Banking

China foreign-exchange reserves extend gains amid capital controls

Bloomberg China’s foreign-exchange reserves posted an 11th straight monthly increase, capping a year of recovery amid tighter capital controls, a stronger yuan and resilient economic growth. The reserves climbed $20.7 billion to $3.14 trillion in December, according to a People’s Bank of China statement on Sunday, compared with a $3.13 trillion median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. That brought the ...

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‘Dollar must always act as a global funding tool’

Bloomberg The dollar’s status as the world’s most popular funding currency is stronger than ever, helping to push the greenback lower even in the face of bullish drivers such as the US tax overhaul and higher short-term bond yields. A buoyant global economy is encouraging borrowing in dollars by overseas corporations and governments, overwhelming the domestic forces, according to Morgan ...

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Drop in complaints is silver lining for Wells Fargo in 2017

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. spent much of 2017 trying to dig out of several consumer banking scandals. By one measure, it’s making progress. Complaints lodged against the lender with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through Dec 15 dropped 18% from the same period of 2016, the steepest decline among major banks, federal figures show. Still, it remained first among ...

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Greece’s 10-step road map to a bailout program exit in August

Bloomberg For Greece, 2018 is a crucial year. The key question in the months ahead for what was once the epicenter of the European credit crisis is: Will it turn the corner and wean itself of external aid like Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus — something the Greek government wants? Or, will the current bailout program, which ends August 20, be ...

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Euro-area inflation slowdown undermines calls to end QE

Bloomberg European Central Bank policy makers who marked the turn of the year by pushing for an end to crisis-era stimulus measures just got a reminder that they’ll have to wait a while longer for price pressures to pick up. Despite solid economic growth, euro-area inflation slowed to 1.4 percent last month from 1.5 percent, and the underlying rate unexpectedly ...

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Canadian banks expect drop in unemployment to raise interest rates

Bloomberg All but one of Canada’s six biggest commercial lenders now say the central bank will raise interest rates this month after the jobless rate dropped to its lowest in modern records. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Ba-nk of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce changed their forecasts after a Statistics Canada report showed the unemployment ...

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Deutsche Bank’s sustained trading slump ratchets up pressure on CEO

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG’s sustained trading slump is increasing pressure on Chief Executive Officer John Cryan to prove he can win back investment-banking market share. Revenue at the securities unit slumped about 22 percent in the final quarter because of persistent low volatility in markets and muted client activity, the bank said in a statement. Analysts had expected trading revenue ...

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BOJ’s 2 percent inflation target unrealistic, says Credit Suisse

Bloomberg While the Bank of Japan resolutely maintains its 2 percent inflation target, Credit Suisse Group AG says that’s an unrealistic goal. The Japanese economy is enjoying a cyclical recovery, benefiting from a pick up in global demand, but nothing suggests structural change, said Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief Japan economist at Credit Suisse and a former BOJ official. “It’s difficult for ...

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India to fix bank system with $12.6bn bond plan

Bloomberg India took another step towards cleaning up a banking system riddled with bad loans, with the government seeking parliamentary approval to issue about 800 billion rupees ($12.6 billion) of bonds to fund capital injections into state lenders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration expe-cts to sell the first of its recapitalisation bonds before the fiscal year ends March 31, as ...

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Fed’s bullard says tax overhaul may light fire under investment

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax overhaul may spur investment and US economic growth, though policy makers can “wait and see” if that warrants higher interest rates because inflation is low. “There is some possibility this could light a fire under investment and really drive growth higher,” Bullard, a ...

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