With elections in sight, India’s government is under pressure to loosen fiscal policy in its budget on Thursday. Tempting as this may seem, it would be a mistake. Chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has made the most candid argument for relaxing the country’s tough fiscal stance: Given the political calendar, promises to honor the targets simply wouldn’t be believed. He ...

In a span of less than 24 hours, we went from a Bloomberg News report last week that China might reduce its exposure to US Treasuries to China’s denial and claims of ‘fake news.’ I suspect the original story and the denial had official backing, with the initial news viewed as a “temporary truth” that would dissipate like a Snapchat ...

As far as the European Union is concerned, it’s still 2010. If ever there was evidence that officials haven’t got the message that the crisis is over, you need look no further than Ireland. The European Union issued a 2.4 billion-euro ($3 billion) seven-year bond, and the funds will refinance some of Ireland’s bailout borrowings. As is always the case ...

Remember the hype about the iPhone “super cycle?” Wall Street doesn’t. There was a popular investment theory that Apple’s 2018 would be something like a repeat of 2015, when the first larger-screen iPhone models flew off store shelves. Apple sold 231 million iPhones in its 2015 fiscal year, or 37 percent more than it did in the previous year. Apple ...

Bloomberg European Union policy makers are softening plans to stop clients pulling money from banks suffering a financial crisis, according to a draft plan seen by Bloomberg News. Regulators have been debating the length of time that traders and other clients should be suspended from yanking funds when a lender is deemed to be failing. An earlier proposal for two ...

Bloomberg The Czech central bank will probably raise interest rates for the third occasion in less than a year on Thursday and for the first time since 2013 release a currency outlook that may guide investors on what to expect in further monetary tightening. The Czech National Bank will raise its main interest rate to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent, ...

Bloomberg For a central bank that’s become used to an almost limitless ability to steer markets, Hungary’s rate meeting served as a measure of reckoning, with officials looking to guide their latest round of unconventional easing back on track. Policy makers, who had to scramble to revamp the rules after a swap sale sparked the biggest bond sell-off in more ...

Bloomberg Traders in India’s battered bond market want the central bank to play the role of a savior. With the market reeling under the worst selloff in almost two decades, investors say the Reserve Bank of India should consider buying support as well as expand the quota limits for global funds. Absent that, they expect the declines to continue. “To ...

Bloomberg ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch lender, saw expenses increase as a proportion of income last year as Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers said the bank increased spending on measures that will help it cut costs further in the future. ING reported a cost-to-income ratio of 59.9 percent in the fourth quarter, a rise from a year earlier and ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan increased the amount of bonds it offered to buy at a regular operation for the first time since July, helping to bring down yields and weaken the yen. The BOJ sought to buy 330 billion yen ($3 billion) of 3-to-5 year debt, more than the 300 billion yen at the last operation, it said a ...