Bloomberg Sweden’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter, casting further doubts on the Riksbank’s plans to continue to raise rates. Gross domestic product contracted 0.1 percent in the second quarter from the first, according to preliminary numbers from Statistics Sweden. Economists had predicted an expansion of 0.3 percent. Annual growth was 1.4 percent while economists and the Riksbank had …

Bloomberg Whitbread Plc Chief Executive Officer Alison Brittain has been approached as a candidate to succeed Ross McEwan as boss of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group Plc, adding to signs the lender is broadening its search as it seeks a new leader. Brittain, who has run the British hotel and restaurant operator for nearly four years, is one of …

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan said it’s “more positive” about adding monetary stimulus as it eyes a global shift in which the Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2008. While Governor Haruhiko Kuroda kept policy unchanged despite trimming inflation forecasts, he added a phrase to the policy statement saying the BOJ …