Bloomberg Voting was underway in Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab on Sunday for several by-elections that are a litmus test for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government after Imran Khan was ousted in April following a protracted political battle. A victory for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will give the former leader the renewed momentum to pressure the government to hold ...

  Bloomberg Two Balkan states signed an agreement that will allow North Macedonia and Albania to formally start negotiations to join the European Union, a process long-delayed by bilateral quarrels between countries in the volatile region. Bujar Osmani, North Macedonia’s foreign minister, signed the protocol with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, on Sunday. The move came a day ...

Bloomberg Hungarians are holding daily protests as a plunging currency and the threat of a Russian cut-off of natural gas shipments to Europe forces Prime Minister Viktor Orban to embrace unpopular austerity measures. A few thousand demonstrators rallied by the Danube river in Budapest on Saturday evening, according to local media reports. Protesters then blocked a bridge for a fifth ...

Bloomberg Jessie Duarte, who served as special assistant to former South African President Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, has died. She was 68. Duarte’s death on Sunday was announced by the South Africa’s ruling party. She had been on medical leave since November undergoing cancer treatment. “It is with profound sadness that the African National Congress has learned ...

  Bloomberg A slump in client trading activity in Asia is threatening to slow a lucrative earner for the world’s biggest wealth managers. UBS Group AG and Citigroup Inc are among banks whose wealth revenues for the region likely declined by double digits in the first half. Credit Suisse Group AG, which last month warned that results in the second ...

  Bloomberg Australia & New Zealand Banking group is nearing a deal to acquire Suncorp group Ltd.’s banking operations as it seeks to add customer growth, according to people familiar with the matter. An announcement could be made as soon as this week and the lender will seek to tap equity markets with a share sale to help fund the ...

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. missed analysts’ earnings estimates as the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes started to cool the once-hot housing market, hurting the company’s mortgage-lendingbusiness. Mortgage-banking income falls 79% to $287 million in the quarter, according to a statement. That missed analysts’ $392.4 million estimate and helped bring second-quarter net income down to $3.12 billion, below the $3.19 ...

  Bloomberg Chile’s central bank announced plans to support the nation’s currency after it plummeted to a record low, fuelling inflation that’s already almost quadruple target rate. Policy makers announced a $25 billion currency intervention, adding it will last from July 18 to September 30. The program includes spot dollar sales of as much as $10 billion and foreign-exchange hedge ...

  Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co unveiled a sedan version of its cult electric vehicle, with an interior that can beam different colours depending on the speed of the car, as the automaker continues its ambitious EV push with an eye on challenging rivals such as Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co. The Ioniq 6 can travel up to 610 kilometers ...

Bloomberg Meta Platforms Inc will start letting more users create multiple profiles with their Facebook accounts, the company’s latest attempt to encourage posting and sharing on its social network. As part of a test, certain Facebook members will be able to create as many as four additional profiles, and each one won’t need to include a person’s real name or ...