Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank continued to build the case to keep its policy rate unchanged for longer, as it sees subsiding food costs and slower global monetary tightening. “Bank Indonesia will continue to normalise monetary policy, but there is no need to quickly raise interest rates like other countries,†Governor Perry Warjiyo said in a briefing. Core inflation is ...
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Credit card spending soars as US consumers battle inflation
Bloomberg Mastercard Inc. said spending on its network jumped 18% as US consumers battle once-in-a-generation levels of inflation. Payment volume soared to $1.65 trillion in the second quarter, topping the $1.64 trillion average of analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The company boosted its forecast for revenue growth for the year after it reported a 58% surge in overseas payments ...
Read More »UK banks risk new fines unless they put their customers first
Bloomberg Financial firms may be fined and stripped of their regulatory authorisation unless they put their customers’ needs first under far-reaching reforms from the UK City regulator. Banks, insurers and other companies will have to ensure their services are actually good for their clients and that this approach is taken at all levels of the business, Ian Searle, head ...
Read More »Standard Chartered in $500m share buyback
Bloomberg A strong quarter from Standard Chartered Plc’s traders provided a boost to the emerging market-focused bank despite fears that a slowing global economy could squeeze its lending business. The London-based bank reported underlying pretax profit rises 7% to $1.32 billion in the second quarter, as its traders benefitted from volatility in global markets along with many of its ...
Read More »Barclays earnings miss as legal costs overshadow trading jump
Bloomberg Barclays Plc’s profit fell more than expected in the second quarter after it booked charges and penalties in the US, marring a strong period for the bank’s bond traders. The British lender said a market plunge would increase the cost of buying back US investment products it mistakenly oversold. Barclays also expects to pay $200 million in penalties ...
Read More »BNP Paribas announces highest profit on record
Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA posted its highest profit on record as lending income rises amid the prospect of higher interest rates and volatile markets lifted securities trading in the second quarter. Revenue at the unit that houses BNP’s retail operations rises 11%, reflecting higher fees, rising rates and gains in specialised businesses, the Paris-based firm said in a statement ...
Read More »Spain seeks to tax lenders for windfall profits
Bloomberg Spain is seeking to tax banks for windfall profits made from net interest and fees charged to clients, in the boldest move against lenders by any major European Union nation to offset the impact of a worsening cost-of-living crisis. A bill introduced to parliament aims to set a 4.8% tax on Spanish banks. It also seeks to charge ...
Read More »Yen roars back as hedge funds cut, run from big macro short
Bloomberg The yen catapulted higher against major peers as lowered expectations for rate hikes caused hedge funds to cover short bets from one of the biggest global macro trades of the year. In early trading the yen strengthened more than 1% to 135.11 per dollar, as hedge funds liquidated long positions in the greenback, according to Asia-based currency traders. ...
Read More »HSBC to leave best lending rate in Hong Kong unchanged at 5%
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc maintained their best lending rates Thursday even as the city’s monetary authority raised its base rate to keep pace with the Federal Reserve, a move that will likely stave off some pressure on homeowners and businesses for now. Hours after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said it would raise its ...
Read More »RBI’s rupee defense sending bill rates to three-year high
Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) intervention in the foreign-exchange market to protect the rupee that tested a series of record lows in recent months is pushing shorter rates to multi-year highs. The government’s borrowing costs for a three-month Treasury bill surged to the highest in three years at an auction. The weighted average call rate, an interbank ...
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