Bloomberg South Korea’s President-Elect Yoon Suk Yeol plans to send a group of delegates to Japan next week, Yonhap News reported, a sign that the two nations could work toward mending relations amid mounting North Korean provocations. The seven-member delegation led by People Power Party’s lawmaker Chung Jinsuk will visit Japan’s foreign ministry officials during their visit from April ...
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Biden to host Southeast Asian leaders in May
Bloomberg President Joe Biden will host leaders of ASEAN countries on May 12-13 in Washington, signaling US efforts to engage with the group in the competition with China for regional influence. A White House statement announcing the special summit with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations said the US administration shares a “commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is ...
Read More »UK’s Rwanda plan might not deter migrants: Official
Bloomberg The UK government’s push to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda may not deter enough migrants to make the effort cost effective, the Home Office official charged with assessing the plan said. Migrants who cross the English Channel on small boats risk being relocated to the African state with a one-way ticket, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in presenting ...
Read More »Barclays’ ‘opaque’ pension plan deals draw regulatory scrutiny
Bloomberg UK regulators have warned banks against carrying out complex pension plan deals that are structured to delay any hit to capital reserves, a broadside that analysts say could affect Barclays Plc. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said in a statement that lenders should avoid entering into agreements that defer the impact of pension scheme contributions as they could ...
Read More »Wells Fargo announces $210 million initiative to expand racial equity
Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. announced a $210 million effort to expand racial equity in residential lending after a Bloomberg News investigation found the bank approved Black homeowners seeking to refinance mortgages in the pandemic at a far lower rate than White ones. The firm, the biggest mortgage lender among US banks, is committing $150 million beyond its usual ...
Read More »Morgan Stanley, Citi emerge as winners of earnings blitz
Bloomberg Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. shares outperformed their peers on stronger-than-expected results after five of the six largest US banks reported first-quarter earnings this week. Both banks’ shares posted initial advances of at least 3.5% before paring their gains amid a broader market pullback. The move higher was bolstered by big gains from their fixed income and equities ...
Read More »ABN Amro apologises for historical links to slavery
Bloomberg ABN Amro Bank NV has apologized for its historic involvement in slavery, after a report revealed the rise of some of the bank’s predecessors were closely linked to the slave trade. The Dutch lender said its predecessor, Hope & Co., played a “pivotal role†in the international slave trade of the 18th century and was actively involved in ...
Read More »Argentina raises key rate to 47%
Bloomberg Argentina’s central bank raised interest rates for the fourth time this year after inflation data published earlier in the day showed prices increasing at the fastest monthly pace in 20 years. The monetary authority increased its benchmark Leliq rate by 250 basis points to 47%, according to a statement. The rate hike also boosts the effective annual rate, ...
Read More »Ukraine crisis: Big banks to post weaker deal revenue
Bloomberg Wall Street’s dealmaking boom came to an abrupt halt amid the war in Ukraine and a global shift towards rising interest rates, leaving big banks set to post a quarterly slump in investment banking revenue. The record merger-and-acquisition pipelines bank executives touted at the start of 2022 are still on the horizon, but have been put on the ...
Read More »Facebook’s interest in podcasts is fading
Bloomberg Facebook’s interest in podcasts is fading, barely a year after it began. Last April, during a hot market for audio, Facebook launched Live Audio Rooms, short-form stories called Soundbites and podcasts for US users. The company signed deals with creators and sponsored one of the industry’s biggest US conferences: Podcast Movement. Facebook product managers even appeared on the long-time ...
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