Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is considering opening offices in Kenya and Morocco to boost its African business as Japanese companies seek natural resource and infrastructure-related opportunities on the continent, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Japan’s largest bank has begun studying the possibility of opening the offices in the countries and no decision has been ...
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Barclays CEO says core business to hit cost target this year
Bloomberg Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley cast a positive light on the progress he’s making in his turnaround program, as he reiterated his commitment to shedding lower-priority assets to bolster returns. The London-based bank’s core consumer and investment-banking businesses generated a return on tangible equity of about 11 percent as of June, higher than the roughly 10 ...
Read More »MetLife names ex-AIG finance chief to board
Bloomberg MetLife Inc., the largest US life insurer, elected David Herzog, the former chief financial officer of American International Group Inc., to its board of directors. The addition brings the total number of directors to 13, with 12 being independent, the New York-based insurer said in a statement. Herzog is also a director for Ambac Financial Group Inc. and ...
Read More »Credit Suisse ‘pruning’ Europe investment bank
Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is reorganizing its European investment banking and capital markets business and cutting some jobs, a move prompted in part by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. The Zurich-based lender will cover large, global companies domiciled in the UK through industry teams, Marisa Drew and Mark Echlin, who lead the bank’s investment banking and ...
Read More »Banks failing coast to coast show spreading Africa distress
Bloomberg African banks are sinking deeper into trouble. Drowning in bad debt and swamped by slowing economies, more and more of the continent’s lenders are starting to fail. The collapse of a Ugandan bank, said to be an acquisition target of Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara Ltd., is adding to woes stalking the industry from Mozambique to Nigeria. High interest ...
Read More »Hackers hinder internet taking down sites
San Francisco / AFP Cyber attacks pounded the underpinnings of the internet, crippling Twitter, Netflix and other major websites with the help of once-dumb devices made smart with online connections. Waves of attacks incapacitated a crucial piece of internet infrastructure, hampering or outright blocking access to popular online venues. “When I see something like this, I have to think ...
Read More »Facebook to allow more graphic news
San Francisco / AFP Facebook said that it will begin allowing more graphic or potentially disturbing newsworthy posts to be shared at the leading online social network. “We’re going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant, or important to public interest — even if they might otherwise violate our standards,†Facebook vice presidents Joel Kaplan and ...
Read More »iPhone 7 hits Korean stores in Note 7’s absence
Seoul / AFP The Apple iPhone 7 has gone on sale in South Korea, seeking to fill a void left by arch-rival Samsung on its home turf following a damaging recall fiasco over the Note 7 smartphone. The South Korean electronics giant discontinued the Note 7 — one of its key iPhone challengers — on October 11 following reports ...
Read More »Google hawks hardware in real-world ‘showroom’
New York / AFP It’s not exactly a store, but the Google “showroom†that opened in New York is the internet giant’s first real-world shop and a step onto terrain where rival Apple has excelled. The success of the temporary storefront Google opened in the trendy Soho neighborhood could help the California-based company decide whether to follow Apple’s lead ...
Read More »Now, it’s time for a peek inside the iHome
Bloomberg In a darkened master bedroom, David Kaiserman stood in shirtsleeves next to a turned-down king bed. “Good morning, Siri,†he said to the iPad in his hand, and the lights went on while the blackout shades retracted. “Your home is ready to rise and shine,†the virtual assistant replied. Inside this four-bedroom stucco house in Alameda, California, Kaiserman, ...
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