Banking

Bloomberg Russia’s central bank reduced interest rates for the fourth meeting in a row and said it may complete its move to looser monetary policy a year earlier than planned. The balance of risks has shifted “slightly” towards those to economic growth, and a transition from moderately tight to neutral monetary policy may be completed already in 2018, according to ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to nominate Haruhiko Kuroda to lead the Bank of Japan for another five years, according to reports from Kyodo News and Nikkei. His reappointment beyond his current term ending April 8 has been widely expected by economists, according to a Bloomberg survey in January. Motosada Matano, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office, ...

CAIRO / Reuters Egypt’s annual inflation rates dropped in January to their lowest levels since the country floated its currency in November 2016, official data showed. The Egyptian pound lost half of its value and prices shot up after Egypt floated the currency in November 2016 to secure a $12 billion IMF deal to revive its economy. Annual urban consumer ...

Bloomberg What’s supposed to be the most volatile asset in the universe is proving to be a bastion of stability compared with wild swings and carnage in global equities this week. Bitcoin clawed its way back from the four-month low of $5,922 it touched, rebounding 53 percent to $9,069. The S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG has told some teams in Switzerland to consider taking a leave of absence or a sabbatical, adding to signs that the bank’s Swiss unit is under pressure to meet targets for the year, people with knowledge of the matter said. Bankers were told now is the ideal time for an unpaid or extended absence as ...

Bloomberg The UK’s position as a major global financial hub doesn’t depend solely on being part of the European Union’s single market, said Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe. In a speech in California, Cunliffe said that less than 20 percent of assets managed in the UK are domiciled in the rest of the EU. Meanwhile, British firms manage ...

Bloomberg India’s lenders, already struggling with $210 billion of stressed assets, may have to prepare for another hit as early as the coming financial year if new accounting norms kick in as planned on April 1. The IndAS — based on the IFRS9 standards created in the aftermath of the financial crisis — would require banks to make provisions for ...

Bloomberg Mario Draghi said that the European Central Bank still can’t claim success in its struggle to restore inflation, and defended its policies from complaints that they widen inequalities. “While our confidence that inflation will converge towards our aim of below, but close to, 2 percent has strengthened, we cannot yet declare victory on this front,” the ECB president said ...

DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom’s largest lender, reported an 11.8 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, helped by a drop in expenses and lower impairment charges. The bank made a net profit of 2.56 billion riyals ($683 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from 2.29 billion riyals in the same period ...

Bloomberg The abrupt selloff on global markets is happening as investors pull out of emerging markets at the fastest pace since the 2016 US presidential election. The withdrawal, largest in Asian countries, is a reminder that even as the region fuels the world economy’s best performance in years, it remains vulnerable to the whims of market sentiment. It could also ...