Bloomberg Lost amid the economic chaos in Venezuela, the bolivar has actually stabilised somewhat. In the six weeks since the initial plunge after the government simultaneously carried out a massive devaluation and redenomination of the currency, it has slid just 19 percent in the black market. That may not constitute stabilisation in most foreign-exchange markets, but in Venezuela, where hyperinflation ...
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Williams calls for gradual hikes amid strong growth outlook
Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams called for continued gradual rate increases as a strong US economy pushes unemployment close to a half-century low. In his first full policy speech since moving to New York from the San Francisco Fed, Williams downplayed the guiding power of the neutral rate — the one that divides tight and ...
Read More »Skye’s crash casts doubt over health of small Nigerian banks
Bloomberg The collapse of Skye Bank Plc is darkening the outlook for Nigeria’s other small lenders struggling to recover from the economy’s contraction two years ago, and threatening to derail the regulator’s ambitions of expanding the industry. The Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the lender’s license for failing to meet capital and liquidity thresholds since the authorities first intervened to ...
Read More »India’s IL&FS seeks investor approval to sell equity, assets
Bloomberg India’s troubled shadow bank Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd., whose recent debt defaults sparked concern about contagion in the nation’s financial markets, has sought shareholder’s approval for a plan to revive the firm at the company’s annual general meeting on Saturday. The management aims to bring the group back to normalcy by selling shares through a rights issue, ...
Read More »China to maintain neutral and stable monetary policy: PBOC
Bloomberg China will maintain a neutral and stable monetary policy while also assuring reasonable and ample liquidity, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Saturday. China’s overall exchange rate and market expectations are stable, the bank said at its third-quarter meeting. The nation will continue to deepen its financial system reform, the PBOC said in its statement. ...
Read More »UK ‘inflation’ likely to pick up: BOE
Bloomberg UK inflation pressures are likely to pick up even if the Bank of England’s forecasts for wage growth and productivity gains aren’t met, according to Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden. In a speech in London, Ramsden said that he’s on board with BOE’s collective view that limited and gradual increases are needed to control inflation. Labour market tightness and rising ...
Read More »DNB laundered $533,000 from Russia: DN
Bloomberg US investor Bill Browder has presented evidence that Norwegian lender DNB ASA helped transfer $533,000 in Russian cash through accounts in Estonia and Lithuania, according to a Dagens Naringsliv (DN) report. Browder sent a complaint to Norway’s economic crime unit in 2016 and met with the authority in 2017, according to the newspaper. The cash was transferred by eight ...
Read More »Sovereign-bank ‘doom’ won’t let Italian markets escape
Bloomberg As investors scrambled for more clarity on the Italian budget plan that roiled its markets, at least one thing was clear: Ten years after the financial crisis, the sovereign-bank “doom loop†still haunts Europe. A selloff that started in government bonds quickly spread to the debt and shares of the country’s lenders as investors latched onto a problem policy ...
Read More »UBS splits investment bank job after Orcel quit
Bloomberg UBS Group AG’s investment bank was dealt a fresh blow as Andrea Orcel, the top rainmaker at a business that’s lost much of its clout in a shift toward wealth management, left for Spain’s Banco Santander SA. The Swiss bank promoted two executives to jointly lead the investment bank, splitting the role held by Orcel, it said. Piero Novelli, ...
Read More »JPMorgan plans 50 new branches in Philadelphia
Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. is opening its first retail branches in the Philadelphia area as part of a broader plan to bolster the consumer bank by expanding into more than a dozen new markets over five years. The largest US bank by assets is planning to open about 50 branches and hire 300 people in Philadelphia, Delaware and Southern ...
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