The disingenuous way companies are attempting to comply with the letter, not the spirit, of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is only part of the problem with the new privacy rule, which goes into effect May 25. For publishers already forced to accept Google’s near monopoly on programmatic advertising on their sites, the new regulation could make things ...

Bloomberg Two of the biggest US banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co, are on the brink of piling into credit-card lending, seeking a share of the $183 billion in fees and interest tied to the product. Goldman Sachs is weighing the move as part of a push into consumer finance with its Marcus online lender, Chief ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BoE) will probably keep interest rates unchanged this week after an economic roller coaster that saw market bets on an increase flip from near-guaranteed to almost no chance. A majority of the nine Monetary Policy Committee members will vote to maintain a 0.5 percent benchmark on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Governor ...

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s gradual push towards higher interest rates shouldn’t be blamed for any roiling of emerging market economies, which are well placed to navigate the tightening of US monetary policy, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said. In a speech that argued US decision-making isn’t the major determinant of flows of capital into developing economies, Powell said the influence of ...

Bloomberg The African Development Bank (AfDB) seeks investments from global pensions and commercial financiers to help fund the continent’s infrastructure gap of as much as $170 billion a year. The Abidjan-based lender is launching its Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg. The forum will host its first meeting in November in South Africa’s commercial hub and will have “no speeches,” but ...

Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc is “surprised” and “disappointed” by Standard Life Aberdeen Plc’s decision to challenge the bank’s plan to pull 109 billion pounds ($148 billion) from the asset manager, the lender said in a statement. Lloyds gave notice in February that it planned to end the mandate after the merger of Aberdeen and Standard Life made the combined ...

Bloomberg ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s second-largest private sector lender by assets, was Asia’s best-performing bank stock on Tuesday after its top official said bad-loan ratios will improve. ICICI jumped 7.1 percent, set for the biggest gain since October 25, and was the top stock on Bloomberg’s Asia Pacific Banks Index. Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar, who has been assuring investors ...

Bloomberg Japan Airlines Co. is examining setting up a new low-fare carrier to increase capacity and take on rising competition from budget operators in Asia’s second-largest economy. Starting a discount airline is part of the carrier’s need to widen its product line-up, Vice Chairman Junko Okawa, 63, said in an interview in Singapore. It is one of several options the ...

Bloomberg French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said concern is mounting about Air France-KLM Group’s French arm as a protracted labor dispute over wages hurts the airline’s competitiveness and ability to buy new planes. “I’m worried about the future of Air France,” Borne said. The carrier “is less competitive than its partner KLM and other European airlines.” The government has waded ...

Bloomberg Walmart Inc. will offer men’s grooming products from Harry’s later this month, expanding the brand’s reach beyond Target Corp. and giving Walmart a product coveted by millennials. Starting on May 21, the world’s biggest retailer will sell Harry’s goods in 2,200 of its US stores — fewer than half of the total — and online. There are plans to ...