Canberra / Bloomberg The cost of insuring the debt of Australia’s largest banks surged by the most in four years after a report by research firm Variant Perception fueled speculation about risks in the nation’s housing market. The average cost of credit default swaps for the four biggest Australian lenders surged by 18.6 basis points, the largest one-day increase since ...

Bloomberg Petroleo Brasileiro SA secured a $10 billion loan from the China Development Bank as the beleaguered state-owned oil producer endures the worst crude market in a generation and faces more than double that amount in maturities over the next two years. The lifeline is part of a deal to supply crude to the Asian country, Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras ...

London / AFP Britain’s state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) posted its eighth annual loss in a row although the latest result came in 43 percent smaller at around £2.0 billion. The loss after tax stood at £1.979 billion ($2.771 billion, 2.518 billion euros) last year compared with a net loss of £3.47 billion in 2014, helped by the sale ...