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Goldman expects silver lining as dollar bets falter

  Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Asset Management is seeking to profit from the relative value of the world’s major currencies after trimming bets the dollar would climb versus the euro and yen. While the Federal Reserve will probably increase interest rates by another 25 basis points later in the year, any disappointment around US employment data could delay the next move ...

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BOJ board member’s credentials under lens

  Bloomberg Questions have been raised over new Bank of Japan Board member Makoto Sakurai’s credentials this week by a weekly magazine Shukan Post, saying that there was no record of him submitting a thesis or graduating with a PhD. The central bank’s website describes Sakurai, 69, as having “completed a PhD programme in Economics.” While some readers could take ...

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HSBC Middle East CEO joins Saudi govt after shakeup

  BLOOMBERG Saudi Arabia named HSBC Holdings Plc Middle East and North Africa Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Al Tuwaijri deputy minister of economy and planning as part of a government shakeup that also ushered in a new central banker and oil minister. Al Tuwaijri, regional CEO of the London-based bank since October 2013, takes on the role immediately and reports ...

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Top banks to pay $324mn to settle interest rate row

  Washington / AFP Seven big banks, including Bank of America, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, have agreed to pay a total of $324 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of market manipulation of interest rates. The settlement last week followed a federal judge’s ruling in March admitting the class action lawsuit brought by investors and pension ...

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia profit ups 4.5pc

  Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia posted a 4.5 percent increase in quarterly profit and joined its main competitors in reporting higher charges for bad and doubtful debts. Unaudited cash profit, which excludes one-time items, for the three months ended on March 31 was A$2.3 billion ($1.7 billion) from A$2.2 billion reported a year earlier, the Sydney-based lender said in ...

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Britain house prices decline after investor demand dims

  Bloomberg U.K. house prices fell in April after a surge of rental investors rushing to beat a tax change bolstered the market earlier in the year, according to Halifax. Average values dropped 0.8 percent from March, the mortgage lender said in a statement on Monday. That reduced the annual gain to 7.8 percent from about 11 percent. On a ...

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Brexit will hit home owners hard: Osborne

  Reuters British finance minister George Osborne said that homeowners would face a “significant hit” from lower house prices and higher mortgage costs if voters decided to leave the European Union in a referendum in June. “This isn’t just a big question about who we are as a country. This goes to the heart of people’s financial security,” Osborne said ...

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ANZ, Westpac find mortgages backed by dubious foreign income documents

  Bloomberg Two of Australia’s largest lenders, which tightened home loans to some foreigners, said they uncovered mortgages backed by questionable overseas-income documentation. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. have identified issues with some loans that rely on foreign income for approval, the two lenders said in separate e-mails. The statement comes after the two ...

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IMF urges action as negative rates infect Danish realty

  Bloomberg After almost four years of negative interest rates, Danish policy makers need to act now to prevent a housing bubble, according to the IMF. “We strongly encourage the authorities to take early action to lean against the wind on house price increases,” David Hofman, IMF mission chief to Denmark, said. “We see a need for action on a ...

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US shore towns resist sand-dune buffers as storms gather

  Bloomberg Governor Chris Christie’s warning of Hurricane Sandy-like destruction of the New Jersey shore will be tested as the worst storm season in three years approaches and beachfront homeowners delay his building protective dunes along all 127 miles of the state’s coast. Christie, a second-term Republican, has been battling with property owners in court over his plan to erect ...

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