In view of the deepening Brexit gloom ahead of the meeting, last week’s amicable European Union summit was moderately encouraging: At least the talks didn’t break down. Both sides ought to understand, however, that when they meet next time, moving to actual trade negotiations is essential. Instead of negotiating the shape of their future trade arrangements, Britain and the EU ...

I always laugh when I see stories asking how many jobs the president has created. This language is common in the news media, as well as in the boasts of certain presidents. To be fair, most people understand the phrase as a shorthand for how much employment growth there was during a president’s time on the job. But many people ...

The appointment of Italy’s new central bank governor has turned into a depressing power struggle. But for all the elements that make this a uniquely Italian affair, it also raises broader questions about how a country should balance independence and accountability in the event of a possible central bank failure. Matteo Renzi, the former prime minister and leader of the ...

Nobody was surprised that the European Union’s leaders refused to move the Brexit talks forward at last week’s summit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Donald Tusk talked of progress and suggested there’d be more at the next gathering in December, but this speck of encouragement shouldn’t obscure the bigger picture. The process is moving too slowly, and ...

Bloomberg India’s state-run banks surged in Mumbai trading after the government pledged to inject an unprecedented 2.11 trillion rupees ($32 billion) of capital into the beleaguered lenders to revive credit growth. State Bank of India jumped as much as 25 percent, the biggest intraday gain in eight years. Punjab National Bank advanced as much as 40 percent. The Nifty PSU ...

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. plans to hire about 20 bankers in Saudi Arabia and start operations by the end of the year after receiving an investment banking license for the kingdom in April. “The total number of people we want to have on the ground for the CMA license is up to 20 for our medium-term plans here,” James Forese, Citigroup’s ...

Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP could double its assets under management to $800 billion in five years, according to CEO Steve Schwarzman. “We have internal targets, plans, aspirations to basically double where we are which would take us to $800 billion,” Schwarzman said in Riyadh on Wednesday. When asked whether the New York-based asset manager could be a trillion dollar fund, ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s second-largest lender has decided that the best place to expand its research is the country’s rival market Hong Kong. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. plans to add coverage of 60 Hong Kong-listed stocks, with 14 to 20 started by year-end, according to Carmen Lee, its head of research. That would supplement the around 75 firms already tracked by Bank of ...

Bloomberg Barclays Plc’s Jes Staley may need to reassure investors on two fronts when the bank reports third-quarter results on Thursday. While an industrywide slump in securities trading has likely weighed on the investment bank, analysts will look for any clues on how the group’s more profitable retail and card businesses are faring after US rivals signaled this month they’re ...

Bloomberg The question of who’ll be the next leader of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has gained urgency after Governor Zhou Xiaochuan dropped heavy hints that he’s ready to head into retirement. Announcements about changes in the PBOC leadership could come at any time. With President Donald Trump mulling who will be the next chair of the Federal Reserve ...