Bloomberg A decision to cap Kenyan interest rates may favor the biggest banks as small lenders will struggle to raise cheap deposits to fund lending, according to Equity Group Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi. At least 30 of Kenya’s 42 lenders may have difficulty paying the minimum for deposits as demanded by a new law on interest ...
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HSBC prices biggest Samurai bond deal since 2009 at $1.8 billion
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc offered 181.8 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in Japanese currency bonds on Thursday in the biggest single sale by an issuer in the Samurai market since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The London-based bank’s sale included 64.4 billion yen in 10-year notes priced at 1.207 percent, according to a statement from SMBC Nikko Securities ...
Read More »BOJ watcher calls range from triple-Bazooka to Stealth Taper
Bloomberg Some analysts expect the Bank of Japan to fire another blast of monetary stimulus at the end of its two-day policy meeting on September 21. Others see a central bank with little if any ammunition left — or one turned gun-shy. For some economists, the BOJ’s decision to undertake a comprehensive review of its easing program to be ...
Read More »Wells Fargo does damage control before Washington grilling
Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. has started doing damage control on Capitol Hill. Tim Sloan, the bank’s president and chief operating officer, has spent most of the week reaching out and meeting with members of Congress and their staffs in Washington, as the lender confronts blowback over allegations it opened more than 2 million accounts without customers’ approval, said ...
Read More »Samsung phones show perils of building better battery
Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co., under pressure from consumers for longer-lasting batteries that charge faster, pushed the limits of lithium-ion technology. The effort backfired when some of its new Note 7 handsets caught fire and exploded. Building a better battery has long bedeviled the tech industry. Smartphones are constantly improving, with sharper displays, improved software and cameras rivaling those used ...
Read More »Apple seeks fresh momentum with iPhone launch
AFP With new iPhones hitting the markets Friday, Apple is seeking to regain momentum and set new trends for the smartphone industry and tech sector. The newest versions of the California-based technology giant’s lifestyle-changing iPhone aim to win over users with sophisticated camera technology, water resistance, more power and other improvements. But Apple has raised eyebrows by eliminating headphone ...
Read More »Facebook, Twitter join coalition to improve online news
AFP Facebook, Twitter and news organizations including Agence France-Presse have joined a coalition of media and technology groups seeking to filter out online misinformation and improve news quality on social networks. First Draft News, which is backed by Google, announced Tuesday that some 20 news organizations will be part of its partner network to share information on best practices ...
Read More »Ex-Google guy builds English teaching app that adapts to student
Bloomberg Yi Wang was hearing the same refrain over and over: Why are English classes in China so expensive? And why aren’t I proficient yet? The former Google product manager decided to do something about it and started an app called LiuLiShuo, which basically means “speaking fluently†in Mandarin. The app, which claims more than 30 million users, is ...
Read More »Saudi auto aftermarket draws global interest
Emirates Business Saudi Arabia’s thriving auto aftermarket trade, valued at nearly US$2.6 billion in 2015, has attracted the attention of global manufacturers, as they lay down plans to grow their business interests at the Kingdom’s dedicated aftermarket industry trade show. Figures released by Saudi’s General Authority for Statistics provide a graphic sketch of the importance of the Kingdom’s vast ...
Read More »Offshore drillers brace for more pain even with bottom in sight
Bloomberg Offshore oil-rig operators, grappling with the biggest industry downturn in a generation, say they finally have the bottom in sight. The problem is, they could be stuck there for a long time. Transocean Ltd., which owns the biggest offshore-rig fleet in the world, believes utilization for floating units will reach bottom toward the middle of next year, Chief ...
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