Bloomberg UK inflation is almost back on target. Economists forecast that consumer-price growth accelerated to 1.9 percent in January, part of an upward trend that’s expected to continue through this year. While the prediction would leave inflation just shy of the Bank of England’s (BOE) 2 percent goal, last hit in 2013, there have been upside surprises for the …

Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA shares dropped the most since June after France’s largest bank posted earnings that fell short of estimates and cast doubt over growth in its home market. The bank tumbled as much as 5 percent in Paris trading after reporting fourth-quarter net income of 1.44 billion euros ($1.55 billion), below the 1.63 billion-euro average estimate of seven …

  Bloomberg China’s drive to reduce financial system risks is squeezing the nation’s banks. Caught between policy makers’ intensifying efforts to raise short-term borrowing costs, and benchmark interest rates that haven’t moved since 2015, Chinese lenders have few options but to absorb much of the higher costs. The gap between the three-month Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate and the one-year lending …