Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc pointed to routine regulatory requirements to ensure client money is used for stated purposes after a report that the firm is shutting a corporate account that helped fund protest-related activities in Hong Kong — a politically sensitive issue. The bank took action after finding the account was being used inconsistently with its original paperwork, the Hong …

Bloomberg The Thai baht’s reign as Asia’s best-performing currency is coming under threat from an unlikely source: South Korea’s won. The baht has slumped into the bottom half of the regional rankings this quarter after heading the table for three consecutive three-month periods. The won meanwhile has shrugged off its chronic underperformance and rocketed to the top. The main reason …

Bloomberg A combination of easing trade tensions and easier monetary policy will lift global growth from the first quarter of 2020, according to economists at Morgan Stanley. Emerging markets will drive the recovery, given the late-cycle stage that US growth is in, they argue. “A 1Q20 recovery is on the cards,” the US bank’s economists led by Chetan Ahya wrote …