Bloomberg Anyone with a sense of symmetry can appreciate the S&P 500 Index right now. After bouncing all year, the equity benchmark just spent a week sitting at the precise midpoint of this year’s trading range. A perfect 50 percent retracement, in the language of technical analysis. Which is to say, it’s stopped moving — at least for the last ...

Bloomberg Traders could be forgiven if flashbacks of the euro zone crisis come back to haunt them as the euro slid to a six-month low and risk premiums on Spanish and Italian bonds soared amid rising political risks. European risk assets took a massive pounding ahead of a long weekend in London as investors fled from riskier bonds, stocks and ...

Bloomberg For years, Swiss private banks largely resisted the temptation to merge with rivals. Often run by proud families, few wanted to let go of their independence or dilute their legacies. While local giants UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG went through painful reorganisations, smaller banks had time to continue with business as usual, even winning over disaffected ...

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co.’s new public finance chief Stratford Shields is shaking up the department by dismissing senior bankers in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and bringing in colleagues from his former employer, Morgan Stanley. Fifteen employees from its public finance department were removed, retired or quit as the bank shifted its strategy, according to a person familiar ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Korea (BoK) stayed the course amid rising uncertainty, leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged in a unanim-ous decision. The central bank is balancing concerns including record household debt and recent weak domestic economic data with external risks such as rising US interest rates and global emerging-market instability. Governor Lee Ju-yeol described uncertainties as high, and as ...

Bloomberg Kenya plans to overhaul legislation governing its financial sector by creating new agencies that regulate the cost of credit and protect consumers, according to a draft law on the Treasury’s website. The Financial Markets Conduct Bill seeks to “promote a fair, non-discriminatory marketplace for access to credit, to provide for the establishment of uniform practices and standards in relation ...

Bloomberg Nigerian central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele’s tight monetary-policy stance and system of multiple exchange rates may have paid off through slowing inflation and a stable naira, and he’s not about to change that soon. The MPC has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record 14 percent since July 2016 despite calls to lower rates to support economic growth. ...

Bloomberg Best Buy Co.’s turnaround journey only gets harder from here. The retailer, which is rolling out new offerings to grab more of its customers’ spending, faces a suite of challenges: tougher year-ago comparisons, the continued encroachment of Amazon.com Inc. and the cost of launching a new tech-support program. The consumer spending boost fuelled by the recent tax cuts in ...

Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc.’s board named former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) boss Jane Garvey to be chairman, as the carrier works to improve operations and close a profit gap with rivals. Garvey succeeds Robert Milton, a former Air Canada chief executive officer who led United’s board for two years and announced plans last month to step down. Garvey, who ...

Bloomberg Lowe’s Cos.’ incoming chief executive officer has some repair work ahead of him. Fortunately, the improving US weather makes for perfect conditions. The home-improvement chain, which named J.C. Penney Co.’s Marvin Ellison as CEO, posted profit and comparable sales that missed estimates in its first fiscal quarter as chilly weather in the US weighed on results. But activity began ...