Bloomberg Geneva remains a “hotspot” for international espionage and the number of Russian agents operating there could grow from the “several dozen” there currently, Switzerland’s intelligence service said. “Recently, various European states have expelled Russian intelligence officers, which might lead the Russian services to deploy their forces in states, like Switzerland, which have not carried out any expulsions,” the ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson describes the failed bid to remove him by rebels in his Conservative Party this month as a “fresh mandate” to carry on. That has frustrated his critics, who are now seeking alternative ways to oust him. Much of the focus is again on the 1922 Committee of rank-and-file Tory MPs, which oversaw the confidence vote three weeks ...

Bloomberg Ecuador’s congress postponed a vote on whether to impeach market-friendly President Guillermo Lasso until Tuesday after he announced fuel price cuts to appease protesters. The legislature ended a second consecutive night of debate over Lasso’s future in office without voting. The conservative former banker’s political struggles come on the back of two weeks of violent protests across the country ...

  Bloomberg As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine wreaks destruction on the fringes of the European Union, the bloc is poised to pull its newest member closer into the fold. Croatia, which joined the EU almost a decade ago, is on the verge of joining the Schengen zone — the passport-free area stretching from Norway’s Arctic coast to Spain’s Atlantic seaboard ...

  Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) policy makers gather on a Portuguese hillside on Monday with the sinking feeling that their rush to tackle the inflation shock they failed to forecast risks both a recession and echoes of the euro area’s sovereign debt crisis. As President Christine Lagarde and colleagues meet in the resort of Sintra for their version of ...

Bloomberg There’s a narrow path for the world’s central banks to stem rising inflation without tipping their economies into a recession, according to the head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). “There is a possibility that it can be pulled off without a major impact — with an impact on GDP but not going all the way to a ...

  Bloomberg Effects related to the Covid-19 pandemic in recent months will make it challenging for China to meet its 5.5% annual growth target, a central bank adviser said, adding that pro-economy policies including special bond issuance could be on the way. China’s economy could see a strong rebound in the second half, “but difficulties remain for the 5.5% target,” ...

  Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. is launching another credit card, the latest in third-biggest US lender’s push to build out new offerings under Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf. The Wells Fargo Autograph card is the first in a group of rewards cards the firm plans to introduce, according to a statement on Monday. The card, which launches throughout the ...

  Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank is expected to speed the pace of interest rate increases, hiking borrowing costs by the most in recent times, with inflation stuck near a two-decade high. Banco de Mexico, known as Banxico, is seen raising its key interest rate by 75 basis points to 7.75%, the highest in almost three years, according to all 27 ...

  Bloomberg The slump that’s taken the baht to its weakest in more than five years may be near an end as Thailand entices back tourists and the central bank edges towards hiking rates. The currency’s 6% drop versus the dollar this quarter — its worst three-month performance since Covid-19 devastated sentiment in early 2020 — has coincided with the ...