Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender, posted an 11% jump in profit but warned that steeper borrowing costs and inflation were hitting consumer demand. The Sydney-based bank warned of a challenging outlook as the twin economic pressures worsened the cost-of-living burden, when it reported full-year earnings. It posted a cash profit of $6.7 billion for …

  Bloomberg Stocks trimmed a rally on Thursday spurred by softer-than-expected US inflation data as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve officials who remained resolute on the need for further interest-rate increases. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index surrendered an initial advance. US futures pared gains, after the S&P 500 hit a three-month high and the Nasdaq 100 pulled 20% above a …

  Bloomberg Swire Pacific Ltd, one of the two remaining British trading houses in Hong Kong, announced plans to buy back up to HK$4 billion ($510 million) of shares, sending the stock surging. The buyback comes as Swire reported a 38% increase in underlying profit to HK$1.7 billion in the six months ended June 30, mostly due to smaller losses …