Banking

Bloomberg Expanding stock markets could be good for the earth, according to research from the European Central Bank (ECB). Economies receiving more funding from stock markets than credit markets generate less carbon, it said in a paper. Increasing the global share of equity financing to half would reduce aggregate per capita carbon emissions by about a quarter of the Paris …

Bloomberg Global central banks are approaching the end of the year with a collective shudder at the risky behaviour that their low interest-rate policies are encouraging. Policy makers from European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve are among those raising cautionary flags at potentially unsafe investing stoked by their efforts to flood economies with ultra-cheap money. Stock indexes from …

Bloomberg Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell struck an upbeat tone in gauging the ability of policy makers to extend the record US economic expansion, while signalling interest rates would probably remain on hold. “At this point in the long expansion, I see the glass as much more than half full,” Powell said in Providence, Rhode Island. “With the right policies, …

Bloomberg Brian Hartzer succumbed to the inevitable and resigned as Westpac Banking Corp chief executive officer, forced out by an investor backlash over allegations the lender committed the biggest breach of money-laundering laws in Australia’s history. The 52-year-old becomes the third of Australia’s big-four bank CEOs to be undone by scandal in the past two years. The laundering suit, including …

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc hired two investment bankers from HSBC Holdings Plc in Asia, continuing a buildup to strengthen its Chinese real estate advisory business. The New York-based bank hired Kara Wang as managing director and co-head of real estate investment banking for Asia, according to an internal memo that was confirmed by James Griffiths, a Hong Kong-based spokesman. Dayday Zhou, …

Bloomberg Thailand said its latest round of stimulus will spur more than 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion) of spending, as it steps up efforts to fight an economic slowdown caused by baht strength and the US-China trade war. “The measures are to help sustain the economy amid global uncertainty,” finance minister Uttama Savanayana said in a briefing in Bangkok, adding …

Bloomberg The venture capital arm of PT Bank Mandiri thinks electronic payment platforms will only ever be profitable by serving as gateways to more lucrative services. Otherwise, they’re “just a cash-burning exercise,” said Eddi Danusaputro, chief executive officer of PT Mandiri Capital Indonesia. The race for customers in Indonesia is so intensive that e-payment providers have been willing to offer …

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc recommends buying the Chinese yuan on a bet the US will roll back some of its additional tariffs on the Asian nation. The investment bank also likes the Indonesian rupiah due to its relatively high interest rates, and sees further gains in Thailand’s baht given the country’s persistent current-account surplus, Zach Pandl, co-head of global …

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) called on Japan’s government and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to cooperate more in support of the economy as it cut its 2019 growth forecast for the third time this year amid heightened global risks. Speaking at the conclusion of the fund’s annual mission to review Japan’s economy, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva essentially …

Bloomberg Italy may be willing to compromise on its holdout against a German plan for further integration of the European Union’s banking system that includes setting limits on holdings of sovereign debt. Vincenzo Amendola, Italy’s minister for European Affairs, said in an interview in Rome that he is confident that a “good compromise” can be found in the next month. …