Bloomberg The Bank of England stepped up its defenses against a disruptive Brexit, offering lenders extra liquidity provisions over the period covering the UK’s withdrawal. The BOE will hold Indexed Long-Term Repo operations on a weekly instead of monthly basis between March 12 and the end of April — the time surrounding the planned exit date. The approach, designed to …

Bloomberg The doyen of Australian interest-rate forecasters has shifted ground and now predicts the Reserve Bank will cut twice to counter slower growth and higher unemployment. Bill Evans’s announcement that he expects the RBA to reduce the cash rate by a quarter-percentage point in August and November came less than an hour after employment data showed strong hiring in January. …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co., battered by more than a week of flight delays and cancellations from a rash of aircraft maintenance issues, said its investigation has identified a small group of union mechanics that are orchestrating an effort to slow operations. The airline called on the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association to comply with its legal obligation and “take immediate action …