Bloomberg In most of the world, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are simply tools that allow investors to track a certain set of stocks. In Japan, they’ve been saddled with everything from propping up the market and boosting inflation, to accelerating economic growth, improving corporate governance and even encouraging gender equality. Such wide-ranging goals have led the Japanese central bank to amass …

  Bloomberg Stocks are ending the week on a positive note, with European equities snapping two days of declines sparked by the Federal Reserve’s plan for aggressive monetary-policy tightening. The Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed more than 1%, with all industry sectors in the green and energy and basic resources leading the advance. Swedish truck maker Volvo AB declined after …

  Bloomberg Jet Airways India Ltd, which is undergoing a court-monitored restructuring, plans to return with a hybrid of premium and no-frills services that would allow the former top local airline to claw back market share while managing costs in the fiercely competitive Indian aviation market. The bankrupt airline, now helmed by a new set of owners, will have a …

  Bloomberg A key lawmaker said that he opposes giving Boeing Co more time to certify its Max 10, signalling potential and costly delays for the planemaker’s next model of the 737. Representative Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who leads the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in an opening statement at a hearing that he would oppose Congress extending …

  Bloomberg Hong Kong has ceased to function as an international aviation hub as it curbs inbound flights and quarantines arriving passengers, according to a trade group representing hundreds of airlines worldwide. “It’s effectively off the map now, and I think it’s going to be difficult for Hong Kong to recover,” Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport …

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc, which for years has managed its sprawling operations from a famously drab home office, is following through on plans to boost the amenities at its new headquarters complex. A fitness centre will feature tennis courts, three indoor pools and a teaching kitchen, while a child-care centre will be able to accommodate as many as 500 kids, …

  Bloomberg Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ikea’s biggest retailing group, has bought nine solar park projects in Germany and Spain for about $373 million. The projects are being developed by Germany-based Enerparc AG and expected to be ready for construction at the end of this year, according to an emailed statement. The solar energy production “will be sufficient …

  Bloomberg Barclays Plc is developing a global private credit strategy, according to several people familiar with the situation, seeking to take part in the fast-growing $1.2 trillion asset class. The plans are at an early stage, and the details on exactly how Barclays will enter private credit are still under discussion, so the bank hasn’t reached out to external …

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc hired four more health-care investment bankers, doubling down on efforts to increase its market share in the sector. The hires were announced in a memo to staff from Chuck Adams, the global head of the health-care, consumer and wellness investment-banking group. Among the changes: Michael Brock, the former strategy officer at Acepodia, joined the bank last …

  Bloomberg It’s unanimous: All six of Canada’s major commercial lenders now expect the Bank of Canada to move ahead with a jumbo rate hike next week. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank ramped up their calls for the central bank to raise its policy rate by half a percentage point to 1% at …