Bloomberg Australian business conditions jumped to the highest level in more than nine years and the employment gauge surged, diminishing the likelihood of interest-rate cuts in the near term. The business conditions index — a measure of hiring, sales and profits — jumped to 16 in January from a revised 10 in December, a National Australia Bank Ltd. survey …

  Bloomberg Singapore’s central bank said it will allow foreign takeovers of the country’s three finance companies, as part of wider industry changes that seek to boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is prepared to consider applications for mergers or acquisitions if any prospective partner “commits to maintaining SME financing as a core business” …

  Comes now Timothy Geithner, treasury secretary from 2009 to 2013, to tell you that much of what you “know” about Dodd-Frank — Congress’ response to the 2008-09 financial crisis — is wrong. It’s a timely review because the Trump administration is promising to overhaul the law. The title of Geithner’s essay, carried in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, …