Bloomberg Thailand is preparing rules for the setting up of virtual banks, set to join peers including Singapore and Malaysia in promoting financial technology to spur competition and wider access to banking services. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) plans to issue guidelines for digital banks by June and may allow existing lender and new applicants to seek licenses, Assistant Governor …

  Bloomberg The rally in global stocks faltered following disappointing earnings from technology bellwethers and as traders await more clues on how quickly key central banks will tighten the monetary policy. US equity futures dropped, with contracts on the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 losing 1.8%, after Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc and streaming service Spotify Technology SA plunged in late trading …

  Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s surprise bet on Japan’s trading houses is paying off as the companies expect a record-breaking rebound in profits. The trading companies, known as “sogo shosha” in Japan, boosted their net income outlook after the rebound in prices of everything from crude oil to iron ore. Buffett shocked the world in 2020 when Berkshire Hathaway Inc announced …

  Bloomberg Oil retreated from a fresh seven-year high as Opec+ agreed to another modest hike in output and Iran said its ready to supply markets quickly if sanctions are removed. West Texas Intermediate edged lower 0.2% after hitting its highest level since 2014 earlier in the session. Global benchmark Brent traded near $89 a barrel, with prices steeply backwardated …

  Bloomberg The European Union (EU) unveiled how it plans to label investments in some gas and nuclear projects as sustainable, a move that has divided member states as the energy transition collides with political reality. The European Commission on Wednesday announced technical amendments to its draft green-label criteria and proposed strengthening disclosure rules to ensure more transparency for investors. Yet …

  Bloomberg Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. said it’s investigating Executive Chairman Warren Lichtenstein and accused him of launching a proxy fight in an effort to maintain his board position. An internal probe involving Lichtenstein is being conducted under the oversight of a committee of independent directors, the company said in a statement. The investigation is not related to Aerojet’s operations …

  Bloomberg UK retailers raised their prices at the fastest pace in more than nine years in January, a survey showed, passing on soaring costs to consumers already grappling with a cost-of-living squeeze. The report by the British Retail Consortium suggests inflation is spreading well beyond energy prices, with goods from food to furniture seeing prices driven higher in a …

  Bloomberg Latam Airlines Group SA can send its $5.4 billion bankruptcy-exit plan to creditors for a vote, a judge, handing the airline a partial victory over debtholders who want to pursue alternatives, including a takeover by rival Azul SA. The decision means the company can seek final court approval for its reorganization plan in April and possibly exit bankruptcy …

Bloomberg Ethiopian Airlines Group carried out its first official flight with Boeing Co.’s 737 Max since a deadly crash in March 2019 that triggered a global grounding of the jet. The three-year-old plane took off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa at 9:18 a.m. GMT on Tuesday and was in the air for about four hours before returning, tracking …

  Bloomberg Starbucks Corp. is asking the US government to quash elections underway in New York that could expand the fledgling labor foothold among its corporate-run U.S. locations. In a filing, the coffee chain asked the National Labor Relations Board to overturn an acting regional director’s ruling ordering unionization votes at three restaurants in the Buffalo region. The company argued …