Banking

Bloomberg Russia’s central bank shifted solidly to monetary easing, saying first interest rate cut in more than a year could be followed by two more in 2019, as inflation slows and growth sputters. The move makes Russia the latest emerging market to shift towards more dovish policy as escalating trade woes weigh on growth. The change in trajectory of interest ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs economists are skeptical that trade policy uncertainty is a major drag on business investment at the moment. Instead, they’re pointing to other economic indicators, which they say are still okay. “The link between economic policy uncertainty and capex weakens sharply when taking into account financial conditions and company investment spending expectations, which both still signal a decent ...

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates this year but not nearly as aggressively as investors expect, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Respondents to a June 7-12 poll saw policy makers lowering rates by a quarter point this year. That’s a meaningful shift since March — when economists anticipated a hike in September — reflecting a ...

Bloomberg The biggest shareholder in Nordea Bank Abp is cutting its stake below 20% in a move the investor says is designed to ease its capital burden. Sampo Oyj, which is based in Helsinki, will distribute some of its holdings in Nordea as an extra dividend to shareholders. By going below 20%, Sampo will no longer be treated as a ...

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) stuck with ultra-loose monetary policy and a pledge to battle currency strength amid a deteriorating backdrop that’s tying its hands. The SNB’s dual tack of record-low interest rates and unwavering intervention threats have been at the heart of the President Thomas Jordan’s push in recent years to keep the franc in check. A downshift ...

Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) policy makers will probably keep policy on hold despite warnings that interest rates will have to rise in the future. All but one of the 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predict a unanimous vote to keep the benchmark at 0.75%. Political turmoil, a lack of clarity about Britain’s departure from the European Union, weaker-than-expected economic ...

Bloomberg US banks are hitting the ceiling on how much cash they can hand back to shareholders. After two years of surging payouts as regulators relaxed the reins on the biggest lenders, those firms are likely to boost dividends and buybacks by just 3% following this year’s stress test, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The Federal Reserve will ...

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump slammed the Federal Reserve for high interest rates in a tweet, complaining the euro and other currencies were “devalued” against the dollar. “The Fed interest rate way too high, added to ridiculous quantitative tightening! They don’t have a clue!” Trump said on Twitter, renewing his complaints about the US central bank a week before it ...

Bloomberg The central banks have increased their holdings of equities beyond $1 trillion last year as they sought to diversify their reserves away from low-yielding bonds, according to a survey to be published. Monetary authorities boosted their allocation of equities to 10 percent of their reserves despite recent market volatility and a quarter of them said they plan to purchase ...

Bloomberg Mario Draghi said joining the euro has improved the quality of institutions in eastern European members, as opposed to “more mixed” results in countries that have kept their own currencies. The ECB President, hosting a conference on central and eastern Europe in Frankfurt, said the main challenge in region is achieving more balanced gro-wth. That “will only be possible ...