgeld, as the plan is known in German, was the latest in a string of national ballots in recent years that critics argued were reckless and would make Switzerland unattractive for businesses. Swiss National Bank ...

Bloomberg Hainan Airlines Holding Co. plans to raise as much as 7 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) by selling shares to investors, including an arm of Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte., as part of a restructuring planned by the unit of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. The Haikou, Hainan-based carrier is selling up to 20 percent of its Shanghai-listed ...

Bloomberg V-Mart Retail Ltd., India’s most-profitable department store chain, is planning to sell apparel and other goods online in a bid to attract youth in villages and small towns. The retail store, which runs medium-sized stores that sell clothes, accessories, footwear and everyday staples, is also planning to add 30 to 40 stores every year to its current 177 stores, ...