Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Democratic Republic of Congo agreed in principle to a new credit injection as the government faces slowing growth and declining foreign reserves. The IMF’s executive board is expected to consider the credit facility in mid-December, along with an IMF staff oversight programme that would last through May, the Washington, DC-based lender said in …

Bloomberg KBC Group NV’s chief executive apologised for his criticism of an Irish mortgage overcharging investigation, after his comments drew a public rebuke from the country’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum rounded on Johan Thijs after he urged the Irish central bank to “turn the page” on the “annoying” inquiry into how thousands of customers …

Bloomberg Investigations into money laundering at Danske Bank A/S should be expanded to include the lender’s possible use of gold as a way to help clients in Estonia hide their fortunes, according to Danish lawmakers. “Danske Bank has some explaining to do,” Torsten Schack Pedersen, a Liberal Party member on the parliament committee that oversees financial legislation, said by phone. …

Bloomberg A former Societe Generale SA (SocGen) banker fired over allegations he took secret information on a $10 billion chemical deal and shared it with a friend lost a second bid to get about 430,000 euros ($473,000) in compensation related to his dismissal. The Paris court of appeals rejected the claims by Stephane Fima, who was dismissed in 2016 for …

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) policy maker Madis Muller said the central bank could broadened its asset-purchase programme, if the economic situation in the euro area deteriorates significantly. “Right now, we are doing unconventional things,” he told students at a Bundesbank event in Frankfurt. “You could — of course — imagine even more unconventional things if the situation gets really …

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made $1 billion from trading fuel oil this year, making it one of the standout winners from rules designed to make the shipping industry greener. Shell said last month that it made substantial money in fuel-oil trading in the third quarter, but the company didn’t disclose the size of the profits. Shell traders celebrated …

Bloomberg Uniper SE is preparing to switch on more natural-gas plants as higher costs for carbon allowances shifted the economics of the power generation business away from coal. Gas plants also are benefiting both from a slump in the price of the fuel. Uniper, one of Europe’s largest utilities, will bring back on line as much as 3.5 gigawatts of …

Bloomberg Spain’s Iberdrola SA has selected a site for its first project in the Asia-Pacific region, as Europe’s biggest renewable generator looks to expand beyond its core markets. The Bilbao-based company seeks to start a 320-megawatt hybrid wind and solar plant in South Australia in 2021, kicking off planned investments of about $340 million in the country’s renewables sector, it …

Bloomberg An investor probably would’ve panicked if you told her at the start of 2019 that the trade war wouldn’t go away. Or that earnings would fall flat and that a bid to kick out the president would erupt. Fast forward 11 months and nobody seems to care. Volatility in the equity market is flirting with a two-year low, with …

Bloomberg The $200 billion cryptocurrency market is far too small for an exchange-traded fund to work, according to Fundstrat Global Advisors LLC’s Tom Lee. Numerous attempts to get approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for crypto-related ETFs have been stymied, and Lee doesn’t think it’s a bad thing. Big fund launches in the US can have around …