Blockchain technology, which has already been adopted by gold traders, is starting to show the potential to transform other sectors of the global physical commodities markets. While it wouldn’t necessarily boost commodity prices, the innovation could offer a secure means of exchange of raw materials, open up channels of trade among buyers and sellers that had until now have been ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan left policy settings unchanged in the final meeting of 2017, retaining its unprecedented monetary sti- mulus as it waits for a pickup in stubbornly low inflation. With Japan’s economy continuing to grow at a healthy pace, and inflation at least moving in the right direction, there is little pressure on the BOJ adjust its interest-rate ...

Bloomberg Denmark’s government is wondering how much longer the economy will be exposed to the distortions wrought by negative interest rates, and is urging European Union leaders to enter a debate on the appropriateness of the current monetary policy environment. The country, which has lived with negative rates longer than any other, has been forced to keep its main monetary ...

Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon reinforced the bank’s tight monetary policy stance, saying there was far too much uncertainty over US trade talks and persistently high inflation to change course now. While acknowledging the impact high interest rates have on already sluggish economic growth, the central bank sees an even larger cost if it doesn’t anchor ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England is holding off from forcing most European banks operating in the UK to become subsidiaries, but says it’s ready to get tougher if progress towards a Brexit deal breaks down. Governor Mark Carney told lawmakers in London that making lenders and insurers go through the process of setting up subsidiaries, only to then reverse course ...

Bloomberg ANZ Bank New Zealand said the country’s Overseas Investment Office has declined the application of China’s HNA Group to acquire UDC Finance. “While the sale agreement between the parties remains in place, unless HNA successfully overturns the OIO decision, the sale will not proceed,” ANZ New Zealand Chief Executive David Hisco said in a statement. “We don’t know if ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said the lender is pushing to deepen some of the busin-ess it conducts in China as the world’s No. 2 economy opens further to foreign investment. The US bank is working towards “local incorporation” in China so that it can more easily help firms there sell debt, Moynihan said in ...

Bloomberg Bombardier Inc. is scaling back plans to begin a new aircraft programme, preferring instead to focus on generating cash flow and whittling down about $9 billion in debt, said Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare. “Over the past few years there was an overinvestment in aerospace,’’ Bellemare said in an interview. “We don’t want to jump and launch an investment ...

Bloomberg China is set to become the world’s biggest aviation market in five years thanks to hefty subsidies from local governments beseeching airlines to fly mainland tourists overseas. Local governments, especially those outside mega cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, spent at least $1.3 billion subsidising airlines in 2016, mostly for them to start direct services to far-flung places such ...

Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd. and JD.com Inc. will buy a slice of one of China’s largest online retailers for $863 million, forging an alliance to take on Alibaba in e-commerce and digital payments. The pair agreed to buy shares in US-listed Vipshop Holdings Ltd. at a premium of 55 percent to their previous close. The deal comes with a business ...