Bloomberg The US military had never shot down an object in American airspace before taking out a Chinese balloon off South Carolina earlier this month. Now it’s becoming a near-daily occurrence. The sudden spate of US jets blasting unidentified objects of mysterious origin from the skies has provoked so much befuddlement — not to mention panic — that Pentagon ...

  Bloomberg The Philippines said China should restrict its forces to prevent committing any “provocative act” after a Chinese ship directed a military-grade laser light at a Philippine coast guard vessel in an area claimed by both nations in the South China Sea. “It is time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit ...

  Bloomberg Moldova’s president called for heightened security and “maximum vigilance” after she cited fresh intelligence detailing Russian attempts to destabilise the country and overthrow her government. President Maia Sandu spoke three days after appointing a top security adviser, Dorin Recean, as prime minister, part of a government reshuffle that takes into account Moldova’s vulnerable position after Russia’s invasion of ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces more turbulence in his coalition after a bitter Berlin state election in which all three ruling parties lost support and one crashed out of the city’s parliament. The conservative Christian Democrats — the main opposition party at the national level — emerged as the clear winner after the vote in the German capital. They ...

Bloomberg Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he’s open to a potential reciprocal military access agreement with Japan if it would protect the country’s fishermen and its maritime territory. “I don’t see why we should not adopt it,” Marcos said, according to a transcript of his interview with reporters. The Philippines is studying if the potential pact will indeed help ...

  Bloomberg DBS Group Holdings Ltd’s fourth-quarter profit topped estimates, helped by lending gains as a strong capital base allowed the bank to deliver a special dividend. Net income increased 69% to S$2.34 billion ($1.76 billion) in the three months ended on December 31, Southeast Asia’s biggest lender said in a statement. That beat an average estimate of S$2.17 billion ...

Bloomberg A Bank of England (BOE) policy maker has warned that a wave of business investment was “stopped in its tracks” by Brexit, dealing a blow to the UK economy worth £1,000 ($1,204) per households. Jonathan Haskel, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee, said that the UK “suffered much more” from its productivity woes since exiting the European ...

  Bloomberg Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, backed by billionaire Uday Kotak, is considering selling a minority stake in its general insurance unit, according to people familiar with the matter. The lender is working with Morgan Stanley on the potential sale of a stake in Kotak General Insurance which could raise as much as a few hundred million dollars, the people ...

  Bloomberg When Ulrich Koerner unveiled a plan to salvage Credit Suisse Group AG in October, the chief executive officer promised to create a new bank. His subsequent failure to reverse a stampede of client funds has raised doubts that “new” means “better.” Credit Suisse lost an unprecedented 111 billion Swiss francs ($120 billion) worth of assets during the three ...

Bloomberg India has reclaimed fifth place among the world’s top equity markets by value after being briefly usurped by France during a selloff of Adani Group shares. India’s market capitalisation stood at $3.15 trillion on February 10, inching back above France with the UK retaining seventh place, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that shows the combined value of companies ...