Banking

Uganda reduces key rate to 13% to support economy

  Bloomberg The Bank of Uganda lowered its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 13 percent, saying slowing inflation gave it room to support flagging growth. Two of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the reduction, while one expected policy makers to keep the benchmark rate at 14 percent. The monetary policy committee has cut the rate by ...

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Spending cuts a must in Gulf despite oil recovery: IMF

  Dubai / AFP A modest recovery in oil prices falls short of filling budgetary gaps in crude-exporting Gulf countries, the International Monetary Fund said, stressing the need to cut spending. The price of the region’s main commodity has partially rebounded and is hovering around $50 per barrel having hit a 10-year low of less than $30 in January, from ...

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China money rate climbs most in 2 years as PBOC drains funds

  Shanghai / Agencies China’s two-week money-market rate climbed the most in almost two years as the central bank drained funds from the financial system and a weakening yuan reduced the possibility of monetary easing. The 14-day repurchase rate, a gauge of interbank funding availability, surged 52 basis points, the most since December 2014, to a two-week high of 3.03 ...

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UK targets banks who game league tables to win clients

  Bloomberg Britain’s banks face a ban on restrictive contract clauses and misuse of league tables in pitches to clients, in an attempt by the UK’s financial regulator to shake-up competition in investment and corporate banking. In a final report published by the UK Financial Conduct Authority on Tuesday, the agency said improvements must be made by banks in primary ...

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Goldman Sachs profit hits 47% in Q3

  Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc., once the most profitable firm on Wall Street, reported a 47 percent increase in third-quarter earnings as revenue from bond trading surpassed analysts’ predictions. Net income rose to $2.09 billion, or $4.88 a share, from $1.43 billion, or $2.90, a year earlier, the New York-based company said. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, 62, has ...

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BlackRock profit jumps 3.8% in third-quarter

  Bloomberg BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, said third-quarter profit rose 3.8 percent as the firm cut costs while assets under management increased. Net income increased to $875 million, or $5.26 a share, from $843 million, or $5, a year earlier, according to a statement on Tuesday. Adjusted earnings of $5.14 a share beat the $4.98 average estimate ...

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Role of asset-management firms key to clean bad loans

  Bloomberg Chinese central bank Deputy Governor Fan Yifei talked up the importance of asset-management firms created to clean up bad loans at a briefing on Sunday, saying that they played a key role in reducing corporate leverage. Speaking in Beijing at the launch of a restructured China Orient Asset Management, a bad-loan manager backed by the Finance Ministry and ...

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Strong currency allows Bank Indonesia to build reserves

  Bloomberg Southeast Asia’s best-performing currency is giving Indonesia’s central bank the opportunity to continue increasing foreign reserves from a four-year high, a senior official said. “If we see the chance to build our reserves, then surely we will take advantage of it,” Doddy Zulverdi, Bank Indonesia’s executive director for monetary management, said in an interview at his Jakarta office ...

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Qatar central bank offers $825 million government bonds

  DUBAI / DOHA / Reuters Qatar’s central bank is offering 3 billion riyals ($825 million) of government bonds in its third domestic bond sale this year, according to a circular seen by Reuters. Bids for the latest offer were due on Monday, with allocations to be made the following day, according to the offer document. The offer is made ...

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Kuwait’s NBK profit rises 6.5% in Q3

  Kuwait City / AFP National Bank of Kuwait, the emirate’s largest lender, said on Monday its third quarter net profit rose 6.5 percent mainly thanks to growing public spending despite low oil revenues. The bank posted a net profit of 68.7 million dinars ($227.5 million) for July to September this year compared to 64.5 million dinars ($213.6 million) for ...

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