Bloomberg Pakistan’s central bank increased its key rate for a second straight meeting as economic pressures build ahead of a tense national vote. The target policy rate was raised to 7.5 percent from 6.5 percent, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa said in a Karachi briefing. The increase by 100 basis points was predicted by nine economists in a …

Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP plans to start raising its next global private equity fund three years after gathering about $18 billion from investors for its last pool. The firm is expected to seek more than $20 billion when it starts marketing its eighth buyout fund later this year, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be …

Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) is considering job cuts at its securities operations overseas to keep them profitable. The brokerage arm of Japan’s biggest bank may reduce headcount in the UK and the US, reflecting market conditions, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co. Chief Executive Officer Saburo Araki said, without giving details. The firm had 605 employees in Europe and …