Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia reported its eighth consecutive year of record profit, driven by growth in mortgage and business lending. Cash profit, which excludes one-time items, rose 4.6 percent to A$9.88 billion ($7.8 billion) in the 12 months ended June 30, from A$9.45 billion a year earlier, the Sydney-based lender said in a filing Wednesday. That compares with the …

Bloomberg Mizuho Financial Group Inc. wants to grow its business managing overseas corporate money by $100 billion this fiscal year, as it seeks new ways to boost international earnings at a time of negative interest rates at home. “We’re expanding with a focus on the cross-border transactions of non-Japanese corporations doing business in Asia,” Zenichi Tanakamaru, a senior vice president …

Bloomberg The Bank of England presented a fresh downbeat assessment of the UK economy, highlighting slower consumer spending and weak wage growth, reinforcing the view that an interest-rate increase is far from imminent. A report by the BOE’s regional agents published on Wednesday said that the initial impact of the weaker pound on prices may be almost done, goods-price inflation …