Bloomberg Australian household spending surged by a record last quarter, led by cafes and clothing and footwear stores as Covid restrictions in much of the country were unwound, underscoring the central bank’s contention that economic growth “increased solidly” in the period. Quarterly retail volumes advanced 6.5% in the three months through September, after declining 3.5% in the prior quarter, the …

Bloomberg Banco Santander SA plans to cut as many as 4,000 jobs in Spain, adding to a global wave of staff reductions across the financial industry. The lender told union leaders it will lay off as much as 13% of its Spanish workforce and close as many as 1,000 branches after the pandemic boosted a switch by customers to digital …

Bloomberg Baoshang Bank, which was taken over by Chinese authorities last year, plans to fully write off a subordinated capital bond after it was deemed a non-viable entity by regulators. The People’s Bank of China and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission determined that a “non-viability trigger event” had taken place at the lender, Baoshang Bank said in a company …