Banking

Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank signaled an acceleration in economic growth will be slow even as a benign inflation outlook clears the way for more benchmark interest rate cuts and the government readies new stimulus. Gross domestic product (GDP) was likely stable or slightly positive in the second quarter and growth will probably show “some acceleration” going forward, policy makers wrote ...

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. has grown concerned the US-China trade war will persist long enough to dent any potential profit rebound for corporate America. Tobias Levkovich, the firm’s chief US equity strategist, cut his earnings forecast for S&P 500 companies this year by $3.80 to $166.20 a share. Global stocks have tumbled this month amid concern that the US-China trade spat ...

Bloomberg It used to be that a buildup in foreign reserves was seen as a bulwark against currency shocks and swift turns in investor sentiment. Those days seem far away — and that defense less robust — as the trade conflict between the US and China evolves into a full-blown currency war that’s threatening emerging markets globally. Reserves of central ...

Bloomberg European banks lobbying for special treatment on new capital rules are in for a disappointment. The European Banking Authority (EBA) said the bloc should stick closely to what was agreed at a global level when it implements new regulations in the region, according to a report. It specifically rebuffed suggestions from banks on how to tailor the rules to ...

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) holdings of US stocks touched a record $92.7 billion in the second quarter, benefiting from a rise in equity markets. The SNB’s US regulatory filing is one of the few glimpses into its vast investment portfolio, amassed as a consequence of its interventions to weaken the franc. It revealed stakes in 2,554 US companies, ...

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. is getting into the burgeoning esports market, joining a funding round for Matcherino Inc., a provider of software and services for running competitive video-gaming tournaments. Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and technology investment firm Galaxy Digital are putting in $1.5mn for an undisclosed percentage of Matcherino, bringing the startup’s current funding round to more than $4.1mn, ...

Bloomberg India’s central bank is poised to deliver its fourth successive quarter-point interest rate cut on Wednesday, amid calls from investors and the government for further easing as a slowdown gripping the economy becomes more pervasive. The Reserve Bank of India will lower the benchmark repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%, according to almost all of the 36 ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s biggest financial union is threatening to disrupt the country’s banking industry by leading its 73,000 members on a strike next month, in what would be its largest industrial action in almost a century. The planned two-day walkout will target lenders that have consulted staff over job cuts in recent months and other institutions that employ members of ...

Bloomberg Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA has given its backing to a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.7 billion) plan to consolidate the country’s construction sector after clearing a last-minute hurdle over the role of Natixis SA. After two board meetings and overnight talks, Italy’s biggest construction company Salini Impregilo SpA and Cassa Depositi have signed an investment deal that ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) for the first time is asking British insurers to gauge how global warming might impact the value of the stocks and bonds they hold — and its potential to upend financial markets. The central bank, which regulates the UK financial services industry, included three scenarios related to climate change in a broader stress test ...