Bloomberg Hong Kong’s banking regulator told finance executives in recent weeks that it’s lobbying the government to shorten the strict hotel quarantine placed on incoming travelers as it seeks to prop up confidence in the city’s status as a financial hub. Hong Kong Monetary Authority told a group of banks that it will start engaging with the government to reduce …

  Bloomberg A fresh wave of volatility hit global markets as the conflict in Ukraine intensified amid mounting penalties against Russia. Stocks in Europe fell along with US equity futures, while bonds gained and oil pushed sharply higher. Utilities, car makers and travel stocks lead a decline of more than 1% in the Stoxx Europe 600 index as traders assessed …

Bloomberg Gold advanced as sweeping sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine heightened fears of a hit to global economic growth. Bullion surged as much as 2.2% after penalties were placed on the Bank of Russia to prevent it from using foreign reserves to blunt sanctions. They also excluded some Russian lenders from the SWIFT messaging system that underpins …

  Bloomberg Bitcoin advanced amid mounting signs that the war in Ukraine is bolstering demand for cryptocurrencies. The largest cryptocurrency rose 4.3% to $43,453 in London, gaining along with other major digital tokens. A fresh wave of turbulence hit global markets on Tuesday as the conflict in Ukraine intensified amid mounting penalties against Russia, as stocks in Europe fell along …

  Bloomberg The euro zone could be vulnerable to stagflation in the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine, according to European Central Bank Governing Council member Mario Centeno. The Portuguese governor, speaking in an interview in Lisbon on Monday, said he favours continuing the monetary policy “normalization” flagged by officials in recent weeks, though he acknowledged that the conflict …

  Bloomberg Toronto-Dominion Bank agreed to buy First Horizon Corp for $13.4 billion, putting its massive capital stockpile to use for its largest deal ever and expanding its presence in the US Southeast. The Canadian bank will pay $25 a share in cash for Memphis, Tennessee-based First Horizon, according to a statement Monday. The purchase price is about 37% higher …

  Bloomberg US stock index futures slumped on Monday following a weekend of mounting sanctions on Russia, kicking off another potentially tumultuous week for equity investors. March contracts on the S&P 500 Index slid as much as 2.9% before trimming losses to 1.5% in New York. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 and the Dow were each down 1.3%. The poor …

Bloomberg Shares in European airlines slid after most of Europe closed its airspace to carriers from Russia, which reciprocated with its own bans. A Bloomberg gauge of European airlines dropped as much as 4.8%. In the broader market, the biggest decliners included British Airways-parent IAG SA, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM. Smaller peer Finnair Oyj, which faces a wipeout …

  Bloomberg Russian markets were paralysed and traders struggled to price the ruble as international sanctions shook the country’s financial system. The Russian currency lost a third of its value in offshore trading at one point and hit an all-time low of 109.185 per dollar in Moscow. Quotes were infrequent and volatile at the start of the session, and traders …

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s state oil company discovered five new natural gas fields across the kingdom that can produce over 100 million cubic feet per day in total, as the oil-rich kingdom looks to boost production of the fuel. The fields, discovered by Saudi Aramco, are located in the country’s central region, the empty quarter desert, the northern border region …