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ABN Amro net income up 14% to $397 million in Q3

Bloomberg ABN Amro Bank NV reported third-quarter profit that beat estimates as the Dutch lender released money it had stashed for doubtful loans and said it’s in talks with its regulator about buying back stock. The bank, based in Amsterdam, saw net income jump 14% from a year earlier to 343 million euros ($397 million). That was higher than the ...

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Mexico’s central bank facing uncertainty before next meet

Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank upcoming monetary policy decisions will be data driven and depend on any additional price shocks, Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said, signalling that policy makers aren’t committed to an established path for interest rates. “We’re not pointing in any direction nor ruling out any direction,” Diaz de Leon said in a telephone interview. “We’re signalling that ...

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Naira gains in parallel market

Bloomberg Nigeria’s currency rebounded in the illegal market as the central bank boosted sales of dollars to commercial banks, according to traders. The currency strengthened to an average 540 to a dollar from about 570 a week ago in unauthorised markets in Lagos and other cities where foreign currency is freely traded, according to Abubakar Mohammed, chief executive officer for ...

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Peru lifts its key rate to curb fastest inflation since 2009

Bloomberg Peru’s central bank tightened monetary policy for a fourth straight month after inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in more than 12 years. Policy makers, led by bank President Julio Velarde, raised their key interest rate by a half-point to 2%, as forecast by six of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg. One analyst expected an increase of 75 basis ...

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New Beijing bourse launches with focus on ‘little giants’

Bloomberg For years, Chinese leaders have been fighting an uphill battle to drive funding for small business. They are counting on Beijing’s first-ever stock exchange to get the job done. The Beijing Stock Exchange, which launches on Monday, is intended as a platform to house small and medium-sized companies that have long faced difficulty raising capital because they aren’t large ...

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More bad news for Asian stocks as earnings slow

Bloomberg Asia’s earnings growth slowed considerably in the latest quarter, putting the region’s already lackluster stock markets further behind global peers. Third-quarter earnings per share grew by 36% for MSCI Asia Pacific Index members, a muted performance compared with the triple-digit gains in the first half thanks to the rebound from the pandemic, according to the latest earnings data compiled ...

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Rise of the robots speeds up in pandemic with US labour scarce

Bloomberg American workers are hoping that the tight pandemic labour market will translate into better pay. It might just mean robots take their jobs instead. Labour shortages and rising wages are pushing US business to invest in automation. A recent Federal Reserve survey of chief financial officers found that at firms with difficulty hiring, one-third are implementing or exploring automation ...

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Southeast Asia’s digital economy set to double to $363bn by 2025

Bloomberg Southeast Asia’s booming internet economy is set to double to $363 billion by 2025, eclipsing the previous forecast of $300 billion, research from Google, Temasek Holdings Pte and Bain & Co. shows. E-commerce, travel, media, transport and food are driving the region’s digital growth, with online spending rising 49% in 2021 to $174 billion, the companies said in their ...

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Sweden’s Spotify acquires audiobook firm Findaway

Bloomberg Spotify Technology SA agreed to acquire Findaway, an audiobook company that gives the Swedish streaming giant additional products to market alongside music and podcasts. Findaway is a distributor for many audiobook services, publishers and authors, and will continue to serve them after the deal closes, the companies said. The purchase marks Spotify’s most significant investment in audiobooks, and is ...

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Nissan raises profit outlook despite parts shortages

Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co raised its annual operating profit outlook, a promising sign the automaker is still on track to climb out of the red this year despite parts shortages that have hammered production. The Japanese carmaker raised its forecast to an operating profit of $1.6 billion for the fiscal year through March, from 150 billion yen announced in July. ...

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